Sick Neon Tetra

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Bill2183

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Messages
26
Location
Illinois USA
Hi,

I have 6 neons in my tank. In the past all have been prosperous. I notice one neon has gotten significantly smaller and has lost some of his color. He is still eating but does not look well at all. :(

Could it be old age? He is between 1 and 2 years old. All other neons and fish are fine. Water levels are consistently good. I do not have a hospital tank. Should I euthanize him? Should I watch his appetite and remove him if he stops eating?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
I think neons only live about 3 years.. but I won't swear on it. My first time with them was a short lived disaster.
AN older animal may appreciate more specie optimal conditions (higher temp, etc);
but I can't say for those lil guys, I am just receent to tetra keeping.
 
He's probably just showing signs of old age. Keep an eye on him and lie him live out his life. If he looks like he's stressing, then put him down.
 
I found the little guy dead this morning. The other neons seem to be doing OK. I did some research and found some very different info on the web. I found several sites that put the avg. life span of a neon at 1 to 2 years. I found some other sites the put their life span at 10 years.

I am not sure which one to believe. I will keep an eye on the remaining 5 for the next week or so. If they are stable I will pick up 3 more.

Has anyone heard of neon tetra disease? The friend who gave me the tank mentioned it to me. Any info would be appreciated.
 
I recently found one of my newer neons fell ill to what im sure was neon tetra disease. The colour was fading and the body look somewhat deformed ( lumps ). Thats supposedly caused by the cysts that the disease developes inside the fishes organs. It is apparently incurable and you may have worsened the cause by having the dead fish in there being able to spread spores of the fungus responsible for the disease. I've been treating my tank with a natural fixer uper that gets rave reviews wherever i've found it discussed on the web. Its called MelaFix and it contains tea tree extract or oil. Safe on my snails and also helps fix up broken fins etc. I'd try not to shock your fish to much. As if the disease is now present in the water, putting the fish under stress may cause the disease to reek havoc.

I don't want to scare ya, but just wanted to lend my 2c.
 
Yeah, I've also had a coupla neons succumb to what appears to be NTD. There is something known as false NTD as well; same symptoms, diff infectious agent. No way to tell which it is without formal testing. Lots of info online; you can start here if you wish: http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#NTD

Melafix won't help with NTD or false NTD, either treating it or preventing it. It simply isn't powerful enough. Just keep a close eye on the rest of your guys; if they are healthy and have strong enough immune systems, you may not have any more probs. I know I haven't. If you DO see signs, QT the ill fish; don't leave it in the tank with the rest.
 
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