Help, 2 fish died on the way home from the big box chain store. Now what should I do?

[KittenFishMom]

Today I bouught 10 neon tetras from a chain pet store. They never left my side. When I got home 40 minutes later, 2 were dead. Should I take the living ones back becase they don't seem to be from good stock, or just QT them and see if more die? The remaining living tetras are all hiding under an IAL and darting out to eat some fry food I put in the tank. I don't know if they are ill or stressed or starved. I tried to keep the bag on its side and covered it with newpaper so it was dark for the fish. There was lots of air in the bag. It did not get too hot or too cold.  

Any ideas as to why 20% would die on the ride home?  Do you think I can build them up with brine shrimp, or should I take them back to the store any shop elsewhere?

[KittenFishMom]

nother fish has died.

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/21/2023 at 3:20 PM, KittenFishMom said:

Today I bouught 10 neon tetras from a chain pet store. They never left my side. When I got home 40 minutes later, 2 were dead. Should I take the living ones back becase they don't seem to be from good stock, or just QT them and see if more die? The remaining living tetras are all hiding under an IAL and darting out to eat some fry food I put in the tank. I don't know if they are ill or stressed or starved. I tried to keep the bag on its side and covered it with newspaper so it was dark for the fish. There was lots of air in the bag. It did not get too hot or too cold.  

Any ideas as to why 20% would die on the ride home?  Do you think I can build them up with brine shrimp, or should I take them back to the store any shop elsewhere?

So.... I have had this happen. 

One reason as @Pepere mentioned could just be the stress of netting and damage from that process.  This happens a lot with Otos.

Another reason could be what you hinted as, poor stock, poor conditions, or other general issues.

In my case, they just had way too many fish in a single bag and the bag was way too small.  By the time I got to the parking lot, the shock from the temp swings, ammonia burn, and all the other factors of stress were just too much.  Imagine a sandwich bag with 20+ nano fish.  It was just a very poor experience all around and a very extreme example of poor care on the store employee's part.

Because it's from the big box store, yes QT them if you can at all possible.  Given that you have a pretty big tank, a 10-20G tote or small tank would be great for this and you can break it down/store it when not in use. 

I think what happened in your case is likely similar to what I experienced.  The fish just were too stressed and ran out of oxygen.  As soon as you open the bag you'll see that shift, but if the bag is too full, not enough air, etc.... then you end up with that ammonia exposure happening immediately.  The ones that passed, take them back and explain to the store that you had them die on the way to the house so there was something really weird going on with how the fish was bagged or there's something going on in the tank/system on their end.

Hopefully they work towards an improvement, but do your due diligence and just give those fish the best care.  Anything from that store, same thing, because you know there's quality concerns.