would it be ok not to feed for 9 days?

Hey guys, I purchased a 2 gallon tank 3 weeks ago. Today I added 3 little neon tetras.

I decided that I wanted to also add a new plant. ( my friend took a piece of bamboo from his pot, rinsed it and put it in there).

My tetras basically began dying immediately after adding them. 1 I already took out and the other seems like it's about to die. ( or it could be just that it's in shock from recently adding it). But one of them definitely died 2 minutes after adding it.

Could it be because of the bamboo?

Here are some pictures of my tank...

 

Fresh water tanks have to cycle too.

Did you add water conditioner or use RO/DI water?

 

its been cycled, I tested water yesterday and it seemed good.

When I recently put the tank together I added that water conditioner thing that comes with the tank. ( dechlorinifier ? ).

I bought these fish from petco, and they seemed ok swimming in the display and in the water bag. As soon as they were placed in the tank they just died.
All three of them
I have no idea what could of caused it.. unless there was something in the water that poisoned them?

I was thinking that the bamboo released something into the water. It was in a pot before and my roommate would add drops of aloe to make it grow better. could that have caused it? it's my only guess.

if it is, should I empty the tank and start over??

 

I removed the bamboo.. but should I restart?

 

Also, do you guys know whether the lightning that came with my tank would be enough to maintain any other plants? I kinda wanted to make this a planted tank.
Not to many plants so I don't have to dose Co2, but just so it looks natural

 

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but the lights should do don't think freshwater plants need that intense of lighting

 

could simply be the fact that you have tetra's, which are known to be somewhat delicate at times. I've seen them die right after being put into the bag (stress) and I've seen them live in worse conditions than most betta's are kept in.

All you can do is proper acclimation, keep the tank clean, do your wc's, and make sure your parameters are good. After that, I find it's usually a crap shoot with petco tetra's.

ninja edit: For what it's worth, anything less than a 5g is a bit tiny for tetra's.

 

IMOPE, Neon Tetras are extremely delicate and shy, and will die quite readily from intense lighting, movement outside the tank, or pH shock if not properly acclimated. They also require more acidic water (lower pH) than what you find in the typical home aquarium. Get Cardinal Tetras instead; they're just as beautiful, but much easier to keep.

 

What heater are you using ?

 

a regular submersible one rated for 2-10G