Neon Tetra Disease! What The Heck To Do!?!?!?!

[x2p]

Well My rummy nose tetras are all having fin rot and twitching and discoloration. My pygmy cories in the same tank are not doing so yet though they have been quite lethargic.

The tank is new but should be considered cycled as the media came from an established tank and I used a bacteria booster which i have had success with in the past.

My specs are below but I believe I will euthanize the Tetras, how do I know my tank is free from the dieseas besides keeping an eye on my cories? If they have the disease how do I make sure its safe to add fish after they are gone?

Tank size: 8 Gallons
pH: 7.0
ammonia: low but not 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
tank temp: 26C

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Twitching, fin rot white discoloration, ive identified it as Neon Tetra Disease

Volume and Frequency of water changes: none yet

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Bacteria booster (local recipe proven to work)

Tank inhabitants: 5 Rummy Nose Tetras and 3 pygmy cories

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): Everything is on the fresh side

Exposure to chemicals: None

 

[Ludwig Venter]

It sounds very much like it is indeed Neon Tetra disease you have and I have not heard of a cure for it to date... Best to remove the affected fish & monitor the condition of the remainder... It is infectuous.

 

[x2p]

It sounds very much like it is indeed Neon Tetra disease you have and I have not heard of a cure for it to date... Best to remove the affected fish & monitor the condition of the remainder... It is infectuous.

Thanks! Ill be euthinizing them as one of their spines have started to bend. If the remainder catches it, how do I clean the tank including the live plants?

 

[Curiosity101]

You have no nitrates present, that's very odd in a cycled tank. I would recommend doing your tests again.

Also what is in the 'Bacteria Booster', I noticed it's a 'local recipe' this could also be what's causing the problem. Especially as you're saying the corys are lethargic aswell.

 

[x2p]

You have no nitrates present, that's very odd in a cycled tank. I would recommend doing your tests again.

Also what is in the 'Bacteria Booster', I noticed it's a 'local recipe' this could also be what's causing the problem. Especially as you're saying the corys are lethargic aswell.

Thanks for the reply Curiosity101!

I just retested and the nitrates are in fact zero, maybe a cycled hiccup?


I dont think its the bacteria booster as I have used it on 5 other tanks (same bottle).


I have a friend out grabbing some vodka for euthanizing, as I don't have a freezer and clove oil is unavailable here. I will euthinize the tetras but Ill just keep an eye on cories but I am lost at what to do if I lose them as well to ensure the tank is safe?

 

[Curiosity101]

Ah, that probably does rule out the booster. But just incase (as there is the slightest chance), what is in it?

Do you have a huge amount of plants in the tank?
Is the test kit definitely working (Ie. gives readings in other tanks?)

If it's neither of the above then there is no chance your tank is cycled...perhaps you have zeo-lite in the filter aswell?

Best way to sterilise...well I'm not sure what the best way is, but I can give you the 'nuke' version.
Nuke as in nuclear, as it will obliterate anything that could possible be living in there (we hope), so may be overkill...

If you didn't want to go for that then you can clean with things like, milton solution (I think it's used for sterilising babies bottles), weak bleach followed by lots of rinsing and at least double dechlor afterwards, a strong salt water solution (though unlike with marines table salt will be fine).

 

[x2p]

Ah, that probably does rule out the booster. But just incase (as there is the slightest chance), what is in it?

Do you have a huge amount of plants in the tank?
Is the test kit definitely working (Ie. gives readings in other tanks?)

If it's neither of the above then there is no chance your tank is cycled...perhaps you have zeo-lite in the filter aswell?

Best way to sterilise...well I'm not sure what the best way is, but I can give you the 'nuke' version.
Nuke as in nuclear, as it will obliterate anything that could possible be living in there (we hope), so may be overkill...

If you didn't want to go for that then you can clean with things like, milton solution (I think it's used for sterilising babies bottles), weak bleach followed by lots of rinsing and at least double dechlor afterwards, a strong salt water solution (though unlike with marines table salt will be fine).

Cheers!

The booster is basically a form of bacteria in a bottle.

The kit is working as its reading my other tanks properly, though its quite odd as this tank was measured to be cycled.

There are about 25 stems of plants and one large long leaf anibis (a foot tall).

Thanks for the cleaning solutions! are there any where I can keep the plants?

Thanks!

 

[Curiosity101]

It's worth checking if there is any zeo-lite in the filter. But 25 stems (if they're fast growing plants), could possibly lower the nitrates to near enough 0.

I'm pretty sure you can bleach dip plants (google it/search the topics on here), and then pop them in another tank to keep them alive whilst you blitz this one. (If that's what you decide to do).

I'd just make 100% sure that all other possibilites of death have been explored before you really say that it's neon tetra disease that killed the fish. Just so you hopefully don't hit this problem again if it isn't.

 

[x2p]

Thanks once again!

There is no zeo-lite in the canister, there is carbon, rings, sponges and lastly wool.

Thanks for the cleaning tips!

I euthanized the fish, Ill keep an eye on the cories though they have always been lethargic

Thanks once again!

It's worth checking if there is any zeo-lite in the filter. But 25 stems (if they're fast growing plants), could possibly lower the nitrates to near enough 0.

I'm pretty sure you can bleach dip plants (google it/search the topics on here), and then pop them in another tank to keep them alive whilst you blitz this one. (If that's what you decide to do).

I'd just make 100% sure that all other possibilites of death have been explored before you really say that it's neon tetra disease that killed the fish. Just so you hopefully don't hit this problem again if it isn't.

 

[WILDER]

Neons can lose there red colouration in bad water quality. Also bad water quality can cause finrot.

How many fish and which type are in the tank.

Signs of ntd are.
Red stripe will look bleached out, or a milky substance on red area.
Blue area will look yellowish.
Black linning around the tail.
Fish will leave shoal and become restless.
Swimming in an odd manor.
Lumps on belly that go to a point.
Bent spine.
Dropsy and popeye in later stages.
Get you a link to ntd.

http/freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/neondisease.htm

 

[Curiosity101]

Wilder, the tetras are rummy nose, not neons. Don't know if this makes a differece, but your post just then seemed to imply you were talking exclusively about neons.

 

[WILDER]

Thanks curiosity.
Thought he was keeping neons.

The tanks way to small for rummy nose tetra's they need at least 15 gallon. Also there very sensitive to ph changes.
What makes you think they have ntd.

 

[x2p]

Thanks curiosity.
Thought he was keeping neons.

The tanks way to small for rummy nose tetra's they need at least 15 gallon. Also there very sensitive to ph changes.
What makes you think they have ntd.

Here in Japan they push the limit on fish per gallon and tank limits due to space. I purposely have the tank flow to that it gave the tetras an illusion of always spinning, if they were not hiding around the heater they would be swimming against a strong current.

Reasoning behind my thought of NTD is that

1) red nose was there but it looked blotchy (whitish blotches) their noses have been red as a tomato until that showed up.

2) parts of the inside of the body looked the same

3) poop = white

4) One by one within in 6 hours stopped schooling and started twitching

5) spines became bent

6) finrot

7) they are susceptible to NTD

The only thing that matched all these is either NTD or fNTD

 

[WILDER]

Ok.

Are the fish flicking and rubbing, any excess mucas, darting, erratic swimming, laboured breathing.

Finrot can be caused by bad water quality, nipping, bacterial finrot.

Bent spine and long stringy white poo can be internal parasites, fish tb.

Signs of internal parasites are.
Long stringy white poo or clear mucas poo, red worms prutruding from the anus.
Worms prutruding from the anus.
Bent spine.
Sunken in belly.
Fish will look skinny or bloated.
Fish will sometimes swim on its side.