ikekrull Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Hi there, I have recently got my little 38 liter (AquaOne AR380) tank cycled, and am now thinking of adding some more fish. Currently the tank has 3 platies and 2 small bronze cories for cleanup crew, but I would like to keep a small school of neons in addition to these. I realise the cories will probably get a lot bigger than they are now, and my plan would be to get another, larger tank in a few months. My question is - will the neons be happy in wellington water? The pH from the tap seems to be 7.4-7.6, and i've done no hardness testing - i'm not prepared to add chemicals to the water or jump through other hoops to lower pH - if i cant keep them happily using aged tapwater for water changes, i'll find another species to keep. Any other suggestions on small midwater schooling fish that can be kept in such a small tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesejawa Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 dont add any fish until your tank has cycled properly but neons will be fine in that water. Also I think you will find the AR380 is 34 litre. I own one my self with a school of 5 neons in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 LFS guy reconmend waiting a least 3 months after setting up a new tank before adding neons. And the cories would have more fun in a bigger group, at least 5. They are like a pack of dogs, very funny. Especially when they chase/dance each other up and down the glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesejawa Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 3 months is a bit extreme maybe 6-8 weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Neons will be fine in your tank I have some in my tank and they're fine. The cories will get bigger but you can always take them to your lfs and swap them for smaller ones. I have just bought another 3 to add to my 2 that I already had and the love it together. If you want a cory that stays small get some panda corys the are really cute but they are expensive and thats why I've stopped buying them and getting bronze instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikekrull Posted February 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Yeah, the tank was fully cycled with 2 platies in it, its been running about 5-6weeks now, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates minimal - added an extra platy and the cories after the nitrite spike was over, and observed no change in levels - The tank is planted and i now do weekly 20-30% water changes (with aged tapwater) to keep things fresh in such a small tank. I don't want to put 5 cories into such a small tank, though i spose they would be happy enough while small. When i get my bigger tank (probably look at something like 200L) it should be no problem though. I was only going to get one cory to keep the bottom of the tank free of uneaten food, but I didn't want it to be lonely so i got 2. i'm sure the platies will breed at some point, which will likely drive me to acquire the bigger tank, so it may be sooner rather than later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Obviosly because of distance I can't comment on Wellington water :lol: But what I have learned here regarding the pH (unless, your fishies absolutely require a certain range, you are better off leaving the pH where it is. A stable reading for the pH is much better then one that fluctuates. Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikekrull Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Well, the neons arrived. They really add amazing colour to the tank, especially in the darker areas. I asked for 6, but got 8, for $12 which seems to be a pretty good deal (from Lower Hutt Pet Shop), and they all seem healthy, and to have settled in just fine - however i'm slightly worried i'm now overstocked. I can't imagine not having a bigger tank in 6 months or so, and none of the fish are really close to their adult size. I figure they will be happier in a larger group though, even if the volume of the tank is on the small side - and the 3 species of fish in the tank all pretty much stick to their own 'layers' so i'll see how it goes for a few weeks. I guess if my ammonia/nitrite levels stay at zero and i do regular water changes then everything will be cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I can't imagine not having a bigger tank in 6 months or so, Welcome to MTS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikekrull Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 So I came home from work today to find one of my new neons with its tail fin almost completely gone and all the scales stripped off its rear quarter. Didn't look like a disease at all. Looked like something had chewed on its rear section pretty good. Now, I can't find it anywhere in the tank Maybe it has died and been completely consumed (one of the other tetras has a noticeably fat belly) - But the initial injury is what worries me - Would a platy try to make a meal of a neon tetra? and am I going to eventually see them all picked off? I can't imagine it was the cories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikekrull Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 OK, I found the body of the first neon - still barely breathing but immobile and stuck to the filter inlet. I removed it and euthanised it. A second neon has now had somebody chewing on it's tail. This one might pull through as not all the tail is gone. I wonder if it is neon tetra disease but the damage looks like complete loss of tail land scales (there were a couple of shreds of tail left, and the fish didnt lose colour or behave lethargically before being found like this. I think i might have a psycho platy - and i thought they were such peaceful fish. Has anyone else seen this behaviour from this species? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 I had platies and neons together before they seemed to get along just fine. I had never seen the platies chase any other fish. But then that's not to say if I had them again, it wouldn't happen :-? Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kd123 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Has anyone else seen this behaviour from this species? I have just finally managed to give away my 5 plattys. Four of them were fine, but the fifth one was a nightmare and chased any fish that was slower than it was. He loved chewing on the sides of the gouramis until finally i had to separate them into a tank with the algae eaters....that put an end to any chasing.... what i am learning is that the peacefullness or aggression of fish can often depend on the fish itself rather than the species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikekrull Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Second neon was found stuck to the filter inlet this evening, completely missing his tail. So thats the second fish i've had to put down in as many days. I really hope tomorrow morning doesnt bring another dying neon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FineArtist Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 I hope it was good morning to you... rather than another stressful scene ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 what i am learning is that the peacefullness or aggression of fish can often depend on the fish itself rather than the species I agree! Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikekrull Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 No more deaths or damage to tails this morning.. I wonder if they just cull the size of their own school to match the space they are in or something. I have seen some mildly aggressive behaviour from one of the neons towards the others but i can't believe their mouths would be big enough to do the kind of damage to the rear end of the first injured tetra i found. Maybe its just a curious platy checking out the new arrivals to see if theyre good to eat - they seem to be little aquatic pigs, eating anything and everything so i guess they wouldn't be above tasting a tetra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikekrull Posted February 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Damn, another neon injured - a big patch of scales stripped off his side. After doing some more reading, i may have a rogue neon, as i have noticed one chasing and nipping at the others - i just can't believe how much damage he seems to be inflicting on his tankmates. The wounds seem too big to be the result of a single bite from a neon, and i would have expected to see less localised damage if it was from many repeated nips. Problem is, i can't tell which neon is which to net him, can't net the little suckers in my planted tank anyway due to all the hiding places, and i have no other tank to quanrantine him in even if i could. I guess i'll just leave them to fight it out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddieb Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 My neon's are doing fine in Wellington water. I also got them from Hutt Pets and got them to do a PH test before I purchased to ensure there wouldn't be PH shock. Their PH was the same as mine at about 7.5 so it was all good. They seem happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikekrull Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 the 4 that survived have been happy and healthy since. I have since put them in a much bigger tank, so will be getting some more to bring the numbers up, would like to maintain a school of 15-20. I also have some leopard danios in there which seem to keep the neons on the move and schooling rather than hanging around nipping at each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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