Flame tetra bleeding?

[Hina R]

Hello my flame tetra got a red spot under it's mouth and started swimming strange and bumping into things what can that be? it happened very fast and are my other tetras in trouble as well? Please help. Check all water parameters and they are all good.

 

[Demeter32]

Pictures would help and if you could add the actual numbers for the parameters that would also help.

What tank size is it and how many other fish are there? Are any of the others looking/acting odd? How long have you had the tank going with the fish?

 

[Hina R]

Pictures would help and if you could add the actual numbers for the parameters that would also help.

What tank size is it and how many other fish are there? Are any of the others looking/acting odd? How long have you had the tank going with the fish?

I have a 10 gallon, and I have 6 tetras of different kinds ( 1 more Flame, 2 Black phantom, 1 Red Phantom and 2 Neon tetras), The others look and act normal and we've had it for a month and a half. We test our water daily and everything looks good.

 

[Demeter32]

Can you upload a picture of two of the sick tetra? If it seems that the bottom lip of the tetra is missing then it could be mouth rot, or maybe even cotton mouth, both would need treatment. I need to know the number results of the water tests and if you are using the test strips or the more accurate liquid test kit.

You are probably not going to like hearing what I have to say about your stocking. All those tetras are of a different species and that's isn't the best for them. Tetras lives in large schools with hundreds and even thousands of their own species. They feel more comfortable and live a healthier life when kept in high numbers of their own. 4 species in a small tank won't do well in the long run.

10gals is quite small, too small for keeping any of those fish IMO. Each species of tetra should ideally be in a group of 8+, and for that to happen they would need a much larger tank (20gal+ for one species). If kept in too low a number and too small a tank, tetras often get aggressive and nippy, picking on their fellow tank mates, be they the same species or not. That is just how they are. This leads to stress and stress is the number one cause of fish illness.


I call on @Byron to give a more in depth explanation and possible solution.

 

[Byron]

I can't add much to what Demeter32 has stated (concerning the tank size and numbers of species) as it is absolutely bang on from the scientific side. If a 10g is your only tank, you need to re-home some of the tetras if that is at all an option. Each of these species should have at minimum six, but more would be much better for the fish; we are often cornered into stating "minimum" for numbers of a shoaling species, and it must always be remembered that fish that expect (because it is programmed into their DNA) hundreds if not thousands of their own species around them are only going to be "happy" (which means healthy as Demeter32 said) the more there are. With the two phantom species I would have at least 9-10, same for neons or any of their close relatives (meaning cardinals and false neons). I can only lay out the best scenario for the species, it is up to you how to move forward, but we are here to offer advice on your options if asked.

Byron.