FishProfiles.com Message Forums

My neons don't seem to eat much. I feed them the tetra granules that my Betta eats and I make sure the food sinks. They don't go to the top of the water to eat and can only catch a few granules. If I feed enough for them to eat good then I am making alot more waste because 3/4 of the food sinks untouched. I tried flakes in the beginning but they don't go for them. Should I try the flakes again and break them up into tiny pieces or is there a good small food that they will eat. I am asking because one of my neons just died. It was pale and kinda skinny and part of its tail was missing. Because of the paleness and being skinny I think it didn't eat good. But I thought maybe my Betta went after it. Not sure though. He isn't that aggressive from what I observe. Do I just have some picky neons?

*Kristin*

A lack of appetite usually signals that something else is wrong with the fish. What are your tank parameters? (pH, ammonia level, nitrite, tank size, # of inhabitants and what they are). Your neons should be voracious eaters gobbling up any food you put in there. I suspect something else caused the death of your neon. What that something else might be I can't speculate on without more info.

My tank is 10g. I have 7 neons now, a Betta, and 3 Yoyo loaches which won't be in there for long. pH is 7.6, ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate is 10. I have 1 anubias nana, wisteria, an ozelot sword, a crypt wendtii, and dwarf sag plants. I have had 5 of the neons for about 2 weeks and this past weekend I got 3 more. The Betta seems content. I have not seen him chase any other fish. He hangs out at the top and rarely goes to the bottom while the neons stay in the middle or near the bottom.

*Kristin*

How have the 5 you have had for the past two weeks been eating? Have you gotten all of your neons from the same source? It could be an internal bacterial infection that your neons have. I would ask someone at the pet store to feed the neons they have and watch them eat to see if they aren't eating also.
Another thing it might be is your three yoyo loaches. Yoyos are fairly peaceful, but neons would look awfully good to yoyos. How big are your yoyos? If they can fit or almost fit the neons into their mouths, they might be picking on them at night. Watch the tank at night with the lights off to see if this might be happening. Everything might seem ok during the day, but at night it might be a whole different story.
Let me know what you find out.
Patrick

My yoyo's are new. They are only 1.5-2.0 inches...not very big. The first 5 came from a different place than the new 3. None of them are aggressive eaters. I will watch at night and see if anything is happening. The neons ate pretty good last night. I gave them some frozen bloodworms and they liked them. But not real aggressive like you said they should be. Thanks for the help and I'll let you know what I see.

*Kristin*

the ph is alittle high for acidic S.A fishes like neons, though they are being breed in "modern" systems so there tolerance is higher, but that could have something to do with it. when i had mines, i used "colorbits" they are very large but my neons/cardinals loved them. try water fleas/worms.

like u know the loaches should be moved soon.

They should eat just about any comercial fish food. Tropical fish flakes should be fine.

Ok. They seem to be doing better. I just turned the lights off and I'm gonna give it a little while then go see what's happening. Just to make sure nothing is picking on them. The loaches will be moved. I will leave them in there for a couple more weeks to get rid of the snails then they will go in my 55g. They are still very small so a couple more weeks will be fine.

*Kristin*

I feed my Tetras sinking Granules & Flakes.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

I find tetra prima a bit tough for small neons, just crumble the flake food when you pop it in and youll have no problems.They cope with softer foods like bloodworm just fine too.

I would suspect the primary reason for non feeding is enviromental stress from water quality,disease, disturbance possibly from the owner or aggression from other fish, or lack of cover, The importance of a dark substrate and a dimly lit tank is often underrated by hobbyists. Sometimes it takes a large shoal for them to feel confident. I have more success when I keep them in groups of about 15 or more.



Last edited by longhairedgit at 12-Nov-2005 01:11

nitraite 10?? should it be 0 or am i wrong[img src='/images/forums/halo.gif' border=0]

nope...nitrAte is ok up to 40ppm. It is better if it is less than 40. NitrItes are supposed to be 0. :%)

edit: longhairedgit..my neons are eating better now..but still hiding. I am planning to up them to 10 soon and see if it helps their timidness. Thanks for the advice!


Last edited by GirlieGirl8519 at 25-Nov-2005 23:45

*Kristin*

Good stuff, glad they are eating ok. Plenty of plants and a bigger tank, and maybe a bigger group should help them settle in nicely . Dont forget the black gravel if you can get it. About a half dose of blackwater extract will help too, despite neons not actually being a strictly blackwater species it helps to reduce the chances of a NTD infection, but overdoing it will lead to tannic dropsy.

Btw Nitrite should be 0 , and for tetras nitrate will need to be less than 40 ppm.

Hope the tank move will go well for you and your fish, neons arent the best movers, but once the acclimation is over im sure you will have better results with them. Dont forget to match temps as closely as possible before the move, and bag them at let the bag sit in the new tank for at least 20 minutes.
Folks tend to forget that once the fish are already at home and just swap them over, not good.

Id go for a 25 or a 30 over a 10 just because of ease of keeping the water quality, but obviously if space and budget are an issue you might not want to do that. Whatever you do, keep the old tank handy for a QT . Better to have one and not need it than need one and not. I say this because I have a feeling more fish are in your future Telepathy that is.lol.



Last edited by longhairedgit at 28-Nov-2005 03:01

Last edited by longhairedgit at 28-Nov-2005 03:02