neons behaving badly ?

[chris2169]

Hi all and thanks in advance for any advice or comments. I'm new to tropicals but have done some research to try and avoid any really stupid errors ! I have a 64l tank which I cycled with tap safe and filter start. Test readings were all good so I began stocking. A few fish each week along with more tests and small water changes. first off 6 small guppies 'bumble bees', a week later 6 neon tetras and finally 6 'sunset' platys. At this point all is well test readings good and all appearantly getting along.
I share all of the above just to set the scene a little. So then I notice one of the platies seems to have a problem with his dorsal fin and a fin on one side, I can't be certain he didn't arrive like that but I'm pretty sure. After several days of paying lots of attention to the tank I found the cause last night, a neon ! I was under the impression they were nice friendly fish ? So I've removed the injured platy into a quarantine tank and kept a close eye on the neons. They appear to be being very aggressive towards eachother. So is this natural neon behaviour or have I done something to cause it ? Am I misunderstanding the neones ? What can I do about them ? Will the poor platy recover ? Thanks for reading all advice, comment gratefully received.

Thanks

Chris

 

[Matt Nace]

I actually have 6 neons in my 10 gallon and they fight among each other. Mine swim togther than fight among each other. I think it is just how they are.

You sure the platy is hurt from the neons...what problem is he having with his fins?

 

[chris2169]

Thanks for the swift reply,

Both fins are smaller than they should be and have ragged edges. Last night I watched one of the neons repeatedly going for the dorsal fin and it certainly looked like he was nipping it.

Chris

 

[jo3olous]

your fish could be showing a little aggression toward each other. I wouldn't say your tank is overstocked, but you loaded your tank with fish that occupy the same area. those are all mid/top dwelling fish so they are bound to butt heads/clash eventually. Next time I would recommend spreading it out more, maybe add more bottom dwellers instead of many schools of mid dwellers

 

[BlueStraggler]

Like jo3 said they are same level dwellers... and stuck together.

..but I think you are a little overstocked in your 16 gallon.
What does the "readings are fine" mean?
If you tested the water, please post the number results to help others better understand your water conditions.

Sunburst platys are beautiful. I vote for keeping them if you decide to downsize*SUPERSMIL

 

[chris2169]

Hi,

I'm using test strips for nitrite, nitrate and amonia and all they tell me is that the results ''ok". I have ordered a more comprehensive kit which I hpe will be here tomorrow, when I have better results I'll post them. Thanks

 

[jo3olous]

Hi,

I'm using test strips for nitrite, nitrate and amonia and all they tell me is that the results ''ok". I have ordered a more comprehensive kit which I hpe will be here tomorrow, when I have better results I'll post them. Thanks

yeah I would wait for the better test kit. The strips are junk, they don't even work half the time and when they do it's still fairly inaccurate. What kind of strips actually say your water is "ok"? lol? confused, anyway the strips should have some kind of chart to explain what the colors mean as far as numbers go

 

[MissFishy]

Two points, first, your tank is overstocked. You will have temperment issues with any fish if they are scrunched up together like yours are. You really need to return some fish.

Second point, your tank is not cycled. Your tank won't cycle with "filter start".

 

[misterking]

Second point, your tank is not cycled. Your tank won't cycle with "filter start".

That may be the case, but the issue he's asking about is the behaviour of his neons, not whether his tank is cycled.

As with most tetras, neons are very inquisitive fish, which often leads to fin-nipping. As others have mentioned, all the fish you own are mid-level dwellers and so they're likely to be a bit cramped on that particular level. The neons might just be trying to get their own space...

...however, it seems a bit strange that just the one fish is being targetted. It may be likely that the platy arrived with some form of disease, maybe fin rot, which it picked up at the fish store. The neons might be picking at it because it's the weaker of the fish and they want an easy target.

I wouldn't say the overall amount of fish is the main problem right now, however it could become a problem in the near future - platies are very prolific breeders and their population can double within a matter of weeks. The same could happen with your guppies (unless you only have males?).

I would personally suggest taking something back to ease things, and then after a couple of weeks when everything's settled (test readings included) add a couple of small bottom-dwellers as already suggested, I'd say nothing bigger than a few corydoras.

 

[MissFishy]

It is common for posters to post about "sick fish" or "aggressive fish" when their biggest problem is going to be the cycling of their tank. "Healing" a sick fish when it's just going to die of ammonia poisoning within weeks is pointless IMO. As is all this talk about swimming levels, etc. It won't matter if the fish are dead anyways.

Take some proactive advice please and read up on cycling a tank, otherwise you won't have fish to worry about anyhow. This means that your tank doesn't have the good bacteria in it that it needs to "eat" your fishes waste, so your fish will soon be swimming in a tank of fish poo.

 

[BlueStraggler]

That may be the case, but the issue he's asking about is the behaviour of his neons, not whether his tank is cycled.

That may be true but the behavior is in most cases directly related to being in an uncycled or cycled tank. Cycled usually means happy/healthy fish and uncycled is vice versa. It is the number one commom mistake for beginners that needs to be addressed.

I have to disagree with your statement that too many fish isn't a problem now and will only become a problem in the near future because problems have already risen. i.e a bee utiful sb platy is being picked on.

 

[misterking]

I don't agree. I think it's very easy for people on this forum to jump on the "your tank isn't cycled" bandwagon and over-complicate the situation.

My first fish were neons, added 2 weeks after I set up my tank. In fact, I pretty much did exactly what was described here apart from different stocking and the fact that I never did any tests on the water. The ammonia levels were probably through the roof but none of my fish ever showed any aggression - thinking back they were probably more subdued than aggressive.

I suppose we'll see whether his tank is cycled when he uses the new test kit, but IMO this won't make a difference to the innate behaviour of fin-nipping exhibited by many tetras.

 

[albena6666]

diying fish

hello...i need advice and help as we set a new tank 17 l with 6 neons and 4 guppies and 1 of the neons and the 2 female guppies died within the last 12 hours...do not know where am i wrong....tested the water and the results were fine....my daughter is crying a lot for the loss,i am worried...please if anyone could help us we will be really really grateful
#THANK YOU

 

[misterking]

I think this ^ is a case where cycling will come into it. So a few questions:

1. Did you cycle your tank, if so how, and how long for?
2. What are you using to take readings and what did they say exactly? Did you measure ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, temperature?
3. How long have the fish been in there?

The problem is, a 17 litre tank is only about 3 or 4 gallons - I'm guessing it's one of these pink mermaid ones or black pirate ones? A good guideline to follow for people new to fishkeeping is "one inch of fully grown fish per gallon". Unfortunately, this means your tank can only safely take 3 inches of fully grown fish and is very much overstocked - I would personally keep only one fish in it, a single betta.

However it'd be more than useful to know the exact readings as listed above

 

[MissFishy]

Unfortunately, setting up a tank and just adding fish is already a complicated situation. Especially if you've overstocked the tank and haven't bothered to cycle it. I jump on the "cycling bandwagon" because that's usually the root cause of almost every problem I've contributed to on this forum in the 3 years I've been a member.

Albena, you'd be best to start your own thread.