Neon Tetras won't eat

[Mike]

I had posted about 5 months ago about my first fish: several goldfish
and a betta. Although you might remember that all of my goldfish died,
my betta is still living well and strong! He's in a 10G tank, all by
himself, with a few artificial plants.

I recently decided to give him some company with a handful of neon
tetras (3, to be exact). Luckily, I had another 5G tank that I could
use for quarantine, which I filled about 1/2 way with water from the
betta tank (roughly 2 days after a 10% water change). The water temp
is 74-76, the pH was about 7.2, and there are no plants in the 5G
tank. I have a meter-thing that's supposed to change colors if
ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite reach dangerous levels, but since it's
never changed, I don't know if that means all is well, or that it's
not working; however, the betta has been OK, so I'm guessing it's
working.

From the get-go, the neons didn't do so well. I took a long, long time
acclimating them to the water (I'd say, roughly 2 hours of adding a
1/2 cup of aquarium water to the bag they came in, then taking 1/2 cup
out), so I doubt they went into shock, but the next day, one of the
tetras was already dead. A few hours later, a second one was dead. So
far, after 3 days, the third one is alive, but doesn't move around a
lot, and hasn't eaten yet.

Since he's alive, and will move pretty fast if I try to net him, I'm
hoping that maybe he's just in need of a good meal. I've been trying
to feed him TetraMin tropical granules, since that's what Wal-Mart (my
only LFS, and where I bought the neons) said they fed them, but the
granules are massive in relation to the fish's mouth so I've been
crumbling them up. Unless he eats after I walk away, the food moving
right by his face doesn't interest him in the slightest.

Any suggestions?

[Flash Wilson]

On 19 Apr 2004 22:29:16 -0700, Mike > wrote:
>after 3 days, the third one is alive, but doesn't move around a
>lot, and hasn't eaten yet.
>
>Since he's alive, and will move pretty fast if I try to net him, I'm
>hoping that maybe he's just in need of a good meal. I've been trying
>to feed him TetraMin tropical granules, since that's what Wal-Mart (my
>only LFS, and where I bought the neons) said they fed them, but the
>granules are massive in relation to the fish's mouth so I've been
>crumbling them up. Unless he eats after I walk away, the food moving
>right by his face doesn't interest him in the slightest.
>
>Any suggestions?

Hi,

I'm not an expert - I keep some cardinals which I think are a little
hardier than neons - but I hope I can hope you a little.

Firstly, I had a similar rate with my cardies. I bought ten. About
six died and were replaced. One of those died and was replaced.
I think this is a problem with the shop (which sold them to me
on the day of arrival, with no quarantine, I later discovered)
but I'm prepared to accept it might be partly my fault as they
were my first tetras.

Anyway, I feed them hikari micro pellets. These are like dust
and float initially, then as a fish rises to peck some, it knocks
some other pieces into the water, which sink and are eaten by
the other fish. They are very small and easily eaten. I would
definitely recommend them for small fish. What's more, bigger
fish leave them alone, so the small fish do get a meal no matter
how bossy their tankmates!

Also, what temperature are you keeping the fish at, and how
hard is your water? You mention that your ammonia/nitrite
alarm hasn't triggered, well neons like sof****er at around
23-26C. Perhaps these are some other things you need to consider?

I also provide plenty of plants in which the cardies can hide,
and they seem to appreciate it. Perhaps your neons would also
like some shelter, if they don't have any. Also the colours
look great against the green!

Hope that helps to some extent, sorry I cant offer any more
detailed advice.



--
if you make me wait then I will be
it's the only thing in life keeps me open
you know where to find me, while I am alive
and you will know where to find me, if I have been broken

[Gail Futoran]

Hey guys -

I've been trying to find a bunch of pygmy corys for
ages, finally called a LFS downtown I hadn't
visited before, and they had gotten in 100 or so
C. Habrosus last week! I was so excited. :) I drove
down immediately (didn't ever shower after working
in the yard <g>) and bought 14. At 3 for a dollar,
if I had more space I would have gotten more. (I
think they were under-priced, considering how
hard it is to find them.)

They're really small, of course, and I divided them
among three tanks to give them every chance to
survive. Wish me luck!

Gail
near San Antonio TX USA

[Chris Palma]

Good luck!

I hadn't heard of c. habrosus. I had 12 pygmy corys, now down to 9 after
a few died. I *think* that mine are corydoras pygmaeus, since they look
like the picture at FishBase:

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Corydoras&speciesname=pygmaeus

My LFS here in central PA seems to have a pretty good supplier for these
fish, but he charges $3 each!

The 9 that I have left seem to be doing *really* well. They are fun to
watch. Every once in a while 4 or 6 of them will gather in one spot then
decide to swim as a school for a few laps around the aquarium before
settling back down. They also tend to try and school with all of the
other species in my tank -- I've seen the corys swim with the threadfin
rainbows (watching them try to keep up is pretty funny), the Oto, and
occasionally even with my pygmy cichlids (d. maculatus).

I hope yours all survive and thrive. keep us posted!

--chris


On Tue, 20 Apr 2004, Gail Futoran wrote:

> Hey guys -
>
> I've been trying to find a bunch of pygmy corys for
> ages, finally called a LFS downtown I hadn't
> visited before, and they had gotten in 100 or so
> C. Habrosus last week! I was so excited. :) I drove
> down immediately (didn't ever shower after working
> in the yard <g>) and bought 14. At 3 for a dollar,
> if I had more space I would have gotten more. (I
> think they were under-priced, considering how
> hard it is to find them.)
>
> They're really small, of course, and I divided them
> among three tanks to give them every chance to
> survive. Wish me luck!
>
> Gail
> near San Antonio TX USA
>
>
>


NB: This email address is dead. If you would like to email me directly,
please use: cpalmaATSYMBOLastro.psu.edu

[Elizabeth Naime]

Quoth "Gail Futoran" > on Tue, 20 Apr
2004 13:30:26 GMT,

>They're really small, of course, and I divided them
>among three tanks to give them every chance to
>survive. Wish me luck!

Good luck!!

Also, congratulations for finding them at such an affordable price!


-----------------------------------------
Only know that there is no spork.

[Gail Futoran]

"Chris Palma" > wrote in
message
...
>
> Good luck!
>
> I hadn't heard of c. habrosus. I had 12 pygmy corys, now
down to 9 after
> a few died. I *think* that mine are corydoras pygmaeus,
since they look
> like the picture at FishBase:
>
>
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Corydoras&speciesname=pygmaeus

Try this site:
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/Cpygmaeus.html

It's the site I used to make sure of the ID of
the fish I bought. It looks like the most differences
are in the tails. My C. habrosus definitely have
the speckled tail.

> My LFS here in central PA seems to have a pretty good
supplier for these
> fish, but he charges $3 each!

I was more than willing to pay that much or more
to get a few.

> The 9 that I have left seem to be doing *really* well.
They are fun to
> watch. Every once in a while 4 or 6 of them will gather
in one spot then
> decide to swim as a school for a few laps around the
aquarium before
> settling back down. They also tend to try and school with
all of the
> other species in my tank -- I've seen the corys swim with
the threadfin
> rainbows (watching them try to keep up is pretty funny),
the Oto, and
> occasionally even with my pygmy cichlids (d. maculatus).

Do you recall what you fed them when you
first got them? My main concern right now is
to make sure they get enough food, since they're
so small.

> I hope yours all survive and thrive. keep us posted!

Thanks - I will.

Gail

[Gail Futoran]

"Elizabeth Naime" > wrote in message
...
> Quoth "Gail Futoran" > on
Tue, 20 Apr
> 2004 13:30:26 GMT,
>
> >They're really small, of course, and I divided them
> >among three tanks to give them every chance to
> >survive. Wish me luck!
>
> Good luck!!
>
> Also, congratulations for finding them at such an
affordable price!

Thanks. I was happy to be able to buy "extras".
I was willing to pay up to about $10 each (shows
you how much I know about fish prices!) and
at that price I wouldn't have bought 14. :)

Gail

[Chris Palma]

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004, Gail Futoran wrote:

> "Chris Palma" > wrote in
> message
> ...

<snip>

> >
> Try this site:
> http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/Cpygmaeus.html
>
> It's the site I used to make sure of the ID of
> the fish I bought. It looks like the most differences
> are in the tails. My C. habrosus definitely have
> the speckled tail.
>

Mine look like the large picture at the top of the page, which I think are
C. pygmaeus.

>
> Do you recall what you fed them when you
> first got them? My main concern right now is
> to make sure they get enough food, since they're
> so small.
>

I was just feeding some finely crushed flake & crushed freeze dried
bloodworms to my other fish, and I assumed the corys were getting food
from the leftovers in the substrate. I put some algae wafers in my tank,
but the more agrressive feeders eat them, too, so I don't know exactly
what the corys are getting.

--chris

[NetMax]

"Gail Futoran" > wrote in message
...
> "Chris Palma" > wrote in
> message
>
...
<snip>
>
> Do you recall what you fed them when you
> first got them? My main concern right now is
> to make sure they get enough food, since they're
> so small.

Anything small enough to get down their throat. Try to see if they eat
frozen baby brine shrimp. Getting them to eat is only part of the
problem. You would like to have them fed more than once or twice a day.
Try feeding 3 or 4 times a day for a while. I keep Java moss with mine.
All sorts of critters live in a mature clump of Java moss, keeping them
snacking all day long. A mature planted tank will provide more
opportunities for them to find critters, than a new sterile tank. A
small chunk of frozen beefheart can be left in the tank for many hours,
providing a steady supply of food, but I have no idea if they would be
able to eat this. It initially would be an unsuitable texture, but
perhaps as it dissolved, it might be palatable. Some of the frozen
'community menu' foods might be more suitable. They are not herbiverous,
but might nibble on a small slice if zuchinni, experiment. The objective
is to keep them in a relatively steady supply of something to eat.

Just some ideas. Good luck with them, and good price!
NetMax

> > I hope yours all survive and thrive. keep us posted!
>
> Thanks - I will.
>
> Gail
>
>

[Gail Futoran]

"Chris Palma" > wrote
[snip]
Gail asked:
> > Do you recall what you fed them when you
> > first got them? My main concern right now is
> > to make sure they get enough food, since they're
> > so small.
> >
>
> I was just feeding some finely crushed flake & crushed
freeze dried
> bloodworms to my other fish, and I assumed the corys were
getting food
> from the leftovers in the substrate. I put some algae
wafers in my tank,
> but the more agrressive feeders eat them, too, so I don't
know exactly
> what the corys are getting.
>
> --chris

Ok, that sounds promising. :) Mine seem to go
after any sinking tablets I put into the tanks.

Gail

[Gail Futoran]

"NetMax" > wrote
[snip]
Gail asked about feeding the little guys:
> Anything small enough to get down their throat. Try to
see if they eat
> frozen baby brine shrimp. Getting them to eat is only
part of the
> problem. You would like to have them fed more than once
or twice a day.
> Try feeding 3 or 4 times a day for a while. I keep Java
moss with mine.
> All sorts of critters live in a mature clump of Java moss,
keeping them
> snacking all day long. A mature planted tank will provide
more
> opportunities for them to find critters, than a new
sterile tank. A
> small chunk of frozen beefheart can be left in the tank
for many hours,
> providing a steady supply of food, but I have no idea if
they would be
> able to eat this. It initially would be an unsuitable
texture, but
> perhaps as it dissolved, it might be palatable. Some of
the frozen
> 'community menu' foods might be more suitable. They are
not herbiverous,
> but might nibble on a small slice if zuchinni, experiment.
The objective
> is to keep them in a relatively steady supply of something
to eat.

Ok, that fits pretty much in with my thinking. This
morning I fed them Hikari Tropical Algae Wafers
(the Otos also like those) and later some frozen
(thawed) brine shrimp. I also have Hikari Tropical
Micro Pellets I got for my Neon Tetras and I'll
probably give them some of that this afternoon.

All tanks are planted and are mature to one
degree or another. The least mature tank (about
3 months established) with the most C. habrosus
has a clump of ball moss (in addition to the other
plants), which may or may not be Java Moss, I
can't quite figure it out. :) I put zucchini slices in
the tanks this morning for the otos, and I'm
checking periodically to see if the corys are
interested. Fascinating little guys!

> Just some ideas. Good luck with them, and good price!
> NetMax

Thanks again -
Gail