Neon Tetra Emergency

[Itsme_rach]

Help!
I have had 3 neon tetra since Saturday and they settled in well until yesterday. When I came home from work they were swimming on the surface a lot so I did a 1/3 water change and they were fine after that.

However, I woke up this morning and they were swimming on the surface again. Sometimes they come down but mostly all day they have been up top. The water temp is always 24-25 degrees and it is clear however there is a small layer of, what looks like lime scale I don’t know, on the surface water.

I have taken a picture of the fish and the surface water that has stuff in it. Thank you
Please help

 

[SnailPocalypse]

What is your filtration and parameters.

 

[Byron]

This is always a sign of something wrong with the water, causing the fish to not be able to respirate properly. The surface gasping is an attempt to get oxygen and avoid whatever is in the water.

I would suspect ammonia or nitrite to be the likely reason. If you have a test kit (you should) for these, post the numbers. Also, how long has this tank been set up before you added these fish, and are there any other fish? Are there any live plants (I can see artificial ones in the photo)?

Did you add water conditioner at the water change? Chlorine burns the gills, with the same response from the fish, though that would only explain today, not yesterday. Still worth knowing.

Byron.