Is this fin rot or neon tetra disease?

[MelanieH]

Hi

I need some help!

All my tetras are distressed. I noticed some white spots on them and my 2 plattys so I treated with a fungus treatment which has now finished. The tetras seem worse.

Im starting to think this is neon tetra disease if it is, is there anything I can do, or is it better to euthanise them ? One has completely lost its dorsal fin and one of its pectoral fins. Another has a slight growth under its mouth and a lesion on its body.

What should I do ?

 

[GaryE]

It's always hard to diagnose from photos, but I would look up Columnaris or Flexibacter infections. You are better placed than anyone here will ever be to see if the symptoms add up.
What you can try to do about it (if this is correct) will depend on where in the world you are, and what the local regulations for and availability of antibiotics is.

 

[Colin_T]

The white stuff looks like excess mucous, probably caused by the medication and whatever is eating the dorsal fins.

The damage to the fins is either bacterial or protozoan.

What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?
How long have you had the fish?
How long has the tank been set up?
Did you add anything to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

-------------------
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. The water change and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

-------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[MelanieH]

The white stuff looks like excess mucous, probably caused by the medication and whatever is eating the dorsal fins.

The damage to the fins is either bacterial or protozoan.

What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?
How long have you had the fish?
How long has the tank been set up?
Did you add anything to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

-------------------
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. The water change and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

-------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

Hi, thanks for that advice. I did the salt thing and they do seem to have picked up a bit. Not looking as stressed. I’ll keep an eye on them over the next day or so.