I Think I Am A Cardinal Tetra Killer :(

[RobberyinCSharp]

I recently purchased 5 Cardinal Tetras for my 20 gallon tank. They are homed with three Sparkling Gouramis, two Otto Cats and a German Blue Ram. The tank has been cycled since July of last year. I put their transport bag in the new tank for about 40 minutes to acclimate them to the tank temperature. They have no signs of illness (such as ich or fungus). My water parameters are good: pH = 7.4, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate < 5.0, Ammonia = 0.

After about an hour of being in the new tank, there was one cardinal tetra dead. I figured he/she must have been a weaker tetra stressed by transport.
24 hours later, two more of my cardinal tetras are dead.

The blue ram is in no way, shape or form harassing them. She's actually quite content by herself. There is vegetation in my tank.

What am I doing wrong? I don't want any more tetras to die

 

[fidjet2]

Did you slowely add water into the bag in those 40 mins?

 

[ZoddyZod]

cardinals have a reputation for being quite fragile during transport. They can literally drop dead from shock.

Did you have the aquarium lights turned off and ensured that the room was dimly lit during the introduction? This can alleviate their stress.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Did you slowely add water into the bag in those 40 mins?

I did not, I only added the bag to the water to acclimate for temp.

cardinals have a reputation for being quite fragile during transport. They can literally drop dead from shock.

Did you have the aquarium lights turned off and ensured that the room was dimly lit during the introduction? This can alleviate their stress.

My room lights were on though the aquarium ones weren't. I'm glad to know that other people find them sensitive. I hear how they're hardy all the time, but I've had them die in the past on me as well. I'll have to bring about the new tetras in a darker room environment

 

[TropicalJuwel]

Also add more numbers than 5, they like to be in bigger groups and take comfort from having more of there own kind around. A shoal of 10 would be better.

 

[Swainy]

Also add more numbers than 5, they like to be in bigger groups and take comfort from having more of there own kind around. A shoal of 10 would be better.

+1

 

[fidjet2]

You should add water slowely over a period of time. this helps them adjust to the water parameters so it is a bit less of a shock for them You can do this in a couple of different ways-
-some people leave the fish in the bag and float on top of the water and every 10 minutes or so take a little bit of water out of the bag and put that down the sink, then add a little bit of tank water.
-another way is to put the fish and water from bag into a bucket and slowely add water from the tank.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

So I did that with my replacement tetras I bought today. My fish were slowly acclimated to the tank and the water. At first, all of them were fine. About 7 hours later I've just found my first tetra dead. There are now four left. While I watched the tank, I noticed a few brave souls who would approach the ram directly, in her territory. She would nip to indicate that she didn't want them there. They would leave but come back a few moments later!!! What the heck?! And then they'd appear direly stressed until they died.
And now, one of my sparkling Gouramis must have built a nest because a male is getting super nasty and picking on them. I'm noticing signs of stress...

God, I'm a cardinal tetra killer!

 

[Tizer]

cardinals have a reputation for being quite fragile during transport. They can literally drop dead from shock.

Did you have the aquarium lights turned off and ensured that the room was dimly lit during the introduction? This can alleviate their stress.

An interesting fact, if you didnt know it already, but Cardinals and other small tetras, Rummynose especially can "play dead" when being transported, so often when they are on their sides in the bags as you add them to your aquarium, you might think they are dead so dont put them in the tank but the bin instead. They soon spring back to life when they feel safe.

In the case of this thread though, im not so sure whats knocking them off, fish dont have to be attacked to get stressed, they just have to be in range with no cover to hide in, so that could be it.

 

[the_lock_man]

An interesting fact, if you didnt know it already, but Cardinals and other small tetras, Rummynose especially can "play dead" when being transported, so often when they are on their sides in the bags as you add them to your aquarium, you might think they are dead so dont put them in the tank but the bin instead. They soon spring back to life when they feel safe.

You're so clever, Tizer.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

In the case of this thread though, im not so sure whats knocking them off, fish dont have to be attacked to get stressed, they just have to be in range with no cover to hide in, so that could be it.

My tank is pretty well planted and has driftwood though I have swords, wisteria, and banana plants....is it possible my sparkling Gouramis took advantage of the vegetation and built a nest? I've noticed some new aggression in one male that I've never noticed before