Neon Tetra Not Quite Right. Update P. 13

[PrairieSunflower]

I have one neon tetra that isn't as bright as the others. I've been watching it a couple days now as it has a white mark on its tail and I've been trying to figure out what it is, and today that tetra is just not as bright as the others.

The tiny white patch is not ich and its not tail rot. Its like a small oval patch on the middle of the top portion of its tail. It moves quickly so its hard to get a perfect view... but it seems to be on the right side as it looks like a touch of it might be "lifted up".

Any idea what this might be?

 

[Chad]

The color fade is generally a sign of stress or illness.
As for the white mark it could be a wound to the tail or a parasite of some sort. It's hard to say without more information or a photo.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

My camera isn't up to par when it comes to taking pictures of my tetra. They just move too much. The spot is small, like a whitish opaque spot, almost like a skin flake... it that helps at all. Its on the tail and not the body.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Not sure if this helps at all... but this is the best I could do... a bit blurry and the flash washed it out but...

 

[Chad]

It is hard to see. Have you noticed him getting chased?

It looks like there might be some damage to the first anal ray as well.

What is the white spot by the dorsal fin? Is that a reflection or a nodule?

That's a good picture by the way...hard to do with tetras.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

It is hard to see. Have you noticed him getting chased?

It looks like there might be some damage to the first anal ray as well.

What is the white spot by the dorsal fin? Is that a reflection or a nodule?

That's a good picture by the way...hard to do with tetras.

The other spot is just dirty glass, so not a worry.

My tetra seem to do some sort of domino effect chasing of each other. One chasing one, then the second chases another, etc. So, quite likely he has been chased at some point.

Which is the front anal ray? I hadn't noticed any other problems.

 

[Chad]

The fin on the bottom at the leading edge of it...to me it looks like a bit of damage.

It's common for smaller fish to get bullied in shoaling and schooling species. There are a number of ways to reduce the picking such as the size of the tank, number of fish, and providing hiding areas for smaller fish. For species like the neon this is often best done with tall plants.

If the mark on the tail fin is damage it isn't bad damage but continued picking can lead to stress and a reduced immune response in the fish. Some picking is normal, too much is bad. You can tell which it is by observing your fish and see just how often this little guy is the brunt of the picking.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I have a 3 foot long tank, about 18 inches high. I have quite a few tall plants in the back (that is where all the tetra sleep at night, guppies sleep in the front). I have 8 neons and 4 adult female guppies and quite a few small fry (who won't be permanent residents) in this tank. I have been thinking of adding a few more tetra but haven't decided yet. I had been leaning towards maybe 8 glolight tetra. If I got more tetra, would I maybe be better off getting more neons instead?

I keep meaning to come back and add that the patch is also not fuzzy so I'm sure its not fungus either. Its not changed at all since I noticed the spot a couple days ago.

 

[Chad]

Personally I feel if you are going to get more then more neons is the way to go. I like to keep at least 12 neons when I keep them.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I have had a look at that line on the bottom fin. To my eyes, doesn't look like any is missing or nipped off, but does look like it has a kink on the line compared to the others.

 

[Chad]

That could be a wound or a growth defect.

 

[WILDER]

It hard to tell in the pic. Does the white area look like bleaching beneath the skin.

Keep an eye on the patch that is dosn't start to affect the whole red stripe area.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Just wanted to update...

My neon is fine. Color regained shortly after the last post in this topic. The spot is still there and unchanged.

I have been observing my neons and I've decided 2 of them seem to be a bit bullied, this one with the spot and another one the same size (the two smallest ones, in other words).

The one with the spot swims around freely but gets chased quite a bit. The other one hides a lot. At first I worried it was sick but with a lot of observation I am sure it is healthy... but when it comes out it seems to get chased, more or less, right away.

Anyhow.... my plan is to go and get 8 more neons tomorrow or Tuesday (depending which works better with my schedual) so I can increase my number to 16.

Just wanted to know if that was the right course of action?

 

[WILDER]

Is there a circling of pink around the spot.
Does the spot have a red, or pink centre.