Green Neon Tetras - Opinion

[MizuFish]

I was hoping someone with some green neon tetra experience could give my boys a quick look, I attached a picture to make it easier.

Is this color loss a sign of a disease or is it stress?

Today was the partial water change day but they've been looking like this for over a week now, before that the red was strong and perfect. They have been kept Angels for a bit that at the end were starting to get territorial, maybe they are still in shock from that? I've tried to add some extra tetra friendly hide outs for just the 5 of them hoping they'd settle down and the red would come back but there's been no change. I only have 5 of them, maybe that is contributing?

My tank is perfectly cycled and when I did a test a minute ago I got ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate 0 - 5 the line is so slim there.
pH is 6.8 and temperature wanders between 28 and 29C, 29 during the day.

I have a Co2 system added to the tank but nothing they're not used to but for the sake of the live plants I have the light on in the tank for half a day (12 hours).

Sometimes the red comes back a little bit and sometimes it looks like in the picture. Just want them to feel good again

 

[Sam-Baker]

I was hoping someone with some green neon tetra experience could give my boys a quick look, I attached a picture to make it easier.

Is this color loss a sign of a disease or is it stress?

Today was the partial water change day but they've been looking like this for over a week now, before that the red was strong and perfect. They have been kept Angels for a bit that at the end were starting to get territorial, maybe they are still in shock from that? I've tried to add some extra tetra friendly hide outs for just the 5 of them hoping they'd settle down and the red would come back but there's been no change. I only have 5 of them, maybe that is contributing?

My tank is perfectly cycled and when I did a test a minute ago I got ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate 0 - 5 the line is so slim there.
pH is 6.8 and temperature wanders between 28 and 29C, 29 during the day.

I have a Co2 system added to the tank but nothing they're not used to but for the sake of the live plants I have the light on in the tank for half a day (12 hours).

Sometimes the red comes back a little bit and sometimes it looks like in the picture. Just want them to feel good again

The temperature may be stressing them out, fish drop their colour when they are stressed scared and ill, The temp is a little high it should really be around 26 C. The fish will still live in the higher temps but are more comfortable in these, try this it may bring their colour back.

 

[fluttermoth]

They look like perfectly normal green neons to me; the red doesn't normally show up, unless they turn sideways on, then you can see it; a bit anyway.

How long were they red for and how long have you had them?

If you have room in your tank, definitely get some more; they just get better and better the more you have; I've got a shoal of 42 now and they're fantastic, but anything over a dozen and you'll really start to see a difference in them.

Here's a pic of mine taken a couple of weeks ago;

They look pretty much the same to me.

 

[MizuFish]

Sam-Baker
Really? Even if they are breeded into a country where tanks are usually a little warmer? It is impossible for me to get the tank down to 26 as long as it's summer, it's thanks to the AC that I can keep it below 30. I feel so bad for them

fluttermoth
Depending on the angle I can see more of the red but from when I got them until now recently the red was really strong, just like regular tetras but only half way. I've had them for perhaps 1.5 months and the red went away perhaps 1-2 weeks ago? It didn't go away over night it kind of faded a bit so I figured they were stressed because of the tank's atmosphere being a bit tense but that is all fixed now. Maybe I should try get at least 5 more of them and see what happens? 42 sounds amazing, I'm amazed by mine, a tank like that would probably get me fired from not turning up at work at all!

edit after pix: Wow well look at that! They look exactly the same then. Maybe they are doing fine then, just a little stress at times. I think I'll still get a few more though now when I got the space for it!

 

[fluttermoth]

I wouldn't worry about the temp; I've had mine at 28°C with my rams and they've been fine. Your water's perfect for them.

As long as they acting normally and eating well etc, then I wouldn't worry, although it is odd that they lost their red like that; none of mine have ever really shown any red (it's one of the reasons I like them so much; not a big fan of red).

I have mine at the end of my bed; they are amazing, especially when they decide to school for a while

 

[StandbySetting]

Look normal to me too.

 

[MizuFish]

Now I feel really insecure.. no I am sure they were red. They are behaving just like before which is why it has taken me until now to ask about it, I am usually very nervous and annoying with my fish as soon as they do something unusual. Great to hear about the temperature, I was always making sure before buying that they could take my warm tank. Summer this year is showing no mercy.

Hahaha, yeah mine seem to have missed the whole part where I expect them to swim together and copy each other. They do it at times though. A few weeks into having them they started coming up to be fed too, that made me happy to see they were eating for sure instead of just hanging down by the gravel hoping for food miracles to happen.

 

[MizuFish]

Okay now I've gone through some old pictures and I can't find any with the tetras in focus but you can see what red I mean.

View attachment 64169

This is what I'm used to see, this is still a bit faded cause of the angle, they were always red and just angles at times would faint it a bit but from afar they were a blue/green red blur.

 

[MizuFish]

I think I've found the reason behind the color loss, it's kind of embarrassing that I didn't realize this sooner. When posting the thread last night it was past 2 am over here, lately I've been going to bed very late (or perhaps early) 4 am is not unusual. In other words, the lights are on too long. After a longer nights sleep and me turning on the lights later than normally today the red color is back, they're just tired from too much stressful light. What a rookie mistake by me.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I think I've found the reason behind the color loss, it's kind of embarrassing that I didn't realize this sooner. When posting the thread last night it was past 2 am over here, lately I've been going to bed very late (or perhaps early) 4 am is not unusual. In other words, the lights are on too long. After a longer nights sleep and me turning on the lights later than normally today the red color is back, they're just tired from too much stressful light. What a rookie mistake by me.

have you considered buying a timer for the lights? They are very cheap and then you will have a standard length of light exposure everyday.

 

[MizuFish]

I think I've found the reason behind the color loss, it's kind of embarrassing that I didn't realize this sooner. When posting the thread last night it was past 2 am over here, lately I've been going to bed very late (or perhaps early) 4 am is not unusual. In other words, the lights are on too long. After a longer nights sleep and me turning on the lights later than normally today the red color is back, they're just tired from too much stressful light. What a rookie mistake by me.

have you considered buying a timer for the lights? They are very cheap and then you will have a standard length of light exposure everyday.

That might be something, especially for times when I'm not home. I should really shape up though, when I sit with the tank I should turn off the lights on the tank when I mess up my own sleep D;