Neon Tetra Disease

Stu-pot

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hi,

i got 5 cardinal tets yesterday and have taken out 3 to a bowl today as i highly suspect neon tetra disease. they have bleached saddles and are hyperventilating and cant swim properly. i haven't had any deaths in the tank yet. what am i supposed to do? are all my fish going to die?
 
Well Part Of The Hyperventilating And Swimming Problem is you should NEVER put a fish in a bowl.
especially 3.
thats like asking for a problem.
how big is your tank?
what are your stats?
did you ever do a cycle?
 
Cadinal tetra don't get ntd.
Sounds like saddle back columnaris which is false ntd.

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

Is there fluffy cotton wool on the cardinals.
Bleached out patches can also be columnaris.
 
165 litres

about 60 small fish, mainly mixed tets
a black red tailed shark, small bottom feeders.

ph 7
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

ran out of amonia kit, but tested in shop yesterday and normal

no fluffy stuff
 
165 litres

about 60 small fish, mainly mixed tets
a black red tailed shark, small bottom feeders.

ph 7
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

ran out of amonia kit, but tested in shop yesterday and normal

no fluffy stuff
hmm ik that 165 is alot but 60 fish (even small) seems like alot
but i could be wrong
 
Your tank sounds overstocked to me.
Can you list all the fish you have in the tank please.

If there no signs of flicking and rubbing, erratic swimming, excess mucas, laboured breathing.
I would take the bacterial route.

Place the fish back in the tank. Match ph and temp.
 
3 zebra danios
10 neons
7 glowlight danios
4 rummy nose
5 clown loach
1 shark
5 black phantom tet
5 bleeding heart tet
2 tiger barb
1 green tiger barb
3 peppered cory
2 bolivian ram
2 krib
5 black neon tet
5 cardinals
2 bristlenose catfish
1 clown plec

the tank has been running for a year, with few problems

there was eratic swimming and laboured breathing. they were separated from the group and 'sitting' in the plants. they have clear bleached out saddle patches on their backs, no mucus or fluffy stuff anywhere
 
Until you sort your stocking out the fish will keep getting ill.

I would buy another filter to cope with the fish load.

Clown loaches need large tanks. So I would rehome them first.

Myxazin by waterlife and pimafix.

To be honest I very doubtful that water quality is good.
 
i was advised by the staff in the fish shop that the selection and number of fish was fine. they also test the water for me and have told me that its good. i also have plenty of plants and wood

i do a 1/4 water change weekly in an aquaone top filter tank

how many fish is acceptable?
 
The tank severely overstocked so the lfs haven't a clue.

Research the fish before you buy for tank size, adult size, compatability.
Roughly it one inch fish to one gal.
 
Some shops (not mentioning any names) will advise stocking in excess of 1cm per litre, which is over double a sensible stock for a tank with normal filtration. Some people can significantly bend the inch-per-gallon rule (which is a pretty rough guide) but only in certain cases, with certain filtration and certain species of fish. LFS want to sell you fish and are not looking for an arguement in the middle of the store - they are very unlikely to tell you that your stock is way out, even if they know it is (which is often doubtful).

Overstocked tanks and inadequate shoal sizes cause stress, which in turn causes weak immune systems, which lets diseases take hold. It's always a really bad idea to do risky things on the basis that "it's been OK so far", because it often takes one tiny thing to make it not OK, and often when it's stops being OK, it goes wrong in a BIG way.

White "saddles" sounds like columnaris to me. Can you get a photo? If it is that, you need to treat with anti-bacterial meds. Wilder can advise on specifics, as I've never had success with treating this nasty disease. I do know that lowering the temp as far as is safe for the fish (so maybe to around 24 C) and doing very frequent water changes will help.

If untreated columnaris will happily wipe out all of your fish. I really hope it is a mild strain or isn't that at all.

3 zebra danios - need groups of 6+
10 neons - fine
7 glowlight danios - fine
4 rummy nose - need groups of 6+
5 clown loach - need 6 foot long tanks
1 shark - what kind? Rainbow and red-tailed need 4 foot/200+ litre tanks, bala/silver sharks need groups of 3+ and 6+ foot tanks
5 black phantom tet - add another buddy ideally
5 bleeding heart tet - ditto
2 tiger barb - need groups of 6+. Nippy, aggressive fish that will stress others if in small groups
1 green tiger barb - ditto
3 peppered cory - OKish. Ideally 6+
2 bolivian ram - fine
2 krib - pair? Could be OK. Watch out for aggression when breeding
5 black neon tet - add another buddy ideally
5 cardinals - ditto
2 bristlenose catfish - fine
1 clown plec - fine

At the moment you have 191 inches of adult fish (i.e. if all your fish hit a decent average for adults that's how much fish you'll have). If you remove the big ones (clown loaches and shark), you'll have 123 inches . . . so you'd still be looking at a 100 gallon tank as a minimum. That's 450 odd litres. If you add all the right fish to bring the groups up to minimums, you're looking at 169 inches or 150+ gallons. With excellent filtration (so a filter that could handle a 180-200 gallon tank, you might be able to get away with 130 gallons . . . these are just rough workings by the way, but at least it gives you an idea.

To keep things safe and for you not to have to upgrade your tank very soon, you're looking at cutting down to about 40 inches of fish (as a maximum). So that would be (for example): your kribs, your neons, a bristlenose and a shoal of 6-10 black neons/cardinals/rummy nose/other tetras. Not many fish.

Obviously, if you do get a 6 foot, 150-200 gallon tank with excellent filtration you could keep most of your stock.

As always, sorry to bring bad news. We only have the interests of your fish at heart.
 

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