Neon Disease

[rayfish]

hi everyone iam new to the forum iam just seeing if anyone as had neon disease if so does it still live in the tank after it as run its course.i only ask as i had it last year and it kill most of my fish so i just put up with what fish i had left and just did water changes feeding the usally stuff.three weeks ago thought i would get some more fish for it which i did within three days fish started to die then i saw the tell tail signs of neon disease again so can it live in the tank after the first time of having it over a year ago.thank for any replys.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

http/www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/freshwater-conditions/neon-tetra-disease.aspx
 
You definitely will want to read this entire article, but here are a few quick blurbs.
 
 

Neon Tetra Disease 

Despite the name, neon tetra disease can affect a range of other tetras besides neon tetras, and has been reported from a variety of other aquarium fish as well.
 

By Neale Monks, Ph.D. |
...
 
Because neon tetra disease is highly contagious it is very important to remove affected aquarium fish as soon as possible. Treatment of neon tetra disease with an antibiotic may be worthwhile if the fish is still mobile and feeding, but otherwise the fish should be euthanized and the body disposed of in the trash. Needless to say, neon tetras should never be purchased from aquariums with sick or ailing fish, and even when apparently healthy fish are bought, they should be quarantined for a period of 4 to 6 weeks before being placed in a community aquarium.

 
I can't say definitively that the parasite is completely eradicated after this much time, and whether or not it can lay dormant until a suitable host is available again.  I can say definitively that it is parasitic and that it has been treated experimentally with Toltrazuril, but no specific medication has been proven to be 100% effective.  Given your predicament, I'd suggest a few courses of action.
 
1 - are you buying the fish from the same retailer as before?  The new fish could be infected when they arrive.
2 - do you have a quarantine tank?  Having a QT will allow you to find diseases in the new stock without risking the current stock's health.
3 - What are your water stats?  Specific numbers please.  As the article points out, stress on the fish can make them more susceptible to NTD (or any other disease for that matter), and knowing the specific numbers can help the members determine if the fish are under any stress.
4 - Have you attempted any treatments, and are you quarantining fish as soon as you see signs of NTD?  (Its very important that you do, as the other fish may pick on them, which includes nipping, or could scavenge on the remains once it passes.  Its extremely important to isolate infected fish, as the disease can be transmitted through the muscle fibers that are consumed.)
 
Finally, - If the tank were completely empty, I'd suggest a good rinse with some diluted bleach (with no additives like perfumes or surfactants) followed by some rinsing with some clean water and extra dechlorinator before refilling again with clean water and dechlorinator.  This treatment should kill any 'nasty' that might have been the culprit in the demise of your previous stock.  (It will also kill your beneficial bacteria, so keep that in mind when deciding the course of action.  The tank will need to be cycled again after the treatment.

 

[rayfish]

all my ph tests 7 and nitrite/nitrates and ammonia are all within safe levels even the shop checked them and they said their were ok.the fish were got from a different shop as last time of having it.thats why i thought it can still live in the tank after a year fish that lived though it last time have died this time.in the last couple of days white spot as started on the fish that are still in the tank.started whitespot treatment to try and save them from it.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Ray,

"Ok" from a fish store is a meaningless piece of information, quite honestly. The specific numbers are really necessary to get a grasp on things.


Re: ich (aka whitespot), as pointed out, a lot of diseases are able to get a foothold with stressed fish.

What treatment are you using for the fish, and what exactly is your fish stock? Treating ich can be more or less challenging depending on what fish are present. Some fish are vulnerable to the ich meds/treatments. Others can tolerate a much wider range of temps and salinity. (IMO, a combination of heat and salt is the single treatment method for eradicating ich.) If you would like help with treating the tank for ich, please just let us know what stock of fish you have and we can direct as necessary.

(Incidentally, the reason that heat and salt is the best treatment, IMHO, is that its 'natural' and won't lead to medicine resilient strands in your tank. And unlike medicine salt is cheap and has no expiration date. With that stated, some fish are more and less tolerant of that.)

 

[rayfish]

me and the shop are using nutrafin test kits for ph ammonia/nitrates/nitrite   7 ph   nitrite 0 ammonia 0 same for nitrates.the fish that are left up to now are three neons one cardinal,one ram,one small angelfish a inch and ahalf,one harlequin,four bristlenoses.i use salt in the tank to help them.using king british white spot treatment.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Thanks ray.

I'm concerned with the 'zero' reading for nitrate. That stocking of fish should not be producing zero nitrate, unless something else is going on than you mentioned. That's a fairly large amount of fish. How big is the tank?


Finally, it is not recommended to use salt with scaleless fish, like bristlenoses, and not to use salt regularly in any freshwater set-ups on a regular basis. Salt is a good treatment option for a variety of things, but not for regular keeping of the fish. Salt should be reserved for specific uses, imho.