I have a neon tetra that has been laying gravel for over 24 hours. It tries to swim and can only swim up and is down quickly. The top color is a lot darker (almost black) compared to my other neons. His top fin is destroyed. He is breathing rapidly. What is this? Is it possible to live from this or should I make it less painful for him? If anything, what can I do to comfort/treat this fish? Thanks.
Dying Neon?
- Thread starter Neon164
- Start date
Have you checked your water paramaters? Was the top fin destroyed by another fish, or did it sort of rot away over time? Fin rot is usually bacterial, and if it's down to spinal area then the fish is in pretty rough shape. If you think it could be the water then immediately put him in a hospital tank with salt and some melafix if you have it. Then treat with a gram-negative antibiotic like maracyn 2. Honestly though with the fish sitting on the floor the outlook doesn't look real good. Can the fish still move the tail end normally when swimming? Can you post a picture or find something on google for "fin rot" that looks close to it.
The water pH level is fine. All other fish are fine too (1 Emerald Cory, 2 neon tetras, 2 balloon bellied mollys). All fish are non-aggressive and I never see fish picky on the fish so I assume the fin diminished by bacteria. The tail fin is fine and moves well when he has the energy but can only swim up. I have a horrible camera and couln't get a good shot of the top fin but I have a picture of the fish and he/she is still alive and breathing rapidly. Couldn't find a picture that shows the fin rot well. But pretty much top fin is gone with just a small jagged edge on top.
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Ok, but pH is not enough to tell anything. The ammonia(NH3), nitrIte(NO2) and to a lessor extent the nitrAte(NO3) levels are what we would need to verify. Your fish need immediate treatment, but even moving it to a hospital tank in that condition could finish it off. Make sure you have as much oxygen going into the tank as possible by using an airstone if you don't already have one.
This fish is a good candidate for a methylene blue bath in a hospital tank in my opinion. It would help the fish breath better, it would also likely kill, or at least slow, the bacteria and prevent any fungus from setting in. I've also seen it claimed that it soaks into the fish and can aid in treating internal bacterial problems with the swim bladder. Read up on it, it's good stuff to have on hand. Don't spill it on the rug though.
Regardless of what happens with this fish, you can learn allot from this. You have to vigilantly watch your fish and learn their behavior. They usually don't vary it by much unless something is wrong or different in their environment. As soon as you see fish, that are normally active, hanging at the surface or sitting on the floor you want to try and determine what has changed for them. Fish like to pretend that everything is ok even when they're sick, but if you suspect something try to watch them when they don't know you're looking. They will try to hide their symptoms until they no longer can.
Well I put my 3" air stone to its maximum capacity. I have another tank but unfortunately not another heater so I can't setup a hospital tank. I put in an ammonia killing chemical along with switching the filter bag. Thanks for the help I'll hope for a good outcome but at this point I don't think it will survive. Thanks.
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