Neon Tetra Disease

[john5748]

I bought several neon tetras from a local shop almost a month ago now and after a week in my quarantine tank all seemed ok but I have since lost four of these fish along with three neons which were already in the tank.

Due to the symptoms the fish are showing I am quite certain it is neon tetra disease but as there is no cure for this do you think that I should kill the remaining tetras (which are now back in isolation)?

Will this disease always be present in the tank/filtration etc, which will prevent re-introduction of neons in the future?

Also can this disease pass onto my other occupants which are:

Bristlenose plecs x 2
RTBS x 1
Moonlight Gourami x 1
Thai Glass Catfish x 2
Guppies x 6
Boesmani Rainbowfish x 5
Zebra Danio x 1

Maybe I should buy cardinals next time, from a different shop!!

Any advice is appreciated.

PS.

I have just noticed I have put this in the wrong section, if possible could a Mod please move this to the emergency section.

Thanks

 

[WILDER]

Can you describe the symptoms as you can get false ntd which is saddleback columnaris.

http/freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/neondisease.htm

Not the writer of this information below.
Pleistophora (a.k.a. Neon Tetra Disease)



Symptoms:

Pleistophora is also called Neon Tetra Disease because of its high prevalence among Neon Tetras, although it has also been reported to infect most Characins, Cichlids, Cyprinids (i.e., danios), and all the carp-like fishes. It is characterized by a loss of coloration and pale, white patches of skin, particularly the strip of skin beneath the dorsal fin. Other symptoms may include spinal curvature, emaciation, fin deterioration and erratic swimming behavior.



Cause:

The microsporidian parasite Pleistophora hyphessobryconis. Pleistophora live in the muscle tissue of infected fish and cause degeneration and wasting of the muscle. The parasites travel through the fish’s blood, quickly spreading to all areas of the body. Pleistophora not only affect the fish’s muscles but all its internal organs.



Treatment:

There is no effective cure for this illness, partly due to the fact that by the time diagnosis is confirmed the fish is too weak to be saved. If more than one fish in your aquarium succumbs to this parasite, the entire aquarium should be emptied and dissinfected. Some aquarists suggest the use of a diatom filter to trap the spores of the parasite and thus clear them from the tank.

Pleistophora can easily be mistaken for False Neon Disease, which is a bacterial infection and presents with the exact same symptoms. For this reason, it would be wise to remove the infected fish to a hospital tank (while disinfecting the main tank) and treat them with a broad spectrum antibiotic.

 

[millym]

hi
we used to have 14 neons but sadly all apart from 1 succumbed from ntd, i didnt realise what was happening at first so by the time i tried a treatment it was too late (not that it does a lot anyway - lfs medication stuff) we ended up with one lonely neon & for ages i resisted getting him a friend cos i didnt want to watch more fish die with a nasty disease ( ive read that the parasite that causes ntd DOES hang around in your tank)
. anyway finally gave in & bought our lonely 1 a female friend she died suddenly with no obvious cause & our male was by himself again apart form our 5 cardinals who he would swim with & hang out with. he started to show what i thought could be ntd & i put in esha 2000, it seemed to help so whether it was ntd or false ntd im not sure but he carried on looking quite happy hanging with the cardinals for about 6 months before dying suddenly.
i would euthanase your fish if they look distressed or are not eating etc otherwise i would keep them separate & just keep an eye on them.
i loved our neons but will not get more as hate seeing them sick & distressed. we bought 5 cardinals even though we heard they could be difficult to acclimatise & hated hard water conditions. the water here in london is very hard & our pH runs around 7.8+, we have had our cardinals for over 2 & a half years now with no problems at all. personally if i was you i would try cardinals.
good luck

 

[jollysue]

Wilder, the Naladixic Acid from the lfs manager did work on the neons and other tetras--even with my overdosing. The ones that were very far gone didn't all make it. I have since used the NA with a very mild dose and a complete change of water and filter media in 24 hours to no ill effects. I have made it part of my treatment at this time because it saved most of my tetras. The NA interfers with the ability of the bacteria to reproduce. So It is the first brief treatment that I give. Then I move to the next, at the moment Mela/PimaFix for several cycles. If the NA does what it says, the Mela/PimaFix will be sufficient for any secondary problems.

John, all of these deseases that Wilder is describing are very serious. Don't fool around. Separate the sick neons. Get some small tanks or critter keepers. Even if they are new and not cycled, you are going to need to do frequent water changes and will probably be killing off the good bacteria as well as the bad in the best senario.

You have way too many fish in a quarantine tank together. Believe me, I know this from lots of experience. They are all in danger. Treat each in separate tanks. The ones not showing symptoms only need a minimal preventative treatment cycle at this time. I have used Maracyn and Maracyn Two together for this. Any fish showing symptoms should immediatly be quarantined.

I can not emphizise enough how contagious these deseases are and deadly, too. Steralise Everthing. Do not use any unsteralised item from the infected fish in any healthy tank. I would treat all my fish preventably. Just assume that you have already infected other tanks.

Do frequent water changes. These are more important than the meds. They are the best desease treatment. Every time you do a water change you lessen the bacterial load. That gives your fish a chance to use their own immune strength.

Lower the water temp. Put in air stones. Put the loaches cories other salt sensitive fish separate. Use some salt int he other tanks.

If the symptoms recede and disapear, do not assume that the bacteria is gone.