One of my tetras looks like something is covering the blue stripe. The fin on the back of the fish on the lower half looks slightly jagged, im new to fish keeping as well. Is there anything i could do? should i remove the fish from the tank?
Help is my tetra sick?
- Thread starter KyleC
- Start date
Hi and welcome to the forum 
It's either neon disease (bacterial infection) or fungus. I need a clearer picture but I am going with neon disease.
How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the tank been set up for?
Have you tested the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH?
If yes, what were the results in numbers?
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If you have only had the fish for a day or two then it is probably neon disease and needs treating with anti-biotics. You should also inform the pet shop where you got them from. They should credit you for a few replacement fish.
Keep photos of the sick fish and if any die, put them in a plastic bag and freeze them. If the shops wants proof of death, then take pictures and bodies in to them.
It's either neon disease (bacterial infection) or fungus. I need a clearer picture but I am going with neon disease.
How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the tank been set up for?
Have you tested the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH?
If yes, what were the results in numbers?
------------------------
If you have only had the fish for a day or two then it is probably neon disease and needs treating with anti-biotics. You should also inform the pet shop where you got them from. They should credit you for a few replacement fish.
Keep photos of the sick fish and if any die, put them in a plastic bag and freeze them. If the shops wants proof of death, then take pictures and bodies in to them.
Hi and welcome to the forum
It's either neon disease (bacterial infection) or fungus. I need a clearer picture but I am going with neon disease.
How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the tank been set up for?
Have you tested the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH?
If yes, what were the results in numbers?
------------------------
If you have only had the fish for a day or two then it is probably neon disease and needs treating with anti-biotics. You should also inform the pet shop where you got them from. They should credit you for a few replacement fish.
Keep photos of the sick fish and if any die, put them in a plastic bag and freeze them. If the shops wants proof of death, then take pictures and bodies in to them.
ive had the fish about a week and a half, i haven't done any test. Its really hard to get a clear photo of tetras but ill post more.
Looks like neon disease.
How long has the fish looked like that?
Neon disease spreads rapidly and usually kills infected fish within 24 hours of the blue line fading.
If there are no other fish in the tank you can either kill them all and start again, or you can try treating them with anti-biotics.
--------------------------
To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.
When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.
There is a calculator/ converter in the "How To Tips" at the top of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.
Remove carbon from the filter before treating or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it.
Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.
How long has the fish looked like that?
Neon disease spreads rapidly and usually kills infected fish within 24 hours of the blue line fading.
If there are no other fish in the tank you can either kill them all and start again, or you can try treating them with anti-biotics.
--------------------------
To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.
When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.
There is a calculator/ converter in the "How To Tips" at the top of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.
Remove carbon from the filter before treating or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it.
Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.
i just noticed it yesterday, it might have been there for longer im not sure, its the only fish there that looks like that. i don't think thats its fading it looks more like something is covering it up. Should i just remove and kill off the sick one?
You can try removing the sick one but once this disease is in the tank, it will normally affect them all. However, if you remove the sick one and do a 90% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week, you might be able to dilute the pathogens in the tank and stop it spreading.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
so do i just kill of the sick fish? i only have 1 tank. so its neon tetra disease thats causing this?
Yes I would catch the sick fish out and wrap it in a couple of tissues and squash its head.
It certainly looks like neon tetra disease, which is a bacterial infection that spreads rapidly and is common on newly imported neon tetras. It is characterised by the blue line fading and the body going white and the fish dies within 24-48 hours of this.
It certainly looks like neon tetra disease, which is a bacterial infection that spreads rapidly and is common on newly imported neon tetras. It is characterised by the blue line fading and the body going white and the fish dies within 24-48 hours of this.
I doubt it but you can try removing the sick one and doing big daily water changes using dechlorinated water. If any more fish get the same symptoms then either treat with anti-biotics or kill them all and wash the tank out and start again. But try big daily water changes and see if anymore get sick.
ok ive just removed the sick one and did a water change, do you have to put the water conditions a day before u do the water change, or can i just put the conditioner as i change the water.
You should dechlorinate any new water before adding it to the tank. The best way to do this is to get a couple of new buckets and use a permanent marker to write "FISH ONLY" on them. Keep these buckets for the fish and don't let anyone use them for anything else.
Before you do a water change on the tank, fill up a clean bucket with tap water and add dechlorinator to the bucket of water. Aerate the bucket of water for at least 5 minutes, preferably 30 minutes, and then use that water to fill the tank.
Aerating the water allows the dechlorinator to mix with the tap water and remove the chlorine/ chloramine. It also helps to get the oxygen levels back to normal. When tap water is in the water pipes it can degas. Basically the gasses come out of the water. Aerating it for 30 minutes or so allows the oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide to get back into the water at normal levels.
Before you do a water change on the tank, fill up a clean bucket with tap water and add dechlorinator to the bucket of water. Aerate the bucket of water for at least 5 minutes, preferably 30 minutes, and then use that water to fill the tank.
Aerating the water allows the dechlorinator to mix with the tap water and remove the chlorine/ chloramine. It also helps to get the oxygen levels back to normal. When tap water is in the water pipes it can degas. Basically the gasses come out of the water. Aerating it for 30 minutes or so allows the oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide to get back into the water at normal levels.
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