Neon Tetra all puffed up with cloudy eyes

[FiveSix]

PH 7.4
ammo= 0
nitrites= 0
nitrates = < or = 5 ppm
temperature = 78 degrees

I just did the test 5 minutes ago before I did my weekly water change.

The fish is the only one in the school acting unhealthy. He is swimming erracticly, seperating himself from the school, his belly looks so bloated that it seems to have red stretch marks. Now his eye is starting to look cloudy and his swimming is becomming more erratic.

He seemed to come like this about 2 weeks ago. I thought i was going to lose him, but then all his color returned and he seemed healthy. looks like things went bad the past couple days. He does have all his color although it seems to be a little dark a little greyish where he would normally be silver.

Are these symptoms of a parasite, fungus or Bacterial infection? Maybe neon tetra disease? I am trying to get pics but my computer won't recognize my hardware and all the troubleshooting doesnt seem to work. I hope I provided enough info, if you need anything else please ask.

PS he also looks like he is gasping ..... oxygen is fine as i have surface agitation and the rest of the school is breathing normally

TIA

[Zagz]

It sounds like a bacterial infection. I would QT him and treat with a broad spectrum antibotic.

[krustykrab99]

Sounds like dropsy. This means the fish is not able to process the water it takes in through the kidneys. He could have a kidney problem due to a bacteria infection or just due to a bad set of kidneys. Try treating him with antibiotics, but sadly most of the time their kidneys are already too damaged and they die but not always. I have had great luck by combining antibiotics and malachite blue. Hope it helps.

[An t-iasg]

I agree that it may be a bacterial infection. Treat with a broad-spectrum antibiotic as Anne suggests. A good one to try are the triple or tri-sulfa meds.

The bloating could be dropsy or it could be constipation. Try feeding small pieces of a boiled and cooled pea - the inner part of the pea only, not the skin. Cut it up very small so it's the same size as his regular food and he should eat it. Dropsy is often hard to treat but it's not a disease itself - it is a symptom of a disease. Treating with antibiotics may lead to the reduction in the bloating.

krustykrab - Are you referring to malachite green or methylene blue? There is no "malachite blue". Methylene blue will make the water almost look black, and it can help mild fungal infections. I don't believe fungus is a factor in the neon's illness right now. Malachite green is toxic - it will kill pathogens but also it will kill the good bacteria, and maybe even the fish if you aren't careful with your dosing. I wouldn't use it - there are better meds available. Further reading suggests that it is especially toxic to neon tetras and that it's been banned in the US since 1983 in food-related applications. (from the Wiki link)


Links about malachite green: MalachiteGreen

Malachite green - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[FiveSix]

I lost him last night. I'm glad though because I'd rather lose him overnight than watch him suffer for days or more. Thanks for all of your advice. I will apply it to any fish that may appear with the same symptoms. I do hope that it doesn't come to that.

[Zagz]

Sorry for your loss.

[krustykrab99]

Thanks for calling me on the malachite blue. I did mean green. I have treated several fish with dropsy with just antibiotics and they got a little better but the guy I got the fish from told me to combo antibiotics and malachite green and it works wonders. I will admit most of the fish that I treated were only bettas and guppies but the combo works extremely well. I will say that they unfortunately seem to get dropsy again later I guess that the kidneys just get damaged too much.

[tkos]

Yeah, often by the time the swelling is really evident, it is too late to treat. I will often move a sick fish to a qt and watch it for a few days with fresh water changes and food soaked in garlic (stimulates appatite). If it gets worse then I usually put them down.

[An t-iasg]

FiveSix - I'm sorry for your loss.

krustykrab - no problem I just wanted to make sure we were referring to the same medicine.

Once I had a betta with bloat. I did get it to clear up and the betta was fine. About four months later, this betta got bloat again that rapidly got worse and led to its death. I have not been successful in treating other bettas with bloat, but I still try.

[krustykrab99]

An t-iasg I have treated with success almost every time but it comes back everytime. I have read that it damages the kidneys and in almost all cases it just best to put them down.