Hello, not sure if this is an emergency or not. One tetra has developed a white lump near its tail but it appears to be OK. Does anyone recognise what this might be?
Ph approx 7.4, ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate 5ppm.
Neon Disease?
- Thread starter Lou_m
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Hello, not sure if this is an emergency or not. One tetra has developed a white lump near its tail but it appears to be OK. Does anyone recognise what this might be?
Ph approx 7.4, ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate 5ppm.
It looks like Columnaris, a dangerous Flavibacter infection. I'd consider it an emergency.
I know the treatment options in Scotland are way different than the few I'd have at hand in Canada, so hopefully a member from closer to your home can suggest meds.
I know the treatment options in Scotland are way different than the few I'd have at hand in Canada, so hopefully a member from closer to your home can suggest meds.
We can't buy antibiotics in the UK, we need a vet's prescription - if you can find a vet who deals with fish. The only meds available without prescription are pretty mild and may or may not help. The ones to try are Waterlife's Myxazin or eSHa 2000.
The fish at the top has excess mucous on its caudal peduncle region and the bottom lobe of the tail. This is caused by the fish to protect a damaged area (the tail). Clean water and good diet should let it heal by itself. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
The fish in the middle has excess mucous on the top lobe of its tail, and it appears to have a damaged tail too (in the middle of the tail).
This fish also has a faded red line and that is a concern. The faded red or blue line is normally associated with neon disease. Antibiotics are normally needed to treat the fish. You can add salt to try and stop it in its early stages but it might not help.
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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) 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 2 weeks. If there's no improvement after a few days with salt you will need antibiotics (which you can't get in the UK).
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.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
The fish in the middle has excess mucous on the top lobe of its tail, and it appears to have a damaged tail too (in the middle of the tail).
This fish also has a faded red line and that is a concern. The faded red or blue line is normally associated with neon disease. Antibiotics are normally needed to treat the fish. You can add salt to try and stop it in its early stages but it might not help.
---------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) 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 2 weeks. If there's no improvement after a few days with salt you will need antibiotics (which you can't get in the UK).
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.
The whole tank will be contaminated but the choice is yours if you want to treat them separately or treat the entire tank. Without antibiotics it will probably kill them and spread to other tetras. If you have a spare tank, maybe move them into that with some of their current tank water and monitor them and the main tank. Otherwise monitor them in the main tank and see how they go. Neon disease usually spreads quickly and kills the fish within a few days. If the faded red line doesn't get worse over a week it might be something else.
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