help with neons

[jphan]

i have a group of neons for about 6 months now and for the past week 1 would die each day. I tested my water yesterday and everything is fine so is this a neon tetra disease or something? all my other fishes are fine. and if it is neon tetra disease does it affect cardinals too? i need ur input guys

[@marko@]

are they getting pale before they die?

[jphan]

i have no idea they all look fine during the day all eating well and stuff but every morning i wake up and see one dead on the substrate and getting eaten by my shrimps

[TLH]

Cardinals can still get it but it's not as common in them as in Neons.

Could there be something getting in your tank that you can't test for like copper or detergents etc?

[@marko@]

if they dont get pale i dont think its neon disease.

[jphan]

could it be the heat? my tank is past 86 on the thermometer and its the stupid heat wave were having and i already lost one crystal red shrimp to the heat

[@marko@]

that could be it. thats pretty high, but its not the heat thats killing your fish. you say you find dead fish in the morning, so they die at night (thats a crucial peice of information). they are dying from lack of oxygen. the reason its at night is because thats when plants arent making oxygen, but using it up. there just isnt enough to go around. put in some ice in a bag before going to bed and increase aireation at night.

[lauraleellbp]

The heat may have something to do with it as well- neons are not found in nearly as high water temps as cardinals are, and the mid-to-high 80s is definitely hot for them. May be the heat is the underlying stressor and oxygen depletion is the straw that keeps breaking the camel's back, so to speak. Hot water is also very oxygen-poor, and combine that with the O2 loss from plant uptake at night...

[jphan]

could be i hope that will solve the problem

[CobraGuppy]

wow, after reading this thread, i am pretty scared for my neons.

The tank temp is 86-87 degrees and i have diy c02 running at night.

[lauraleellbp]

Keep in mind that fish CAN be acclimated to different temps than normal, over time, but temp SWINGS are the big issue. That being said, IMO keeping most fish in the mid-to-high 80s will dramatically shorten their lifespan b/c it speeds up metabolism, and will always be a source of stress for most species.