Neon Tetra Not Looking Good

[bobman64]

One of our neon tetras seems to have become quite fat/bloated over the last few days and is now opening and closing its mouth constantly. It does not seem to be feeding and is keeping well away from the rest of the shoal. My first thoughts were dropsy but the scales appear to be flat. The fish could be up to four years old.

The water parameters are fine and other fish are breeding although there has been an outbreak of whitespot for which we are medicating the tank and (touch wood) seem to be on top of. Only a few fish have one or two spots.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Truck]

i doubt the neon will be 4 years old they only live for 2.5 max. as for the bloatation it could be an internal infection

 

[bobman64]

Thanks for that quick response. Will look into it. Only quoted the age as we got the fish third hand from someone who had it about a year and it was passed on to them by someone who had a tank for three years previous to that.

 

[Truck]

also bloatation can be a syptom of over feeding, i found this a few weeks ago that when i fed my fish maybe abit to much food they became rather bloated ,and it slowly reduced through the space of a few hours

 

[bobman64]

We thought that at first and have reduced food over the past 2/3 days but there is no difference. I don't think it has eaten anything yesterday or today. There are 7 other neons in the tank and all seem ok.

 

[WILDER]

So he's not eating no good suggesting the pea trick then.
I would issolate him and try a bacterial med.
Epson salt baths help draw the fluids out.
The red stripe area does it look bleached out.

 

[bobman64]

We put peas in the other day but not sure if he ate any. Will try a salt bath I think. His colour still looks fine, just looks bloated with rapid mouth movements and keeping pretty much to himself. If the other neons go near him he stays with them but if they swim off he stays put.

 

[WILDER]

I would try a bacterial med.
Epsons salt baths to draw the fluids out.
Normal household salt no good.
http/www.fishjunkies.com/Treatments/salt.php

 

[bobman64]

We've got some bacterial med and aquarium salt. Would that be ok. We have got a hospital tank but there is a rosy tetra in that being treated for whitespot. He is from the same tank as the neon. Do you think it would a bad idea to put the tetra in that tank with him. The neon looks like he has one whitespot on his tail.

 

[WILDER]

You mean you think the neon has whitespot aswell.
Did the rosey tetra have whitespot in the same tank as the neon as you need to treat the whole tank for whitespot.
Is the spot the size of a grain of salt it sounds like whitespot.
Or is the spot bigger if so does the spot have any redness to it.

 

[bobman64]

The main tank (where the neon is) is being treated for whitespot. We put the rosy tetra in a separate tank to treat as he had quite a lot of white spots on him whereas the other few fish in the main tank had only one or two spots. They are tiny white spots (like salt) with no redness.

 

[WILDER]

Ok.
The neon has whitespot then and you shouldn't mix meds.
The only whitespot med I know of that you can mix bacterial meds with is esha 2000.
I would just do the epson salt baths then.

 

[bobman64]

Thanks for all your advice. I will do the salt bath then and see how it goes. Do you think I should move the neon in with the rosy tetra or leave him where he is. I am just concerned he may have something which will spread throughout the tank.

 

[WILDER]

Seen as he has whitespot aswell I would move him in with the rosy tetra
Or you could add the rosy tetra back to the main tank then add the bacterial med with the whitespot med as you have nothing to lose.
As long as there plenty of aeration in the hospital tank.

 

[bobman64]

Cheers Wilder. I think for now I will give him his salt bath and put him in with the rosy tetra and maybe move the tetra back to the main tank in the morning.