Neon tetras don't seem to be enjoying life.

[Martin steele]

Hi again.
I have a 20 litre tank in my bedroom with 5/6 neon tetras in it.The problem i am having with them is that they just don't seem to be enjoying life.They seem to hang around under the plants all day and feeding them is difficult unless it's freshly hatched brine shrimp and even then it's hit and miss. I am worried about them is the tank to small where am i going wrong.Within a week or two i plan to upgrade them to a 60 litre tank might this help.
Any advice would be gratefully accepted.

Regards martinsteele1959@gmail.com

 

[Hanuman]

I suggest this read: https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/paracheirodon-innesi/

Your tank is too small to start with. Then your group is too small as well. These are schooling fish that live in groups in the wild. In a tank it is usually recommended to add at least 8/10 individuals else they don’t feel secure, thus why they are hidding. That is a sign of stress. You need a bigger tank and perhaps adding a few more individuals and they should start acting notmally.

 

[sparkyweasel]

I think your suspicion is correct, that tank is very small for them. I'm sure they will be happier when they get their new tank.
Newly-hatched brine shrimp is not much of a mouthful, if you could get them some live daphnia they might be a bit more keen on that.

 

[alto]

They seem to hang around under the plants all day and feeding them is difficult unless it's freshly hatched brine shrimp and even then it's hit and miss

these sound rather like sick fish - unless wild caught (rarely available and notably expensive) neon tetras are fairly resilient to aquarium conditions

20litre is small for most fish but dimensions are also important, eg Fluval Spec 19 allows reasonable swimming space despite the small size and neon tetras appear fine despite the confines, they even seem to manage in the smaller cube style Spec 10 (though I think this size aquarium is best suited to shrimp keeping)

Neon tetras are definitely less active than cardinal tetras (often tank bred, wild if ordered in as such) or green neon tetras (often wild caught)

You don’t mention how long fish have been in your tank or tank conditions ... I’d treat for external parasites (eg ich/white spot remedy)
Begin with daily water changes, then treat when possible - if fish seem more active after water changes, continue doing these even while medicating (no idea why aquarium medication manufacturers choose to skip the standard daily water change protocols recommended when medicating ornamental fish )

 

[Martin steele]

Thanks Alto what do you recommend for extetext parasites i i have some myzasin/ metheline blue or API pimafix/melafix. If these won't do let me know and i will order it to day.
Regards martinsteele1959@gmail.com

 

[MJQMJQ]

Both are ok but should be dosed in a seperate tank as they affect the beneficial bacteria.Do u have any pictures of the tank and fish?

 

[Martin steele]

Hi thank you all for the sound advice I have since moved my tetras over to the 60 litre and the transformation is startling.
Even old bent back has coloured up again and seems to be enjoying life in his new home.Size is everything when it comes to fish tanks.
Kind regards martinsteele1959@gmail.com