Loaches Online Forum

So yesterday when I was at work, Dad, being on holidays, went out and bought 10 Neon Tetra's for my Clown Loach tank. At first i was a bit put off by it thinking of all the diseases they might brought with em...But being a schooling fish they looked nice and gave my clowns the courage to come out and play and act stupid alot more then usual.

This morning i woke up and everybody is quiet again, even the tetras were hiding in a corner. This afternoon i check in on em all and find one of the tetras dead being sucked into the filter inlet...Fair enough, I look around 20 minutes later and find one playing in the current....only to see him stop swimming at all and have the current push him into the rocks....and now I can't find him to be sure if he died or was just being ultra lazy. So i go and do some research to find that there tank conditions are completely different... Should I try and catch what tetras i can..( ) and put them in a different tank...or just leave them in there and hope that they adapt?

Yeah those tetras won't be enjoying that much current. I've never kept neons but I know my cardinals all drop to the substrate in amongst the wood and plants the moment a net goes in the tank. I couldn't catch them without dismantalling the tank. Best of luck!

To begin, the tetras seemed to love the current. They'd sit beneath the outlet holes, and then dart into the current for a few seconds, jump out, and then do it again. But now they stay out of the currents way....must have got too tiring for em...If I find any more dead one's tomorrow morning....I might try and grab what i can with a net and chuck em in dads tank. I'm also getting to the point where I should be looking for a bigger Loach Tank *sigh* stupid money, Gonna have to try and con dad into making me a bigger one...

I suspect transport shock. The tetras should be able to adapt to your tank's conditions but need to acclimate slowly. Tetras don't take changes very well so there is no use in trying to move them again. The tougher ones will hopefully pull through.

Survival of the fittest eh
Anyway, So far i've pulled out 2 dead ones, I'm not sure, but i think the other fish have been pecking at their flesh, I'd guess after they died maybe. I've only been able to count 7 tetras in there so far, so that is one unaccounted for....whether he's been sucked into the filter, been eaten, is dead and hiding, or is just dead.

All the other ones seem to be fine now, they hate the light, but come out and play once they go off.

Thanks, should have realised it was just transport shock. Was just a bit of a shock/worry on my behalf.