Neon Tetra's HELP!!!

I bought 6 neon tetras today and started my freshwater setup. i rinsed all the supplies before setting up and I even left them in the bag to get used to the temp for 20-30 minutes before taking them out the bag. I left to have dinner with my sister and came back to find them all gone. I see one thats dead for sure. Any ideas what i might have done wrong?

P.S. I will definitely put off on a SW tank until I can maintain a freshwater tank for 6 mos.

so you started your setup today???
or did you cycle your tank for a while??
were they for sure neon tetras and not cardinals??? cardinals are very easy to kill
if you started the tank today did you use any kind of water conditioner??
too many open ends on this question please give some more details

From what I can understand you started a new tank today and also put some fish in it?

yeah i started a freshwater tank and the guy at the store told me to just put water in the tank and rinse the rocks and decoration before putting in the tank and put the fish in to get used to the temp while in the bag and after 30 minutes pinch the bag to tear the bag and release them. They died! ALL of them! All 6! Really makes me feel horrible!

and they were Neon Tetras not cardinals.

no fault of your own bad advice from fish store
oh boy let me crack my knuckles
hey look what i found in the library
http://www.usafishbox.org/how-to-guides-f56/article-on-cycling-by-a-wonderful-very-experianced-aquarist-t1729.htm
this is your bible on starting a tank

BLimon wrote:

yeah i started a freshwater tank and the guy at the store told me to just put water in the tank and rinse the rocks and decoration before putting in the tank and put the fish in to get used to the temp while in the bag and after 30 minutes pinch the bag to tear the bag and release them. They died! ALL of them! All 6! Really makes me feel horrible!

Wow.

This guy should be slapped twice.

Did he tell you to use prime or anyting to get rid of the clhorine?

They should refund you. If not I would not go back ever again. What store is this?

Did he offer a water conditioner or something? The tap water here alone is not safe for fish. The conditioner neutralizes the chemicals in the tap water that are not safe. Then you should cycle the tank before adding the fish. Was it at the place I referred you to? If it was I'm sorry, they have been really helpful in me setting up my tank.

is that for freshwater setup? Its almost the same as SW as far as the nitrate and all that goes

I went to Forever Pets and Fintique and they both told me the same thing. I wish I would have known that! The guy at forever pets told me no refunds flat out when purchasing! Thats messed up. Im on disability and I dont get much and spent alot of money I shouldnt have spent on trying to get this tank setup. Thats really messed up.

yes that article in the library is on freshwater

You should have cycled your tank first.
Even with water conditioner it will just be a matter of time and fishes will die if beneficial bacteria are not established.

Next time ask the guys here.
That is why there are fish forums like this.
Would have saved you a lot of grief if you asked for tips and help.

tell me about your tank
size and all contents

I will replace the tetras for you. Just get your tank cycled and ready.

okay well thank you very much. I guess I have to wait till i get more money or til next month to buy more fish. That really bites. I'm going to look for a new store and I dont blame Fintique cause I didnt really ask much questions there but the guy at Forever Pets I asked for everything I needed to get started and wrote everything down and went to Fintiwue cause I went there first and their prices were cheaper on filter. I bought the fish at Forever Pets though cause the Neon Tetras were 10.00 at Fintique and .89 at forever pets.

khrister wrote:

You should have cycled your tank first.
Even with water conditioner it will just be a matter of time and fishes will die if beneficial bacteria are not established.

Next time ask the guys here.
That is why there are fish forums like this.
Would have saved you a lot of grief if you asked for tips and help.

agreed fish arent just a sale or a profit to true hobbyists we care and have tons of money in our setups i myself went thru the same thing a year ago and then i found usa fish box and i now keep an 80 gallon tank 55 gallon 46 gallon 3 ten gallon tanks and 2 29 gallon tanks and i breed my cichlids if i had gone solely by the advice of petsmart i would have smashed the first tank i ever had and got a hampster

THANK YOU USAFISHBOX.ORG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did the guys at fintique no you were just setting up your tank today? I feel bad for referring you there, but like i said they were very helpful when i was setting up my tank. they even told me i should be patient and not add anything else to my tank for a couple weeks. They also asked questions like what size tank I had when i asked about certain fish. They told me i needed a bigger tank for certain fish and so on.

ITs a 10 gallon tank, I just purchased a Cascade 80 power filter, blue, black, and light blue Estes' Spectra Stone (Premium Freshwater aquarium Aggregates) a ship ornament and a few artificial plant decorations.

heater???
tropical fish need heater

I told them at fintique I was just setting up but they were busy with inventory and there were people coming in and out. I dont know if they were just too busy but my husband just said its a good thing we didnt buy the parrot fish for 9.00 each.

I didnt say heater I said filter

ok well as far as i know neon tetra is a tropical fish and should be kept between 72 and 80

I think the small neon tetras at fintique are .59 or 3/1.50.

LOL they wanted to sell them to me for 9.95 each

cardinals lol