ID please?!

[Pysgodyn]

This afternoon, I asked for 10 neon tetras...I was given 12. I'm not complaining (!)

But, on viewing them tonight, I've noticed something VERY peculiar. 10 of them swim nicely in a shoal...(how pretty ) but another 2 have never swam with the others. One is hovering too close to the back of the tank for me to 'examine', but the 12th looks VERY odd...He is 'roughly' the same size/shape/colouring as the "normal" 10, but has bulging eyes ...very scary when he looks straight at me... He also looks a bit rough - like the fish version of a lanky teenager (!)

I was just wondering what it was...

i) a young neon tetra
ii) a sick neon tetra
iii) a deformed neon tetra
iv) not a neon tetra, but something else
v) none of the above...!

Please help! B)

 

[LoachLover]

Well the one sounds like her has pop eye and the other one might have something wrong with him but it's hard to say without actually seeing him.

 

[Pysgodyn]

Is 'pop eye' a disease/condition/problem...or is it alright?

 

[LoachLover]

Is 'pop eye' a disease/condition/problem...or is it alright?

it's a disease, just look it up. I've never had one of my fish get it so I don't know exactly what to do to treat it.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If his eyes look like they're bulging out of their sockets, its most likely pop eye, i think(but not totally sure, check on the leaflet that comes in the box) "anti internal bacteria" by interpet will treat this.
Th lone neon is probably feeling unwell and they do tend to shoal on their own when this is so.

 

[Pysgodyn]

D'oh...now I know why the guy gave me 12 instead of the 10 I asked for!

 

[Pysgodyn]

Cool. When I get the medicine tomorrow, should I be thinking of isolating the two lone rangers to treat them, or is there no harm in adding the medicine to the whole 125 litre tank?

You're so good to me, innocent fish-keeper as I am!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Actually i would keep the sick neons in the main shoal as they don't do very well at all in small numbers or on their own and you will be more likely to lose them, also if any of the other neons tetras are sick they may not show all the symtoms at first.
I wouldn't treat the entire tank, maybe add 2 or so mls less of medication than advised as neons tend to get rather stressed by meds and basically the less stressed out they get the more likely they are to recover
Good luck with treating them

 

[Lateral Line]

Hanging around on it's own at the back is not a healthy fish, and eyes, (both eyes), protruding is often a symptom of some internal disorder.

I would isolate the two fish and hope that it is something relatively benign. Most often, good water conditions and a stress free environment, (subdued light, adequate, but not excessive filtration/water movement etc.), will allow a fish to fight off infections. If, as it sounds, we are beyond that stage, medicating with a good anti bacterial medication sounds like a good move.

TP is right about the small numbers syndrome, that is why you need to keep the conditions in the hospital tank very non-threatening and quiet.