neon tetra pointing up :(

[clairelt]

Hi
I am a fairly new freshwater tank owner, I have a a neon tetra who has been pointing up for a few days, he is still eating but looks uncomfortable . Today he has resorted to sitting on the floor all morning probably out of exhaustion. I think his gills look a little red too. I did a 20% water change on Monday and am also treating the tank for swim bladder. One of the other neons has swimbladder problems and has 2 good days and then the next day he spends floating on the surface, this seems to be his pattern as its been 2 weeks now for him.

I am more worried about the little guy on the floor of the tank as he really doesnt look happy today.

I have fed them peas as I saw this sometimes helped but nothing helps him so far.

Any ideas? Thank you x

 

[Skinner23]

It's most likely a swimming bladder problem this has happened to me a couple of times usually from over feeding way too much I just simply place the fish in a 10gal for a couple days give him the absolute minimum food and he's right to go again no troubles asked

 

[clairelt]

Thanks so much for your reply, I could move him to a large bowl during feeding, but what do you think is the minimum amount of food for him? I am treating the tank for swimbladder as the other neon spends a day floating every few days too. So how much should I feed them both? I am worried they will starve as they are so small!

I think I have been feeding them too much before this, during the last week or so I have started feeding them once every 2 days hoping this will help.

 

[Skinner23]

Minimum amount just a few flakes not to much

 

[Skinner23]

Just feed them a couple of pinches twice a day I do once in the morning and once at night I've got a few fish so I give them abit more than what you should but that should definitely do the trick

 

[clairelt]

Thank you, I will keep the 2 ill fish from eating for a few days and the others will be on less food and will see how they go.
Thanks for your advice. i just hope they will be okay, I have lost a few like this before I realised this was swimbladder and there was a treatment. I also didnt realised about not feeding them to help this.
So I hope they will recover!

 

[Skinner23]

Good luck with it all I hope it goes well for you

 

[clairelt]

The vertical neon is now lying on his side panting on the bottom so I don't hold out much hope for him now, poor little guy

 

[clairelt]

He died yesterday afternoon 0
but the one that floats every so often is still okay

Two of the other neons now seem to have ulcers on their mouths so I have treated the tank with melafix and will do as per instructions once a day for 7 days then water change 30%

Hoping this will be the end to the bad luck of my neons

If anyone has any suggestions about the mouth ulcers please let me know.

Thanks again
Claire

 

[Skinner23]

Aww no sorry to here mouth ulcers may be from unclean water?

 

[clairelt]

I think they must be, I had 3 weeks before Christmas where 3 tetra died and a very small clown loach, I was doing weekly water changes as I found on the internet. My local fish shop said to leave the water and not touch it for a while as maybe I was doing this too often, so I did not do any changes until 2 weeks ago when the tetra started floating. My LFS tested my water and suggested another change (last week which I did) so the water levels should be okay now.

Hopefully they will be stable for a while after this!
I am moving house in a few weeks too so quite worried how they will cope with the upheaval.

Thanks again

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi!
I'm sorry about your fish.
Is the thank cycled?
How long has it been set up?
Do you own a test kit? What are your readings?
Please read this.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html
Any questions don't be afraid to ask!

 

[clairelt]

Hi

The other tetra died yesterday, it just sat on the bottom of the tank and was dead in the morning.

Now I have noticed one other tetra has what looks like an ulcer on his mouth, it is white and swollen. I have been treating the tank with melafix for a week for this. I did the 25% water change after 7 days and am now starting the treatment again as it is still the same.

The other fish are all behaving normally (I have 6 clown loach, 7 rummy nosed tetra and now 9 neon tetra) It seems to be only the neon tetra that have all the problems in my tank.

Is melafix the best for the ulcer? Some of the neon tetra also have frayed looking fins, I know there is one territorial neon tetra I there so wondered if this was the problem. Or is it something else?

Thank you xxxx

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi again
Can you please answer my questions?
We need more info to help. Have you read the article I posted? Also what size tank? If you don't understand anything please ask!
Clean water is usually the best thing for fish ailments. 20-25% water change a week isn't very much. You have a lot of fish there. Some that are going to get rather larger.

 

[clairelt]

Hi
The tank was set up in September and I took water to my LFS where he tested it and said my levels were fine. He put a test strip in the water and the pink one was a bit high, which he said was because I had not done a water change in a while. I think it must have been ammonia? I have a GH and KH test kit here which I will run now and get back to you in a minute.
I just want to do what is right for my fish and keep them safe.
I've had advice from so many different people and really don't know what to do next! I don't want any more deaths!!!
Thank you
Claire x

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi
The tank was set up in September and I took water to my LFS where he tested it and said my levels were fine. He put a test strip in the water and the pink one was a bit high, which he said was because I had not done a water change in a while. I think it must have been ammonia? I have a GH and KH test kit here which I will run now and get back to you in a minute.
I just want to do what is right for my fish and keep them safe.
I've had advice from so many different people and really don't know what to do next! I don't want any more deaths!!!
Thank you
Claire x

Thanks. The Gh/kh aren't important at the moment. What we really need to know is ammonia, nitrite, nitrate an pH. If you have read the link I provided above you will understand why. Test strips are next to useless. They are known for their inaccuracy. I suggest you purchase a liquid test kit so you are able to keep an eye on your tank. I recommend the API master test kit for fresh water. Most fish diseases are brought on by poor water conditions so if we can know the conditions in your tank it will help us diagnose the problem.

 

[clairelt]

Okay I will go get one tomorrow. I'm currently dosing them with melafix because of the tetra with the ulcer. That shouldn't hurt the rest of the fish as its natural. They all look happy, but I will get a test in the morning and post results here tomorrow. I do appreciate your help!
GH is 161.1
KH is 71.6
(hope I put that right!)
I just did the test so telling you anyway!

 

[clairelt]

My tank is 125 litres

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Sounds good. We will try to get to the bottom of this.

 

[clairelt]

I am not changing the water much as the melafix said to change 25% water after 7 days of treatment. Would you suggest I ignore that and do them more frequently? If so how often and how much? Also will this decrease the effectiveness of the melafix?
Thanks