Lost all 5 neon tetras in 2 days

[kkoch]

Bought 5 neons from Petco and lost all 5 in 2 days. Water parameters are fine. No bullies in the tank that I could see. They got a new batch in and I put 10 neons in. Could the first 5 have been a bad batch? We will see how these 10 do.

[AVN]

Did you acclimate them? Usually it's pH shock or stress from transfers that would kill off large numbers of new fish suddenly.

[kkoch]

I put the bag in for 15+ minutes for temp acclimation. I have been using test strips up until I bought a master test kit tonight. I have not used it yet so I hope the new klan will not have issues. Petco used test strips to test my water. I was surprised by that. I hope to use my new test kit tomorrow to get better test measurements. I never had mass deaths like this before.

[AVN]

You acclimated them for temperature, but did you acclimate them for pH? (You didn't get them used to the other parameters of your water too, temperature is not the only one)

The water at Petco might have a different pH than the water in your tank, if drop your Tetra from one to the other and the difference is too much,

BAM!

Dead fish.

[kkoch]

I have never drip acclimated before. Never had an issue. I usually do not buy my fish from Petco either. If the new 10 do not make it, I will have to start DA with new additions.

[AVN]

I don't drip, I just pour a bit of my tank water into the bag they're in while they're adjusting to temp.

It only happens when the difference is severe. Although, that might not even be the reason why your fish died.

[evilhorde]

I have a small bucket that fits inside my tank. It's maybe 4 litres. I drop a stone in the bottom of it, then the fish and fishstore water in, and then I float it all in my tank. periodically as I remember to, I squirt an ounce or so of tank water into the container using a turkey baster (AKA gigantic eye dropper). When the bucket gets nearly full, the temp is the same, and the pH should be very close.

(for the first few squirts, I only use about a half ounce of tank water, and I dribble it in slowly.)

[Blackheart]

Neons in general are very sensitive. I bought 15 from petco the other day, too, and it was only sunday, and now I'm down to 12.

[kkoch]

Lost one of my 10 new neons I put in last night. Probably will find more deceased when I get home tonight. Frustrating! Thank God they were only $1 a piece.

[acitydweller]

Neons are one of those fish that are bred in pools by the thousands and heavily medicated against bacteria. They go though a heck of a lot before finally reaching our tanks.

Its good practice to get into the habit of acclimation, not to mention quarantine as they minimize the amount of stress on your livestock. Its more about being responsible for a living thing than doing what's convenient.

[chevyguy8893]

Drip acclimating has made acclimating sensitive fish much easier for me. I bought 6 a while ago from petsmart when they were a dollar. They drip acclimated slowly for around 4 hours when the water volume was tripled. Haven't lost one of them. I do the same for GBR's and angelfish. I know drip acclimation isn't something everyone wants to do, but it works well and it is cheap to make. Although, it would be nice to have the in tank drip acclimation, so then there isn't a temperature drop . Also, adding a few drops of prime to the water during acclimation helps relieve some other stressors if the store doesn't add prime or something similar.

[james1542]

It could very well be your water parameters, but you need to tell us.
Temp:
pH:
GH:
KH:
before we can figure anything out.
But generally speaking, neons are sensitive, Petco has dead fish piled up on their filter intakes and their fish have likely been exposed to some pathogen thanks to their rack systems-so the odds are very much against you buying fish there.

[zzrguy]

I made a simple DA setup with a air line and valve it works good and I let the drip go for two or three hours or till I fill the gallon bucket 3/4 to 7/8 the way up. Then let the fish settle a little longer then feed them if they eat they good to go if not they are going in anyway but hunger.

[kkoch]

Got home last night and my remaining 9 neons were all alive. Yeah! They were hungry and added a colorful view to the feeding. Used my Master Water Test kit for the first time since purchase on Tues. PH was high at 7.6, Ammonia .25, Nitrate 10, Nitrite 0. Whats the easiest way to get the PH down to 7.0?

[Steveboos]

I agree that drip or slow acclimation is the only safe way to ad fish to a tank. You can never trust the store to have similar pH, some managers put TONS of Alkalinity or Buffer blocks in their tanks, put tons of chemicals in, or just don't maintain the systems like they should. All of this leads to a change in pH, Alkalinity, and Hardness, all which can kill fish very quickly.

Your pH is OK for Neons, not perfect, but they will adjust to it. If you want to lower it, add some driftwood for consistency, but to be honest, those fish are probably already used to a 7.4-7.8 pH.

Now the big question is next time you go into Petco, ask them to test THEIR water and show you. That makes a huge difference!