Neons Being Ravaged!

[jo9]

Hi,

I have a 30 litre tank and have been running it ok for the past 2 months. Our first fish were 3 platys followed by 3 neons. They all got on ok until a few weeks ago we added 3 guppys. The guppys are much livelier and spend a lot of time chasing the other fish nibbling at their poo and tails. Now one of my neons has disappeared. This morning the guppys were chasing a neon around mercilessly nibbling it and now it is dead. The last one is now being chased by one particular platy and one guppy. I know this is a strange question but do they get a taste for blood as it were or will they only eat a dead or dying fish?

I look forward to your answers as I am wondering if my last neon is doomed!

 

[Pleccy]

What are your water parameters?

Also what sex are your guppies? Males of livebearing species (Poeciliidae) are known to be quite boisterous at times.

 

[Athena]

Hi,

I have a 30 litre tank and have been running it ok for the past 2 months. Our first fish were 3 platys followed by 3 neons. They all got on ok until a few weeks ago we added 3 guppys. The guppys are much livelier and spend a lot of time chasing the other fish nibbling at their poo and tails. Now one of my neons has disappeared. This morning the guppys were chasing a neon around mercilessly nibbling it and now it is dead. The last one is now being chased by one particular platy and one guppy. I know this is a strange question but do they get a taste for blood as it were or will they only eat a dead or dying fish?

I look forward to your answers as I am wondering if my last neon is doomed!

I think you may be slightly overstocked on your tank, to be honest. 30L is about UK 6 gallons (or US 7gallons) so if you use the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule (which is just a rough estimate guide) that would give you a total fish length of, say, 7 inches - a few more inches is fine with regular water changes. Before the deaths, you had:

3 platys = approx 6 inches (I've used average adult size)
3 neons = approx 3 inches
3 guppies = approx 4 to 5 inches

Total fish length - 13 - 14 inches

The bullying could be as a result of this. Other than that, neons can be difficult to keep, anyway, as they tend to suffer stress and disease easily and when a fish is showing signs of illness, sometimes other fish in the tank will harrass them to an even earlier death. I've no idea why they do it but I know it happens. Perhaps it's natures way of putting a sick fish out of its misery?

Guppies can be little rotters at fin-nipping, too (especially to each other).

Does your remaining neon appear to be healthy?

Regards - Athena

 

[Pleccy]

As Athena has suggested tetras are quite delicate and it is quite likely that overcrowding is the cause.

 

[jo9]

my guppies are male and definitely boisterous! haven't tested water yet. As for overcrowding - I am confused as have been told i could have up to another 6 small fish! we stopped stocking as they seemed to not have enough space, so I suspect you are right and I have been given some duff advice....I ill watch what happens and keep my numbers low. Thanks 4 advice : )

 

[vinylman]

Unfortunately, Neons are so fragile these days that they're not really recommended until a tank has been cycled AND matured - around 4/5 months. Same goes for Cardinal Tetras. Sorry to say that hardy Guppies are pretty hard to find, too.

 

[Pleccy]

Unfortunately, Neons are so fragile these days that they're not really recommended until a tank has been cycled AND matured - around 4/5 months. Same goes for Cardinal Tetras. Sorry to say that hardy Guppies are pretty hard to find, too.

I agree, with the development and production of fancy strains of the common guppy hardy specimens are almost impossible to find and the wild guppy is more or less extinct in aquatic shops.