Neon Tetra Disease?!

[magicd]

Hey Guys,

I have 6 Neon Tetra's. They all have white spots on their fins. 2 of them have a weird stomach (looks kinda like a big white lump). Sometimes it looks like they are scatching their stomach on the drift wood i have in my tank. Is this the Neon Tetra Disease or some other one?

If it is, what should i do? I dont have any other fish in there atm. If they do die should i clean out the whole tank and start again?

 

[Lateral Line]

Neon Tetra Disease, (an appaling misnomer as it can affect many species), is caused by internal infestation with sporozoan parasites. These grow slowly in the muscle tissue and cause a discolouration then curvature of the spine. The parasite do not irritate the skin, hence the fish do not "flick", and do not grow in the fins. Your fish DO NOT have NTD.

On the other hand, white spots in the fins, and flicking say Ich. Your fish have white spot, perhaps the commonest of all disorders in a tropical tank. White spot parasites can be treated in the free swimming stage by any of the regular medicines available at your fish shop. Raising the temperature increases the speed of the parasites life cycle so gets them free swimming faster, however, don't go mad as increasing the temperature decreases the Oxygen level in the water.

 

[magicd]

Thanks for your reply Lateral Line. Yeh i think it is white spot. I've just read more about it and some sites say that you can put salt to fix it. Would anyone here know if i can do it for neons? If so how much salt can i put? (i read about 1-4 table spoons of salt for each gallon depending on the fish)

 

[Lateral Line]

For freshwater fish, salt is a pollutant. I would suggest getting a proper remedy from a reputable firm rather then fiddling with salt. Tetras in general can tolerate salt pollution for a while, but as with any pollutant, their stress levels are increased, and when fighting infection, additional stress factors are not helping.