Neon Tetra's Mysterious Behaviour!

[Sasha]

I have a probelm with one of my neon tetras. I'll start from the beginning. I had this neon tetra for months and he was living in my 29 gallon tank along with two other neon tetras. I noticed that his red and blue color was "cloudy" but his behavior was normal so I didn't suspect a disease. Last month I moved him and all of his tankmates into my 46 gallon tank.

Since then, he's been acting sluggish and barely eats. He spends all of his time hiding among the plants and never joins the other tetras. Now I'm concerned about him because he isn't eating anything! I feed my other fish three times a week and offer them frozen food and flakes. Is thsi tetra just getting old or does he have a lingering disease? Please help!

Ammonia - 0
Nirite - 0
Nitraite - between 5.0 - 10
pH - 7.0
Temperature is 78 F
Tank has been established since eary February and no disease outbreak

 

[Jaded_Pulse]

I don't know what a "cloudy" stripe could mean, but if he only has one other friend in the tank, maybe the poor guy's lonely? Neon's are shoaling fish - for them to be happiest, you should keep at least 6, more if possible. If he hasn't had any apparent disease since you first noticed the cloudiness (in February?), I'd say getting him a shoal would make him happier & more confident. HTH

 

[millym]

do you mean 'dull' when talking about his stripe or a fuzzy sort of effect? neons can lose colour when lights are turned on (like in the morning in the tank) a fuzzy sort of cloudy could be a fungus which would need treatment. can you post a pic??? but i agree neons like a bunch of their own to be around.

 

[luxum]

Unfortunately, this sounds a lot like "neon tetra disease", an incurable contagious disease which can kill all your neons in the same slow manner. Quarantine (or euthanize, sorry) that fish ASAP if the symptoms coorespond after you look it up.

 

[Sasha]

His red and blue stripe looks faded and has a cloudy effect. His color is like that all throughout the day and not just in the morning. He spends all of time hiding in the plants and acts sluggish. He isn't eating now, so I'm concerned about that. I did have 6 neon teatrs before, but a few of them died and only three remained. I'm going to get 5 more to keep the others company. If he has neon tetra disease, would it effect the other fish in that tank like guppies, platies and mollies?

 

[Jaded_Pulse]

Yes, I believe Neon Tetra Disease can affect other fish, esp. guppies & other tetras, not sure about others. Is he showing any other signs of illness, or did any of the others that have died? A bent spine, emaciated appearance, & faded/broken colours are signs of NTD. How long has his stripe been "cloudy" for? How long since the others died? Do post a pic if you can.

 

[Sasha]

Unfortunaly, I discovered him floating on the surface dead. Now I only have two neon tetars remaining, so I'm going to get about 5 more to keep them company.

He had the cloudy stripe for a couple of months and at first I thought it was some type of fungus. I bought a group of siz, but three of them died about 3 months ago. Their deaths however were not related to this problem. I took some fairly good pics of the neon tetra before he passed away, but I don't think they'll do any good now.

 

[Jaded_Pulse]

Sorry for your loss Post the pics up anyway, Sasha - if it is NTD, it's not a good idea to put any more in just at the moment, because I believe the bacteria (?) can stay alive for quite a while. Was his spine bent or anything? Because that's a definite sign of NTD. Otherwise, post the pics, someone might have an idea what the problem was, in case anyone else gets a similar problem. Goodluck with the others.