Help! - Is My Neon Tetra Poorly?!?!?....

[Mr Bee]

I only got my 7 Neon's last Friday, and today thought one looked a bit odd, and had an unusual swimming behaviour....

Here's some pics, best I could take with a moving target!

I'm worrying it could be NTD, but I'm not sure, as its schooling and eating normally, it just looks a bit....lumpy underneath. And its doing a jerky swimming kind of motion.

I only have test kits for Nitrate (NO3) and Ammonia - Ammonia was zero, but Nitrate was 80ppm+

Its not from new tank syndrome, as the tank has been running for over a year, and had a water change a week before Neons went in, and was left running with no fish in until the Neons went in. Is it just due another water change?


I also took a video of the fish in question.....Its the one that's right in the centre of the screen at the start



What do you guys think, please help.....

 

[Angel_Queen]

How often do you do water changes? With nitrAte readings of 80ppm+ it is definitely time for one

 

[Mr Bee]

I have always done a 20% change every week for over a year with this tank. I had a Goldfish in it until a few weeks ago, but he got too big, so has now moved to another home.

After the Goldie left, I decided I wanted tropicals, so cleaned loads of crud (waste and uneaten food) out of the tank and did a 40% change, and left it running to keep the filter going. A week later I put the Neons in, and that was only on Friday (2nd November).

So, the tank has had 12 days since last water change, but only had fish in it for last 5 days. Obviously, with Nitrate at 80ppm, it does need a part change, I expected it to be lower to be honest, as its a well established filter, and has always had regular changes, but thats what test says it is.

I measured it 'cos of the unusual behaviour, could that be causing it? or does the fish look more poorly than that. All other 6 seem perectly fine, and normal.

 

[Angel_Queen]

Could the swelling be down to overfeeding?
Could the abnormal swimming be swim bladder?

 

[Mr Bee]

Hmmm....I've been readining some other posts and am now wondering about overfeeding.

Another one had a ~5mm poo coming out, do you think I'm overfeeding? - Even though they are eating it all within 1-2 mins, and only been giving them 4 or 5 flakes a day between all of them.

If it is just overfeeding, should I miss a days feed, and will it get better, or does it need any treatment?
I've read about mushing a boiled pea (skinned) to provide fibre and help with constipation and such - do you recommend trying this?

Will this do anything to help, or just compound an overfed fish problem?
Is it still a good idea for variety in future?

 

[WILDER]

Try some peas.
Cook for a few minutes, let cool down, pop out of shell, mush between fingers and add to the tank.
Signs of ntd are.
Red stripe looks bleached out.
The blue area can look a milky or creamy colour, brown.
Restess.
Leaving the shoal.
Swim oddly.
Bent spine.
Black linning around the red.
Lumpy tummy lumps that go to a point.

 

[Mr Bee]

Update...

So I started this post on tuesday afternoon, and after advice didn't feed them any more.

Gave them 1 tiny flake on wednesday morning, more to make sure they were all active and going for food like a normal, well fish. I noticed the largeness and lumpiness had gone away, as had the jerky swimming, and they all looked the same slim fish shape again..... so it was just a bit of overfeeding I assume??

Left them for rest of wednesday, and following what Wilder said, gave them a pea about lunch time today (thursday).

They ate it and seemed to enjoy it, with a funny kind of way..... Its as if they were finding a piece and claiming it as their own, and when one got a bit in its mouth, it would just swim off, carrying it. Some took theirs off to a corner, or in the bushes to eat in peace!

Those that stayed in middle, tried to bite bits off, while still grabbing it as it dropped. Every time one bit a piece and dropped the rest, there was a scrample to catch the falling piece. At first I though they had got the pea stuck or something, with a few of them swimming around with it seemingly stuck on their nose


Is this normal behaviour for Tetras and peas? or is it cos it was the first time they'd had it, and it was new, so they were being a bit selfish with it?

 

[WILDER]

They seem to be enjoying the peas then, some fish don't take to them the first time.

 

[spartakforever]

My neons swim like that when they gulp air together with food from surface. I use food for bettas (now R.I.P.) which floats on surface. During "feeding frenzy" neons gulp air with food, next few hours swim like the one in your video and then "fart" bubbles. After that, everything is normal.
I started soaking food before giving it to neons so that it doesn't float. No more problems after that.