5/16/2023 0 Comments Neon tetra fish![]() ![]() All of this is to provide very bacteria free water. Preferably the aquarium has an in-line UV unit of at least 1 watts of power per ten gallons. Ideally the water should be crystal clear. Neons do much better in aquariums which have been established at least five months. Hang on back filters generally don’t give adequate biofiltration for neons and other sensitive fish like rummy noses, apistos and rams (note that a HOB can be considerably improved if the recommendations of Cory of Aquarium Co-op are followed). Neons do best in aquariums which are over-filtered, with at least a canister filter, a sump and/or an under-gravel filter. If a neon is put into water teeming with bacteria, such as most new aquariums have, the neons get all sorts of infections and die, often quite rapidly. So a neon has a very poorly developed immune system. That is actually the reason the water is black! So neons come from water which has little bacteria in it. What people don’t realize about blackwater is that bacteria don’t thrive in blackwater. And neons do well in bacteria free water. ![]() Over-filtered water is bacteria free water. Crystal clear water is generally over-filtered water with great aeration. Neon Tetra Disease and Bacterial Conditions for NeonsĮxperienced aquarium hobbyists who have aquariums with crystal clear water rarely see many problems with neons. Neons need very clear water that is typically only found in very mature aquariums (like a filter and substrate which have not been cleaned for at least two months). Well water often has to be aerated for several hours before being added to the aquarium.Īnd finally because neons are what is called a “blackwater” fish, they can be killed very rapidly by several types of bacteria. Some well water will have large amounts of carbon dioxide in it. The normal dose of conditioner will neutralize 1 ppm. The water suppliers put up to 4 ppm chlorine or chloramine in the water. Many water suppliers do something called a “chlorine pulse”. It there was no water change (and sometimes with a water change) a fast moving bacterial infection (possibly columnaris) can rapidly kill neons.With well water high carbon dioxide or low oxygen levels in the water probably killed the fish.With a municipal water source a “chlorine pulse” is likely.There are three distinct possibilities that will probably explain 90% of the deaths: Bacteria in a bottle products are harmless. Others will say the bacteria in a bottle killed them. Ammonia only kills slowly, like in weeks. Now all the well-intentioned commentators on social media will tell you that you had an ammonia spike overnight. You do a 50% water change and do something else, like add bacteria in a bottle. Let us say you have a tank of neons which has been running a month. Note that neons are just like any other fish in that they can die very rapidly under certain common conditions. Neons need very clean, bacteria free water to do well.
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