Sick Lemon Tetras

[finchfarm]

A few days ago I picked up six Lemon Tetras for my birthday from our LFS. They all looked very healthy in the tank at the store. We got them home the first day and they were fine, the second day I went to feed them and only counted five. I then found one of them dead in one of our plastic plants. I didn't think much about it because one of the fish had jumped out while at the LFS and had stuck on the side of the catch tank before sliding down it with the other fish. Since they all look the same, we couldn't tell them to put the fish back in the tank. I figured the one I found dead was the one that had jumped. But then, the day afterward, I only counted four. Again, I found another one dead in the plant.

Tonight we just came home from a Christmas parade and I stopped to check on the fish. I found two of the Lemon Tetras swimming very stragely. They don't swim normal, they seem to be having a hard time keeping thier balance. They rock from side to side as they swim, to the point of swimming sideways. I even saw one of them swimming upside down and one swimming in very fast, tight circles and just spiraling towards the bottom of the fish tank. I turned the light on in the tank to see them better. One of the fish stopped this behavior but the other one is still doing it and is staying very close to the bottom of the tank.

Have no idea whats wrong, other fish that we've had for years are absolutely fine. PH is 6.0 and ammonia is 0. Both pH and ammonia test kits are only a few months old.

 

[*Fishkies*]

Do you have a test kit for nitrite and nitrate? If not would it be possible to take a sample of your water to your LFS and get test number results from them?

Did you float them to adjust water temperatures before adding? If not, how did you acclamate the fish to your tank?

How long has this tank been setup?
Also how often do you do water changes?

Have you added anything else new to the tank latley besides the lemon tetras? (medications, ornaments?)
Have you had to treat for any diseases or problems lately?

What size is your tank and what is your stocking like in the tank?

 

[finchfarm]

I do have a nitrite test. I just ran it and it came back 0. I don't have a nitrate test though.....but I would think that if it was a nitriate or nitrite problem my older fish would be having problems too? Especially since I have fish far more delicate and smaller than tetras.

I did float the bag in the tank before adding them. I've had the tank for about seven years, but recently re-set it up earlier this year, so the tanks been set up for a little less than a year. I usually do water changes twice a week, gravel vacing half of the tank one day, then waiting a day and gravel vacing the other tank as to not shock the fish with new water. Admittedly, because of life events and Christmas and all, I haven't gotten an oppurtunity to clean out the tank yet this week but I will be doing it today once I get back from church.

I haven't added any other fish, decorations, medications or anything. None of my other fish have had any problems so I haven't had to treat with anything.

My tank is 75 gallons and is about three to four feet long and about two feet tall. In it I currently have one Red Hook Silver Dollar about 9 inches long, two Silver Dollars both about 3 inches long, a Brown Knifefish about 5 inches long, a Sailfin Pleco about 6 inches long, three Zebra Danios about a inch and a half long, and the four remaining Lemon Tetras.

Update: Thought I'd give everyone an update on that fish. One of the fishes' that was swimming that way seems to have recovered. The second one, and one that was swimming much worse was very pale last night. Instead of normal color he was more of a peach-cream color. I checked on him this morning and he is still alive but he is now alternating the downward spiraling with laying on the floor of the tank and twitching.

 

[finchfarm]

Update: Just another update. The fish that was doing really bad last night and yesterday was dead when I came home from church this afternoon. Other Lemon Tetras and other fish seem fine.

 

[WILDER]

What was the ph of the store to your tank and how long did you climatise them for.
Sounds like the dead tetra didn't climatise to well.
I bought six lemon tetras and I lost the lot in a week.

pH Shock

As its name suggests this condition occurs when a fish is introduced to quickly into a new environment which has a very different pH from the one it came from, when the pH is adjusted to quickly and the fish have little or no time to adjust themselves, or when the pH is to far outside the fishes normal range.

It is very important that any change in water chemistry is made slowly and fish should never be exposed to changes of pH greater than 0.5 of one unit on the pH scale in either direction.

Avoidance is by far the best solution because in most cases the symptoms don't appear until the second or third day by which time the damage has been done and the fish will probably die.

A fish suffering from this condition will show all the typical signs of shock -

Lying on the bottom and paying little or no attention to its surroundings and ignoring potential threats.
It may even lay on its side or go upside down completely.
There could be other signs to, related to Acidosis and Alkalosis
Excessive mucus production.
Rapid breathing.
Swollen abdomen. (Alkalosis only).
If the condition is allowed to go on for one or two days then the chances of a successful remedy are greatly reduced because a lot of damage will have taken place. If the symptoms are spotted early enough there are a couple of things that will help.

Begin to return the pH to the original pH in steps of 0.4 of one unit on the pH scale and allow 3 hrs in between the adjustments. Make these adjustments until the pH is returned to a safe and satisfactory level.
Treat the tank with a broad spectrum anti-Bacteria/Fungus compound to prevent secondary infections of the Skin and Gills.
Prevention is easy. A successful treatment isn't!