A bottle of clove oil in hand and tears in my eyes, I was minutes away from administering the lethal dose.
Then after more internet digging I figured out - there was nothing wrong with my fish. Nope. Nothing at all.
Problem is - when you first do a google search for "pale tetra" Or "tetra losing color" the first thing that's going to pop up is Neon Tetra Disease, which they may not have at all.
When your tetras turns pale, almost clear, in fact, turn on the overhead light and see if their color doesn't come back in an hour or so. If they are still swimming and eating normally, your fish do NOT have neon tetra disease.
I repeat - your fish do not have neon tetra disease.
They have a physiological response to darkness that causes them to lose colors when it gets dark. It is likely an adaptation that makes them less visible to predators at night when they are less active and "sleeping".
They could be pale because your aquarium is in a dim spot in your house where there is not much light exposure. (Mine is.) Or they might turn pale because you turned off the over head light, so their little fishy minds think it is "night time".
A startled fish owner could easily assume, like I did, "Oh my God, Neon Tetra Disease!" Especially if you have never seen your fish perform this particular trick before.
I thought my whole tank was infected with this totally incurable disease and I was going to have to put down all my fish, break down my entire aquarium and start over from scratch.
So I am leaving this here for the next person who thinks they are in Neon Tetra Disease h*ll.
Then after more internet digging I figured out - there was nothing wrong with my fish. Nope. Nothing at all.
Problem is - when you first do a google search for "pale tetra" Or "tetra losing color" the first thing that's going to pop up is Neon Tetra Disease, which they may not have at all.
When your tetras turns pale, almost clear, in fact, turn on the overhead light and see if their color doesn't come back in an hour or so. If they are still swimming and eating normally, your fish do NOT have neon tetra disease.
I repeat - your fish do not have neon tetra disease.
They have a physiological response to darkness that causes them to lose colors when it gets dark. It is likely an adaptation that makes them less visible to predators at night when they are less active and "sleeping".
They could be pale because your aquarium is in a dim spot in your house where there is not much light exposure. (Mine is.) Or they might turn pale because you turned off the over head light, so their little fishy minds think it is "night time".
A startled fish owner could easily assume, like I did, "Oh my God, Neon Tetra Disease!" Especially if you have never seen your fish perform this particular trick before.
I thought my whole tank was infected with this totally incurable disease and I was going to have to put down all my fish, break down my entire aquarium and start over from scratch.
So I am leaving this here for the next person who thinks they are in Neon Tetra Disease h*ll.