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Neon tetra help!!!?
So I have had my 5 neon tetras for about 3-4 months now and one of them looks funny... It almost looks like there are faded patches on him. Or link the scratches himself or something, it's odd and I and hoping it's not the neon tetras disease but it is eating and it is swiming around still
1 Answer
- AkeathLv 76 years ago
This could be a few different things, but it's probably not Neon Tetra disease. If your Neon Tetras had been exposed to that, they would all be dead by now.
The first thing you should watch for is if he actually is scratching on things. So sit and watch him. That's something fish do if they have external parasites. It's a very quick motion where they rub themselves against something - the decor, the substrate, even the aquarium walls. You can also do a visual check for parasites. Ich is the most common, and if you look closely you should see little white spots that look like grains of salt on him. Velvet is another common one. With that, you can get a flashlight and shine it on him, and if he has it you'll see what looks like him being covered by gold dust. Fish lice is also possible. Those look like this: http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m374/aaronpaul_...
If he does have external parasites, it should pass to the others, and they should also start to have the glancing behavior and some visible sign of the parasites themselves.
If the marks on him look like red sores, it could be a bacterial infection. Ulcer-looking sores are also likely to be bacterial infections. In this case, you'll need to treat with an antibiotic like Tetracycline.
If the marks are white/gray and distinctly fluffy, they could either be a true fungus or columnaris. That can be treated with a medication like API Fungus Cure.
It might also be testing the water for Ammonia. Ammonia is extremely toxic, and if it is elevated it can cause Ammonia burns on the fish, along with red streaks on the body and fins. If that is the case, adding some Ammolock, doing daily water changes, and using Prime as your dechlorinator can help. Ammonia is dangerous at 0.25 ppm or higher, and you need to have it always be at 0 ppm for a healthy aquarium. Neon Tetras are particularly sensitive to Ammonia, along with Nitrites and Nitrates. If your Ammonia is elevated you should also make sure your tank isn't overstocked, the filter is working well, that you don't overfeed, and that you gravel vacuum regularly.
