Neon Tetra with missing eye

[rehobothBeachBum]

Hello all,

I started an aquarium in August of this year and have been slowly adding fish. I'm concerned about my most recent addition. Three weeks ago, going against my better judgement, I bought four neon tetras from a tank that looked like it had sick fish (the blue neon stripe was pale on some of the fish in tank - though not on the ones that I brought home).

Well, two weeks ago, one of the new neons developed a white sack over its eye. It went away after a couple of days, but now the eye appears to be missing from the socket. It also appears that its head is sort of caving in on the side that's missing an eye, though I'm not sure about that.

Does anyone have an idea what's wrong with the fish? Is it catchy? For the good of the tank, must I euthenize this fish?

Details on my tank. 26 gallon bow front. Nitrite and ammonia at 0. Nitrate at around 20 ppm. I do a 25% water change, gravel vacuum every other week. Here's my fish list:

two dwarf gouramis
three zebra danios
four diamond tetras
six neon tetras

Thanks in advance!

[BigJim]

I don't know what illness the neon has, but I had a betta with the same thing. Started with a couple white blotches on the head and soon it looked like her skull was caving in. She didn't last more than a couple of days. None of my other fish caught anything though.

Pale neons may not be sick. They could just be stressed. Neons aren't the hardiest of fish and a lot of the succumb to shipping stress. It is always good to pick the brightest-looking fish though.

Your nitrates seem awfully high for your stocking list/tank combo. Are you possibly overfeeding?

[dkpate]

Could it be Hole in the Head?

[Blueiz]

HITH doesn't present that way..

It sounds like the fish may have an unjury that has caused this.

[rehobothBeachBum]

Originally Posted by BigJim

I don't know what illness the neon has, but I had a betta with the same thing. Started with a couple white blotches on the head and soon it looked like her skull was caving in. She didn't last more than a couple of days. None of my other fish caught anything though.

Pale neons may not be sick. They could just be stressed. Neons aren't the hardiest of fish and a lot of the succumb to shipping stress. It is always good to pick the brightest-looking fish though.

Your nitrates seem awfully high for your stocking list/tank combo. Are you possibly overfeeding?

It's good to know that the other neons in the tank where I bought my neons may not have been sick.

Since I'm still new, I don't know if I'm overfeeding. I give them a medium sized pinch of Tetra flakes three times a day. Each time, all fish seem like they haven't seen food in days. I don't want to starve my fish, so how can I tell?

[rehobothBeachBum]

Originally Posted by Blueiz

HITH doesn't present that way..

It sounds like the fish may have an unjury that has caused this.

I wondered about that myself, since he still schools with the other neons and has a good appetite. The "sack" over the eye appeared the day after I did a water change and planted some new plants. For the water change, I took the tank light and hood off, so I couldn't really see where the fish were.

I'm thinking that I may have dumped some gravel on my poor little neon while I was planting the plants. (I'm horrified to admit that I think I may have buried another one in the gravel. After the water change and planting, I had one less neon. Since my gravel vacuum has a protective screen, I don't think that I sucked him out of the tank, so the only other explanation is that I buried the poor fish alive.) I still feel sick about it...

Needless to say, since that time, I leave the hood and light on while I do my water changes.

[BigJim]

Three pinches of food a day may be a lot for your tank. The general rule is not to feed more than the fish will eat in five minutes. If you're seeing a lot of leftover food sitting on the bottom, you're overfeeding.

A cleanup crew helps control the excess food. MTS or mystery snails are good options. If your gravel isn't too sharp, khulis or corys are also good.

Some people are ok with 20ppm nitrate. For me, 20ppm nitrate is a signal that I need a water change.

Unless you added a lot of gravel really suddenly, I can't imagine you buried a neon. Dead neons can disappear very fast. I'd keep a close eye on the rest of your fish for other problems.

[Blueiz]

I feed my adult fish once a day, juvis twice a day and small fry 4-6 times a day.

[rehobothBeachBum]

Originally Posted by BigJim

Three pinches of food a day may be a lot for your tank. The general rule is not to feed more than the fish will eat in five minutes. If you're seeing a lot of leftover food sitting on the bottom, you're overfeeding.

A cleanup crew helps control the excess food. MTS or mystery snails are good options. If your gravel isn't too sharp, khulis or corys are also good.

Some people are ok with 20ppm nitrate. For me, 20ppm nitrate is a signal that I need a water change.

Unless you added a lot of gravel really suddenly, I can't imagine you buried a neon. Dead neons can disappear very fast. I'd keep a close eye on the rest of your fish for other problems.

The food seems to be gone within about three minutes and I don't see food at the bottom of the tank.

Do you think that the high nitrates could be caused by decomposing plants? Two of the three plants that I added disinigrated within a few weeks of adding them. I have removed what was left of the rotting roots.

[BigJim]

It's quite possible. Last weekend I bleach-dipped all my plants to get rid of algae and the dead algae that didn't come off the plants caused a nitrite spike, which leads to a nitrate spike. Also, missing a water change may allow enough time for the nitrate just to build up.

[rehobothBeachBum]

Originally Posted by BigJim

It's quite possible. Last weekend I bleach-dipped all my plants to get rid of algae and the dead algae that didn't come off the plants caused a nitrite spike, which leads to a nitrate spike. Also, missing a water change may allow enough time for the nitrate just to build up.

That reading was *AFTER* a 30% water change! I've have performed at least a 25% water change/gravel vacuum every other week since the tank completed the start-up cycle. I guess I have been overfeeding them. I will take your's and Blueiz's advice and cut back on feeding them to once a day.

Thanks again for your help...

[happygirl65]

It sounds like it could possibly be Neon Tetra Disease. But if you got them all from the same tank they have all likely been exposed. There is no known cure and it will spread to all fish in the tank. It can infect rasboras, angelfish and other tetra as well.
One of the symptoms is losing color, and another is cysts and sometimes a bent spine. Do a google search on Neon Tetra Disease for more information.
About all you can do at this point especially not knowing the cause is keep the tank water pristine. I mean daily water changes if you can, it is your best bet to keep it from spreading and help them to fight off the cause.
Good Luck!

[TheNamelessPoet]

The paleness could also be a sign of them being out of the light for a long period... if they ahd just been shipped the neons they may just need a day or so with eh light on. Whenever I have done a blackout thy all turn nearly grey, then 4-5 hours with the light on, the color is mostly restored

[dkpate]

Ditto with Poet. My rasboras and loaches fade with no light.