Cardinal tetra swimming at 45 degrees

[Catfish586]

Little chap has been showing signs of this for a week or two now but it's more marked this week - swimming at a 45 degree angle, head up, tail down, seems to be struggling too. I've not fed for a couple of days apart from blanched peas, but they're on the floor of the tank uneaten. If it's not swim bladder could it be the dreaded neon tetra disease (presumably this affects cardinals too?). Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Colin_T]

need a 1 minute video of the fish swimming.
upload video to youtube, then copy & paste the link here

it's probably a swim bladder problem and there's no cure if it is.

 

[emeraldking]

Yes, if you could enter a vid of this cardinal tetra would be of some help...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I would agree with Colin that is it swim bladder related but not with the idea that there is no cure. The is because there are several causes of swim bladder problems. One of these is an internal infection not of the swim bladder but of something else which causes it to impinge on the bladder.

If you are desperate I suggest pulling the fish to an H tank and treating it with a broad spectrum antibiotic. Even if it is an infection of the swim bladder this can help.

Since you do not list your location it may be that you live where you are not able to get antibiotics for fish use.

Swimming tiled is not a symptom of Neon Tetra disease. "Pleistophora hyphessobryconis, a microsporidean that infects the muscle, causes a syndrome known as “neon tetra disease,” which is invariably fatal.

 

[Catfish586]

hi all and sorry for the delay - here's a clip of the tetra, clearly struggling.

I do have Interpet anti-internal bacteria but I don't think that is suitable here? I live quite near a Pets At Home store who may have other medicines and am happy to try anything.

 

[Colin_T]

It's a swim bladder problem, euthanise it

bacterial infections kill fish within days and they usually stop eating.

theres no cure for the fish and it will struggle like that until it burns itself out. put it out of its missery

 

[seangee]

I would get him out of the tank now.
It is likely swim bladder but I have seen those symptoms from a protozoan infection that affects the brain. In the UK we can't get antibiotics without seeing a vet so treatment would cost as much as a new tank full of tetra. But if he dies or gets close to dying in the tank the parasite will find a new host and ultimately wipe out your tank.
Agree with @Colin_T its not going to recover - so put it out of its misery.

 

[Catfish586]

Done, thanks all

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I had a couple of discus in a 25 gal I was trying to have breed, It never worked out and in the end I was down to one. One day it was startled and bolted head first into the glass. Soon after it lost its balance. I was always nose down and could never get itself upright. Initially i thought the problem was swim bladder related. But I finally understood the problem was brain damage. It managed to eat and function semi-PL, because it was the only fish in the tank I knew there was no issue with it being piked on etc.

That fish lived in the tank for many months before it finally passed. It did not waste away and as far as i could tell it was not in pain or behaving really erratically. So, I chose not to euthanize it. It managed to move about the tank OK even though it never returned to it normal orientation.

However, for a fish like your tetra if it cannot be helped so it should not be left in a tank with other fish as it will sooner or later be picked on. It will have no quality of life. So, there are not a lot of options. I rally hate having to euthanize a fish but learned to do so when I knew it was the right thing to do. But that does make it it any easier for me to do when I must do so.