Neon Tetras have Red Gills / Cut on One Side

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nsparrow09

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Aug 5, 2022
Messages
2
Hi everyone,

This is my first post so apologies in advance if I do anything wrong. For the record I found similar threads online but nothing that matches the issues I'm seeing.

This is my first tank. I set it up for 5 weeks empty, saw the ammonia spike and drop. Added 14 neon tetras and 6 cherry shrimp at the same time, from the same store. I saw on the first day one tetra had what I assume to be an injury. I did lose 2 shrimp after the first week but the rest have been okay.

Today I noticed red spots on one side of two other fish. Could have been that way the whole time, hard to say.

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability.
Neon Tetras have Red Gills. I noticed it on one almost immediately after getting them. I assumed it was a birth defect or injury. A month later at least 3 have it, but I can't be sure they didn't before, I just noticed it on two more. All red marks are definitely only on one side the two I noticed it on today are significantly less bad the original.

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)?
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 2 ppm
Temp - 77
pH - 7.4
gH - 6
kH - 5
TDS - 400

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
20 gallon long. 10 weeks.

4~What type of filtration are you using?
I have 2 sponge filters and a Aqueon QuietFlow 20

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
15 XL neon tetras
5 cherry shrimp

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
I do 2 water changes a week, taking out between 2-4 gallons each time.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
Had these fish for about 5 weeks. I sat the bag in the water for 40 minutes and then added them into the tank with the light off for the first 24 hours.


8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
No.

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
I try to feed them veggie pellets but they won't eat them. I switch between flakes, which they can take or leave, and Hikari MicroPellets, which they absolutely devour.
 

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Have you been testing the water regularly since you got the fish? Or is it something you have just done recently since you noticed something wrong?
 
Have you been testing the water regularly since you got the fish? Or is it something you have just done recently since you noticed something wrong?

No I've been doing full water tests 2-3 times a week since they went in. The only issue I've seen is slightly hard water (for the tetras at least). Ammonia has been consistently 0

I think I also forgot to say it's a planted tank fyi, in case it matters
 
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