Neon tetra swimming weird

[Auttie_Pie1]

This is my neon tetra and literally today at 22:20 I came in and noticed he was swimming weird, he wasn’t doing this earlier or anytime before so I don’t think it’s swim bladder unless it can develop that fast. Someone help! Don’t know what’s wrong and I don’t want him to die

 

[fishorama]

I couldn't enlarge your pic. From what little I can see it doesn't look great. The head up posture is a bad sign. How long have you had it?

Tell us more about your tank. How long has it been set up? Did you cycle it before adding fish? How often do you change water & what are your parameters?

I'm sure others will have more questions...

 

[Auttie_Pie1]

I couldn't enlarge your pic. From what little I can see it doesn't look great. The head up posture is a bad sign. How long have you had it?

Tell us more about your tank. How long has it been set up? Did you cycle it before adding fish? How often do you change water & what are your parameters?

I'm sure others will have more questions...

Symptoms started about an hour ago, I’ve had them for about a month along with the tank.
The tank has been set up for a little over a month and I did cycle it but today I just did a 25% water change so I wonder if that had something to do with it. I change the water 10% once a week but because I missed last week I upped it to 25%

 

[Colin_T]

Swim bladder problem, euthanise the fish.

Swim bladder problems occur in two forms.
1) The fish floats up whenever it stops swimming. This can be caused by a damaged swim bladder or more often by air trapped in the fish's intestine. To find out which one it is you simply stop feeding the fish dry food for a week and give it frozen or live food. If the problem rectifies itself when the dry food is removed, then the problem was air in the intestine, which the fish can fart out.

2) The fish sinks to the bottom when it stops swimming. They swim frantically (usually in a slightly head up position like your neon tetra is). when it stops swimming it sinks. This is the most commonly seen swim bladder problem. On rare occasions some fish will eat gravel and sink when they stop swimming. There's no cure for that either and the fish might regurgitate the gravel or poop it out but they end up dying if they don't get it out. Neon tetras don't normally swallow gravel and I am pretty certain the fish won't get better. You can monitor it over the next 24 hours and if it doesn't get better, put it down.

There is no cure for swim bladder problems and any fish confirmed to have a swim bladder problem should be euthanised because they swim continuously and burn themselves out (get really tired) trying to swim with the other fish in the tank.

Swim bladder problems can happen instantly. The fish is fine and then the bladder pops and the fish can't swim properly.

 

[fishorama]

I tend to be more optimistic than Colin T. I strongly believe in the power of water changes...but much more than you do. 10% is not enough weekly. I try for at least 30-50% per week. It may be too late for your fish but good tank habits are the way to improve your overall tank health.

Do you have a test kit? API makes a good 1. But unlike some others I don't dismiss test strips. Not as accurate as API but fast & easy to do.

As Colin said, there is a point of no return for some fish problems. Swim bladder issues are rarely fixable for whatever problem, I'm sorry to say.

 

[Auttie_Pie1]

I tend to be more optimistic than Colin T. I strongly believe in the power of water changes...but much more than you do. 10% is not enough weekly. I try for at least 30-50% per week. It may be too late for your fish but good tank habits are the way to improve your overall tank health.

Do you have a test kit? API makes a good 1. But unlike some others I don't dismiss test strips. Not as accurate as API but fast & easy to do.

As Colin said, there is a point of no return for some fish problems. Swim bladder issues are rarely fixable for whatever problem, I'm sorry to say.

I use test strips just because there easy and cheap, and I always test after the water change and everything is normal, including today. All the fish are “asleep” right now because the tank light timer is off. I’ll have to check back in the morning and hope that he’s still alive. I would really hate for him to pass and I would feel even worse if it’s something I did

 

[fishorama]

After only a month some problems might arise, as you've seen. Other than needing larger water changes I don't see major issues. But I don't think your sickly tetra will live too much longer. That's a sad reality. I don't think it was anything you did or didn't do. Sometimes bad things happen especially in fairly new tanks & new fish.

Learn what healthy fish look like & practice looking at shop fish before buying any more. It's a skill you need to work on. It takes patience & a keen eye. A quarantine tank would help, but we know not everyone has 1.

Go slow before adding any more fish; get into good habits & a stable tank. I know it's hard to wait, but, change more water & really study your & LFS fish for health.

 

[Colin_T]

I use test strips just because there easy and cheap, and I always test after the water change and everything is normal, including today. All the fish are “asleep” right now because the tank light timer is off. I’ll have to check back in the morning and hope that he’s still alive. I would really hate for him to pass and I would feel even worse if it’s something I did

You should test the water just before doing a water change so you know how bad it is. testing after the water change will give lower test results because you have diluted out harmful substances with the water change.

Fish with swim bladder problems can hold on for months but they lose condition and get skinnier and skinnier. It's also stressful to them because they are constantly trying to stay in the group. They like to be in the group because if they are out on their own they are more likely to be eaten by something. That isn't going to happen in your tank but it's hardwired into the fish. So it will try to stay with the others at any cost and that means swimming so much it wears itself out.

Monitor over the next day or two and if there's no improvement, euthanise it.

 

[Auttie_Pie1]

You should test the water just before doing a water change so you know how bad it is. testing after the water change will give lower test results because you have diluted out harmful substances with the water change.

Fish with swim bladder problems can hold on for months but they lose condition and get skinnier and skinnier. It's also stressful to them because they are constantly trying to stay in the group. They like to be in the group because if they are out on their own they are more likely to be eaten by something. That isn't going to happen in your tank but it's hardwired into the fish. So it will try to stay with the others at any cost and that means swimming so much it wears itself out.

Monitor over the next day or two and if there's no improvement, euthanise it.

I’ve gotten the suggestion to euthanize multiple times, how might one do this?

 

[MattW]

I’ve gotten the suggestion to euthanize multiple times, how might one do this?

The best and most humane way I've seen and done is through using clove oil. Low doses can sedate the fish while a high enough dose will euthanize it. If you do use clove oil you must use a disposable container to hold the fish as it leaves quite an odor behind. One of my old fish nets still smells of it 2 years after my betta was euthanized.

there is videos on YT if you want more info, unless another members post explains in more detail