Hi there, sorry my first ever post is an emergency, but I've enjoyed reading your knowledgable fact sheets over the past three months and I really hope you might have some ideas about a solution to my problem.
I have a 60 litre Tetra Art tank that was purchased in November. We cycled it and put the first fish in just before Christmas. 4 x sunset platys, and two ancistrus. One of the ancistrus died about six days in, but the others were healthy. The sunset platys had two babies and they are still alive and thriving. Just before New Year's Eve, we added 2 x white platys and three beautiful blue tailed guppies. Since then we have had no problems at all, no deaths or health related trouble. The white platys have recently started having babies too.
Last Tuesday, I decided to take the plunge and buy 5 x neon tetras. We actually bought the tank because we wanted neon tetras, but I read that they were for more experienced aquarium keepers, so we waitied until we thought we had the hang of it.
Tuesday evening, the first neon disappeared (body never found) on Wednesday, another two died (we found the bodies). I took the fish back to the shop with a water sample. I was told that my water was fine and so I bought three replacement neons.
Thursday, two more of them died and on Friday, another neon and one of my white platy's died.
I started to smell a rat and thought that maybe the neons were diseased and were infecting my other fish, so I went back on Saturday with the bodies and another water sample. The lady in the shop said that although my water sample was fine, the Ph was 8 and that neons like a lower Ph. and that was my problem. I asked about the white platy death, but she said she thought it was a co-incidence that it had died. Anyway, keeping neons seemed a bit too complicated, so on her advice, I bought three tiger barbs and three green barbs. I also did a 50% water change.
Yesterday, we lost one blue guppy and two of the green barbs.
The fish seems to lose their balance and the poor green barb that I watched die, would swim on his back, then float to the bottom, then twitch and come back to the top.
There are no pinpricks or fungus or wounds.
Are my fish being infected by the neons (that are now all dead)? Any ideas what I can do to save the rest of the fish?
I have a 60 litre Tetra Art tank that was purchased in November. We cycled it and put the first fish in just before Christmas. 4 x sunset platys, and two ancistrus. One of the ancistrus died about six days in, but the others were healthy. The sunset platys had two babies and they are still alive and thriving. Just before New Year's Eve, we added 2 x white platys and three beautiful blue tailed guppies. Since then we have had no problems at all, no deaths or health related trouble. The white platys have recently started having babies too.
Last Tuesday, I decided to take the plunge and buy 5 x neon tetras. We actually bought the tank because we wanted neon tetras, but I read that they were for more experienced aquarium keepers, so we waitied until we thought we had the hang of it.
Tuesday evening, the first neon disappeared (body never found) on Wednesday, another two died (we found the bodies). I took the fish back to the shop with a water sample. I was told that my water was fine and so I bought three replacement neons.
Thursday, two more of them died and on Friday, another neon and one of my white platy's died.
I started to smell a rat and thought that maybe the neons were diseased and were infecting my other fish, so I went back on Saturday with the bodies and another water sample. The lady in the shop said that although my water sample was fine, the Ph was 8 and that neons like a lower Ph. and that was my problem. I asked about the white platy death, but she said she thought it was a co-incidence that it had died. Anyway, keeping neons seemed a bit too complicated, so on her advice, I bought three tiger barbs and three green barbs. I also did a 50% water change.
Yesterday, we lost one blue guppy and two of the green barbs.
The fish seems to lose their balance and the poor green barb that I watched die, would swim on his back, then float to the bottom, then twitch and come back to the top.
There are no pinpricks or fungus or wounds.
Are my fish being infected by the neons (that are now all dead)? Any ideas what I can do to save the rest of the fish?
/www.tetra-fish.co.uk/tetra/go/7B505...&lang_id=20
