one more question about neon

[leah9798]

Maybe I'm a little neurotic but all this reading about neon tetra disease has got me all flustered. I have 2 angelfish in my tank and I know they can get it also which ahs me all worried since my neons are already acting a little weird. One of my neons it still has great color, but on the very edge of its tail theres a white spot where it looks like the color is gone. So, should I wait and see if it gets worse or just flush him(I know this sounds cruel) just in case. The rest of the neons loook fine and I'm worried about the rest of the fish in the tank. Can that be normal in a fish sometimes to have adifferent pattern than the rest? My water is perfect, I have a 50 gallon with 2 gouramis, 2 tetras, 6 neons, 2 angelfish and 2 platys. Thanks!!! Leah

 

[Fishy_Fish74]

ok well u know how u sad if one of them is sick u might just flush him...PLEASE DONT!!!! if one of them seems to be sick put him in a seperate container or aquarium for he still has a chance..dont flush the poor guy

fishy

 

[leah9798]

Youre so sweet fishy it wouldnt be my first choice, trust me I love all animals!! I have a turtle that my dog got a hold of(my kids) and he couldn't move his back legs, the lady at the pet store told me to freeze him(can you belive it) or throw him in the canal and let him get eaten the natural way. Well, I couldn't do it. 3 months later and he's starting to regain the use of his legs. I didn't mean to sound cold if I came across that way. I love them all. I do have a small tank with a goldfish in it think he'd be ok in there? Thanks Leah

 

[Fishy_Fish74]

well i'm glad to hear u realy care about your animals and fish...most people think fish dont have fellings so its ok to flush em but I find that awfull...glad to here u give all your pets a second chance


fishy

 

[platypus]

Hi leah,

My neons have lost their red colour at the back of their bodies before and it was a sign of poor water quality. Some of them went on to die in a few days , but some improved right away after I did a water change . I was very worried it was neon tetra disease as well but all the others seem to be fine!

So do you know what your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are? And have you done a recent water change? This should help a lot.

As fishy says please don't flush your fish!! It can introduce disease into the waterways and contaminate local fishies too!! If you think your neon is beyond help then there is an article on euthanasia posted in the forum here but beware it's not exactly something to read over your cornflakes

 

[Alien Anna]

well i'm glad to hear u realy care about your animals and fish...most people think fish dont have fellings so its ok to flush em but I find that awfull...glad to here u give all your pets a second chance


fishy

It's not just a matter of humaneness, its also a legal matter in many places: flushing a tropical fish (dead or alive) can potentially pollute the water course and disposal of "livestock" in such a way is illegal.

Flushing a fish doesn't kill it, at least not immediately. The fish is slowly poisoned to death by sewage - it could potentially take hours or days.

Flushed goldfish have been blamed for the destruction of native fish populations - they've survived the flushing and then proceed to eat everything in sight. Dead ones can contaminate native fish with whatever they died of.

So please don't flush fish, alive or dead. Wrap them in some newspaper and pop them in your bin, or ask a vet to cremate them for you.

 

[leah9798]

Thank you guys!! I'm sorry I was unaware about what damage could happen if you flushed a fish and had no idea it was illegal or about the water pollution. Thank you for telling me. I've never flushed a live one before, I don't know if I would even have the heart to do that anyway. But now I know it's a big no no. I just wanted to ask though about the water conditions and poor quality that was mentioned. I had my water tested 2 days ago, they said it was perfect. Can you still have poor water quality even though it tests out fine. I have a 50 gallon and havent done a water change for 2 weeks. Should I do one? I may just take the neon out and see if it gets better maybe some of the other fish are stressing it. All the others look great but this one. Will they lose their color if they are stressed too and not necessarily because they have neon tetra disease? Thanks everyone for your replies. Leah

 

[platypus]

I would start off by doing an immediate water change of about 25% and see if that helps, you may find it makes all the difference.

Your water parameters could change a fair bit in two days, it's difficult to say as your lfs's definition of 'perfect' water might not be the same as everyone else's. Also, it's hard to know exactly what they tested - your ammonia levels may be 0 but your nitrites could be quite high, which could still cause damage to your fish. When it comes to things like ammonia and nitrite levels it's definitely best to be on the safe side and get your own tester kits so you can see for yourself. You won't regret it!

 

[leah9798]

Thank you Platy! I'm going to do a water change right now and see if it helps any. Do you know of any good test kits that are fairly inexpensive? Thanks!

 

[platypus]

Mine was on special offer from my lfs - about £30 and it tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, kh, gbh.. (last one was a joke btw!!). Seriously though, the only ones you really need are ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (and maybe ph), and I think you can buy these individually for about £6 each. The ones I use you fill up a test tube with water, add a few drops of chemicals, and then wait for the water to change colours, but there are loads of different methods - some you add strips to the water, some you drop in tablets... no idea which is best or who makes them I'm afraid, but the test tube/droplets method has done me proud so far!