Hey community,
Just found this community earlier today and need some help. Last week i purchased this tank (starter kit that came with everything) for a good price and wanted to get back into aquariums. After filling up the tank with water and letting it “cycle”, thought it would be a good time to add some fish.
I was handed some test stripes from a local shop and when tested, it seemed to pass all the tests. Last night i bought 8 fish (4 neon tetras, 2 Red-gold guppies and 2 algee eaters). Things seemed to be fine until i checked on them this morning.
All of the neon tetras had died. 2 of them were floating and two of them havent been counted for. As i prepare the decreased ones a proper burial at the upstairs bathroom, I wanted to reach out to the community and see what i did wrong, how to improve to sustain a healthy environment for them.
Please let me know any recommendations, clearly the information here isnt enough, so i can update the information when needed.
Thanks,
Letting the water “air out” often does not work anymore. Many municipalities have switched to chloramines for water treatment. Unlike chlorine, chloramines are long-term stable in water. This means they need to be removed either by treating the water with chemicals or filtered out with reverse-osmosis or activated carbon.
I think this is the answer. The tank not being cycled is obviously a problem, but not one that will kill off relatively hardy tetra overnight. Chloramines will. You need dechlorinator.