We have all heard that we should buy fish from a trusted LFS never a chain. We have a couple of tanks and the other day I noticed the neons were on sale at Petco while there for something else not aquarium related. My son has a 20 g long tank with mystery snails and 6 neons and three cherry barbs. All have been fine for some time even though neons are not the best choice due to their liking a bit lower Ph and temps but have been fine nevertheless, the tank is well cycled and maintains a hi level of healthy live bacteria.

Well there I was making a really bad choice.. I felt what the heck the tanks look clean and so I said let me have six neons.

The next am I noticed a small one dead on the filter tube. Now mind you my son is just nine so he takes these matters very serious! I chalked it up to being new and stressed and normal stuff. A few days later two more then another until 6 had died. Assumed they were all a bad batch but was not sure if they were all the new ones... until I saw a dead larger one a day later and another a day later. Today as of this am EVERY NEON HAS DIED THE ORIGINAL SIX AND THE NEWER CHEAPIES! That's 12 in a week. The barbs are fine as are all the mystery snails and all as active as usual. I did all the normal stuff doing partials and so forth. But I should have quarantined them in a smaller tank. Obviously the lesson is obvious here don't but any fish from these chains.

But of greater interest.... what would cause the death of JUST the neons that was obviously related to the new little diseased ones that would not also hurt the Cherry Barbs. All I can think of is that the tolerance must be higher in the bigger more robust Cherry barbs. And oh by the way nitrites,nitrates ammonia, Ph, alkalinity and all levels have maintained in their pristine state through the plague that I am hoping is over even. (using API master test kit of course).

After giving it sometime we will forget neons and go with a few more cherry barbs for a total of maybe six or 8.

I must say the mystery snails do get veggies each day.. They prefer broccoli at night over zucchini like most use and that has been boiled first. But even if their waste production is lager since getting veggie per day the past few months I have a 50 gallon bio wheel filter as well as an aqueon 50 gallon filter with plenty of aeration that keeps things pretty pristine. I always over filter by the way and maintain dual marineland 350's in my 55g (that's four large bio wheels and eight cartridges moving 700gph. . Any thoughts on the wacky neon death would be appreciated.

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Hoopman
Sunny Orlando FL
55G W/Angel, loaches/cats, tetras, rasboras, Two Bio Wheel 350's (8 cartridges and 4 wheels) Dual T5 ATI bulbs which are blue & blue-plus (white), give a saltwater tank look/moons. - 37G w/Angel, Mystery snails, tetras/cherry barbs. Dual 24 inch T5 with same ATI bulbs/moons. Bio wheel filter (dual cartridges and one wheel) and Aqueon single filter Bio cage cartridge, both designed for larger tanks. n

Thats unfortunate i hope a disease wasnt passed to your other fish keep an eye on it. deathco fish are never a good idea i learned that once too.

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Tank
125g african cichlids making it work
75g rimless Reef in progress

Yes, indeed that is strange..I have a shoal of 13 that I've had for years now with only one death to "Neon Tetra Disease" but it sounds as though these poor chaps just up and died on you. Parameters being what you say they were for your water quality, were they (do you think) adults? I have MASSIVE females-I mean to the brink of the high end of growth for the species and I have a few males that are little wee ones-all are 7 years of age. Perhaps they were just unwell babies to begin with. Might the mystery snails have anything to do with it? I hope all is well with the rest of the tank!

I have a 30 gallon tank. I had about a dozen cories, Peppered, Albino, Green. I bought three albinos from Petsmart. Not so smart...the albinos died within a couple of days, and within a week most of the rest of the cories were dead. This tank also had several different Tetras. One of those died, also, and it might have been because of what killed the cories. The other fish in the tank were unaffected. I can only assume the new albinoes I added were the cause, because this tank was very stable before this. I have since restocked with Green Cories, and Black Phantom Tetras. No problems for several months. But it is a lesson to quarantine new fish before adding them.

Odds are, it was bacterial - and a bacterium that exploited the neons' lack of inherited resistance. There are pathogens that are specific to certain types of habitats, and therefore to the fish that evolved in them. It's really common that if you add a farm bred fish to a tank of wilds, the wilds can die and the farm bred just shrugs and carries on. You have probably seen a similar thing with the Cherry barbs having resistance to whatever the new neons were carrying, but the neons being lunch for it.
A lot of wild South American fish from acid water are wide open to standard tank bacterial nasties, as the acidity of their natural habitat kills a lot of bacteria. They have had no need to develop defences.
Cherry barbs, originally Asian and from harder water, probably have different immunity to certain diseases. Then again, keep an eye on them, as resistance is sometimes futile....

Agree! I know it was not the mystery snails they dont bother anything unless they fall on it. the other neons were added when the snails were babies and they were all fine. yes I think it is the source of the little scoundrels that I bought. Poor little dudes. I think since I haver water about 7.4 Ph and 78 degrees maybe Ill stay away from the neons in his tank. I think a few more docile barbs will be good replacements. Its really about all the snails and he has some beauties that are getting pretty large and happy.... but the few fish add a nice little touch. Im going to post a few more pics in my album today as well.

Thanks all! No more chain store fish. Brought back memories of those goldfish we all used to get in the cartons when young. Belly's up soon after!

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Hoopman
Sunny Orlando FL
55G W/Angel, loaches/cats, tetras, rasboras, Two Bio Wheel 350's (8 cartridges and 4 wheels) Dual T5 ATI bulbs which are blue & blue-plus (white), give a saltwater tank look/moons. - 37G w/Angel, Mystery snails, tetras/cherry barbs. Dual 24 inch T5 with same ATI bulbs/moons. Bio wheel filter (dual cartridges and one wheel) and Aqueon single filter Bio cage cartridge, both designed for larger tanks. n