Help my neon tetra that had ick has now died

[Brittany Hujar]

My aquarium is falling apart.
I am a beginner at keeping an aquarium. I started off with two goldfish that I won at the fair, which turned into one goldfish because the other died because the tank was too small. Last month the goldfish started getting aggressive because the tank was too small. Go to the pets store invest in an awesome 10 gallon tank with everything that I need for one gold fish, couple hours later the goldfish died. After much research I realized I need to cycle my tank. Do extensive research on how to take care of my tank so that my fish don't die. I now have an african dwarf frog, a sucker fish, and six neon tetra. I keep up with regular water checks since I am still cycling my tank and everything has been fine, and also do regular 25% water changes. I put in API quick start when needed and dechlorinator.

I have had these fish for almost a month. I had a problem with the neon tetra getting stuck in the filter, so I covered it with plants. Yesterday one of my tetra got stuck in the filter and died. I also noticed that my other neon tetra has ICK. I went out and got API liquid super ICK cure. Since I have a frog I have only been putting half the recommended amount. It says treat the water every 48 hours but since I did half the treatment, I did half yesterday and waited 24 hours and did another half a treatment. A couple hours after I treated the tank the tetra with ICK died. I did remove the carbon filter. So what do I do now? Do I keep treating the water? I only have 4 tetra now, and I know that they are a schooling fish. Should I go get more fish because I don't want them do die because they aren't "schooling."

 

[arcab4]

welcome to MFT! here's a few comments about your tank

- cover your filter intake with a sponge not plants. the neon tetras were probably looking for a place to hide so naturally they'll go where the plant is..and unfortunately that's where the filter is hiding.
- neon tetras won't die b/c they're not schooling. they do look better and they'll probably be happier but they won't die.
- i would stop treatment of the ich if it doesn't appear on any other fishes.
- is your tank completely cycled? the last goldfish probably died from the shock of being moved to a new uncycled tank.
- what kind of sucker fish? like the golden algae eater? they're yellow and longish looking.

- never kept a frog but maybe a member can chime in here and say whether or not it's a good idea to keep them in a tropical tank like this?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You would do best to let everything situate with the fish you have now. Give it few weeks to settle and make sure there isn't anything still going on with the remaining neons. As Arcab said, the neons will be fine with 4 for the time being (eventually you can add a few more again).

Typically, if a fish is getting sucked to the filter it is because the fish is starting to go downhill and getting too weak to fight a current. This is assuming an appropriate sized filter for the tank. Neons can be very delicate when first added / transitioning between tanks. Once established they tend to be hardy little buggers.

I had a dwarf frog in college. They do pretty well and are neat - however they are not very good at competing for food. I had to hand feed mine with tweezers. As long as you make sure he's getting enough to eat, and no aggressive tankmates, he should be good. He should not look skinny.

 

[Brittany Hujar]

I was advised by someone at the pet shop that I go to ( and are usually pretty knowledgable) to continue to do the Ich treatment for the whole week since I only did it for a couple of days. Yesterday was day 6 of the treatment, and before putting in the treatment I decided to test the water to make sure everything was ok, and everything checked out fine so I did one more treatment. The only thing it didn't tell me was the ammonia level. My fish seemed healthy and fine until I woke up this morning and one of my tetra died and another was lagging. I also noticed that my sucker fish was coming to the top for air, which I know is a sign of bad water quality. I did another water test and everything checked out fine, but I quickly did a 30% water change (little bit more than usually just to be safe) added dechlorinator and quick start. I noticed that the one tetra seemed to be dying but then a couple minutes later it was fine. So we will see when I get home if everyone has survived. What i'm thinking happened is either the Ich treatment killed the fish or high ammonia levels since I haven't had the filter in for almost a week ( I put the filter back in today after the water change). I'm also down to two, hopefully three, tetra. I will add more in a couple days. I was thinking about getting a shrimp, but is this too much for a 10 gallon tank?

 

[arcab4]

i think it's probably the ammonia levels than the ich treatment. the treatment is to get rid of ich not kill the fishes so i think it's something else than that.

what other tests does your water test kit test for?

 

[Brittany Hujar]

Nitrate-which was at an ideal level
Nitrite- same
Ph-7
Carbonate hardness-ideal level
General hardness- same

My tetra haven't been active as they usually are and aren't "schooling" just hanging out by themselves mostly

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I would also be betting on ammonia. Sometimes the meds also affect your beneficial bacteria, plus having removed the filter removes a portion too. Give it a good two weeks or more before adding any other fish (or shrimp).

Once tetras settle in to a tank, they tend not to really school. Schooling is for protection, and if they are comfortable with no predators they don't hang together. Though they will still group up when threatened (human hands in tank usually).

 

[Brittany Hujar]

Thank you!

 

[Brittany Hujar]

I noticed after doing the water change that the fish were still hanging around the top, so I did another water change. Right before I did the water change another tetra died. I'm down to one tetra. I went and had my water tested because I thought my strips were inaccurate but they said everything tested fine. Would it be better just to take everything out of the tank and start fresh?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Is the filter in now, with the carbon in it? If not I would add it back at this point. It sounds like only the neons have been lost, correct? Usually newly added neons are pretty sensitive fish. Once they are well established they do pretty well.

I'm not sure if it is some form of water issue (contaminant, ammonia (though testing negative), swings in parameters), or a disease. Carbon in the filter will help to remove a contaminant or any residual medication if that is the issue.

I assume you are matching temp fairly closely when doing a large water change. Can test your tank water compared to your tap water with regards to pH? If your tap pH is significantly different from your tank pH, doing a large water change may be an issue for the neons. In that case having the water sit out overnight before using it for a water change can help to even out the pH.