# Neon tetras died within 3 hours of buying them, help!



## artlover (May 14, 2010)

New here, hi! I have a twenty gallon tank with three black tetras and three platies. It's been three months and no problems... today I introduced five neon tetras and after about three hours I found every single one of them stuck to the filter dead. The ph is 6.8, temp is 80... the other fish are fine and I can't figure out what happened! I'd like to buy more but won't if there is a possibility this will happen again- help!


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## Guest (May 14, 2010)

few basic questions:

1: how is the stock at the lfs u picked these fellows up from?
2: how long were they in the packet?


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## artlover (May 14, 2010)

Thanks for the reply!

The fish at the store seem to be fine... they were in the plastic bag (I think that's what you mean by packet, sorry if I'm wrong!) for about half an hour... my husband did drop the bag on the counter (not sure if they could've died from shock or something, it was a foot long drop)...


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## Guest (May 14, 2010)

that could be the reason and also shock: could be that the water chemistry of your tank wasnt the same as the one in the shop. neons are delicate darlings.


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## artlover (May 14, 2010)

Thanks for the info... so, if I get new neon tetras, do you think they will survive? I think they're beautiful and would love to have them in my tank, but I don't want anymore deaths!!!!


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

I always feel bad for people who experience these kinds of things but I think we've all had this happen at least once so we feel your pain artlover.

As for getting more, it wouldn't hurt to try. How did you introduce them into your tank? Did you let the bag float for about 10 minutes before putting them in or did you just dump them in right away?


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

Tetras can be delicate so you need to be sure to acclimate them before you put them in the tank. In addition to floating the bag (this helps equalize the water temp slowly) you need to gradually introduce your tank water into the bag water with them. You can do this through a drip system or dip about 1/2 cup of water out of the bag, throw it away, and put 1/2 cup of your tank water into the bag. Do this about every 15 mins for about an hour. Then NET the fish and put them in your tank. NEVER dump the water from the store into your own tank. Turn off the lights and let them get used to their surroundings for a few hours or over night. This will help reduce the stress from the move.
It's always a good idea to quarantine new fish for a couple of weeks before putting them in your tank in case they have a disease from the store so you don't infect your fish and end up with bigger problems. 
Good luck with your next new fish!


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

I don't know where you live, but your pH is pretty much perfect for Neons. The temp is a bit high, though. It's still fine, but a lot higher than I'd expect to see at the petshop, and I'd certainly expect the store's water to have a pH in the high 7's. I'm only guessing and going on national averages, but transfer shock is the most obvious cause of your problem, and it's almost certainly because the pH & temperature are changing too rapidly.

So then, yes, acclimation is the answer. Buggy already gave you the rundown on that. Over time you'll learn which fish are more delicate than others and thusly need more gradual acclimation. By the way, never acclimate fish which have been in a fishbag for over a day. The water in the bag will have had it's pH drop very much in such a case, and the bag will be full of ammonium. Acclimation will raise the pH, turning that ammonium into ammonia, and that would wipe out all the fish.

While it's never a good idea to let any petshop water get into your tank for numerous reasons, disease isn't the biggest problem in that regard, since any fish would already be infected with whatever nasties may be in that water. As such, you will be doing yourself a HUGE favor by setting up a quarantine "tank" ( _it doesn't have to be an actual aquarium_ ) of some sort into which you put ALL new fish for a few weeks before adding them to your main tank.


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