Neon Tetras changing color?

[shanna]

So I have a 10 gallon tank with five neon tetra, two mollies, and two ghost shrimp. I had read about how /great/ aquarium salt was, so I went to the petstore and bought some. I put it in yesterday.. Thursday at around three. I left the house for about four hours. When I came home I got the shock of my life. Okay maybe it wasn’t that shocked, but..

My tetra were completely pale. The red in their tails were gone. Their usually blue/turquoise stripes were a pale purple. They were all just floating at the bottom of the tank. So I turned on the light, gave them some food, and like magic they turned red and blue again.

Then at night, I turned off the light in the aquarium, and laid down. My filter was making some noises though (it’s supposed to be a silent one) so I got up to check it. I turned on the aquarium light and.. Again my tetra were colorless. I was too tired to deal with it though so I just turned off the light and went to bed. This morning they were all red and blue again.

Does anyone know WHY they change colors? We’ve been having thunderstorms (a tropical storm is heading towards us from the gulf!), so could it have been that? Also this didn't start happening until yesterday when I put in the salt.

[amanichen]

They're sleeping =)

The salt is probably unrelated to it, but neon tetras aren't as big fans of salt as certain livebearers are. Why did you put in the salt (the specific reason) and how much did you use?

[ickyfishywishy]

yup yup theyr asleep!.... i hope! fish are realy wierd when they sleep. they change colors,,,, play dead,,,, allmost even look dead too! :S i thought my poor loaches were dead until i found out they lo0ove to sleep on theyr sides like poeple fish act strange when they sleep! so dont worry! ;D

have fuUUuUun!

[shanna]

Are you serious? That's so cute! ;D

I put the recommended amount on the package? I think it was two tsp. Yeah, because I put eight 1/4 tsp. I put it for my mollies. The female kept gasping for air at the top of the tank, and my male kept rubbing himself on rocks (itchy, plus some shimmy/glancing). So the woman at Petland recommended it, and she said they put it in all of their tanks. So I bought some. My tetras are doing fine though. My mom told me to just keep the light on, so I have every night, and I haven't noticed them changing color.

But if you say they're sleeping, maybe I should?

[amanichen]

Noooo...you want to turn the light off at night because fish need a regular light cycle =) Keep around 10 hours a day of light.

[shanna]

See that's what I thought! I turned the light on when I got up, fed them, went about my business, fed them once more at night and turned off the light! There was about twelve hours of light.

My tank is a ten gallon, but I'm getting a 20/20+ gallon soon.

[amanichen]

shanna said:

See that's what I thought! I turned the light on when I got up, fed them, went about my business, fed them once more at night and turned off the light! There was about twelve hours of light.

Ok, that's fine =)

My tank is a ten gallon, but I'm getting a 20/20+ gallon soon.

Get a 20long instead of a 20high.

[shanna]

Yeah, I want a 20 long. My fish don't swim at the top, they swim at the bottom most of the time, so making it higher would be pointless. Thanks for all of the advice though. =)

[ickyfishywishy]

Sometimes a 30G is allmost the same price as a 20G so just check around if u have the space cuz u just might find a great bargan !!! cuz here in lebanon i found a 50G EXACTLY the same as a 65G which was strange since they were the SAME! just thought id suggest haaave fuuun!