please help...i think my neon is sick

[tessalion]

im new to having fish, i just bought my first few a week ago and I got the neon in question, along with four others yesterday. This afternoon the fish in question started acting really strangely. He was seperated from the others (them at the bottom, him at the top) and sometimes he was gasping for air. All the others were fine. Then a few hours ago he started swimming slightly tilted (tail down). When i fed them he didnt eat anything. Just a few minutes ago he started swimming almost completely vertically and spiraling around the bowl pretty fast, almost banging into the sides. Now he's still swimming tilted and seems to sometimes have no control...is there anything i can do?

 

[Lotus]

Welcome to the site

It sounds to me like he's not going to make it He might get better, but it sounds like he's not acclimating well to your tank.

Is the tank cycled? Have you checked the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates?

 

[tessalion]

its not an actual aquarium, i had a bad experience before so im working my way back up to an aquarium. I have my fish in a couple of different fish bowls so there isnt actually a filter system.

 

[tessalion]

should i seperate him from the others?

 

[Lotus]

I doubt it will make any difference.

 

[noncentric]

its not an actual aquarium, i had a bad experience before so im working my way back up to an aquarium. I have my fish in a couple of different fish bowls so there isnt actually a filter system.

Neon tetras are quite sensitive fish. If they're being kept in fish bowls, then it's unlikely any will survive for long.

Fish bowls aren't much of a stepping-stone to actual aquariums. The best way to work up to an aquarium is to do research on fish types/requirements, equipment options, and most importantly the nitrogen cycle and cycling. There are a lot of online articles and valuable information in the stickies at the tope of these forums (esp. the Freshwater Beginner one).

Most tropical fish need filtered aquariums in order to survive. I'd return the other neons to the store, if possible.

Good luck!

 

[EinNaws]

i have purchased neons 3 times and each time i have lost one. My first group of six all schooled nicley then a week or two later one would leave the school and eventually die *thumbsdow i then went back and bought three more bringing me to eight neons and the same thing happened everything was good until one of the neons peeled of the school and passed on. again i went and purchased three more, same thing, nine neons left. i am hessitent to say expect to lose one at least from a new group but expect to lose one atleast from a new group (unless you are a fish master[i am not])

 

[tessalion]

Thanx for all of your advice, the fish in question died along with another one that same day. I went ahead and took the neons back to the pet store before anymore died, id forgotten how picky they were about their environment. I'll try again with them in a few months when ive got a stable aquarium for them.

 

[noncentric]

Thanx for all of your advice, the fish in question died along with another one that same day. I went ahead and took the neons back to the pet store before anymore died, id forgotten how picky they were about their environment. I'll try again with them in a few months when ive got a stable aquarium for them.

Sorry for the losses, but it sounds like you have a good plan now. You could also start with some hardier fish when you get your new aquarium - something like zebra danios (regular or long-finned), platies, or white cloud mountain minnows.

Good luck!