Neon tetra dying one by one :(

[sunset]

hi guys, my Neon tetras are all dying. I had a group of 6 neon and they were fine, until I decided to buy two more. since then they developed something and now I only have 4 left...They get sick and seems like the body starts rotting, until they die (please check the pic). The weird thing is that it s only one per day that gets sick, the others look perfectly fine... Also the three guppies that are in the same tank, are perfectly fine.
Can someone tell me what is going on?

Other fact that may be linked to this.. my gold fishes (that are in another tank) are acting weird. they move frenetically and it feels like they wanna jump out of the tank. then they stop swimming and lay at the bottom of the tank. I m totally lost! I had them for 2 years now. Thank you!

 

[Andy Sager]

It sounds like the new fish brought in a parasite with them that you may have infected the other tank with through possibilities like using the same net in both tanks, having your hand in both tanks without drying it off in between, using same siphon hose in both tanks without sterilizing in between, etc.
The exact parasite is not as easy to determine. It could be Chilodonella Infection or Epistylis because the fish is showing advanced fin rot which makes it a little different than ordinary ICH. Best treatment for these is a combination of Malachite green and Formalin based meds ( i.e. Kordon Rid Ich, Hikari Ich-X, API Super ich cure, etc) or Copper ( Fritz Coppersafe) or Fritz has come out with an ICH treatment that does not contain Formalin or M Green but is supposed to be a less stressful treatment for treating ich like parasites ( Fritz FixIch ). No matter which you choose to use, follow the directions on the product.

In the future, you should consider setting up a quarantine tank where you place new arrivals into the quarantine tank for a period of no less than 30 days so that should the new fish be carrying any diseases, they can be treated before you add the fish to your main tanks. Sadly today, many fish are carrying " nasties" that may not be apparent to the naked eye or are internal issues that need time to show themselves. It's much easier to treat a new fish or two vs having to treat all your fish after they have been infected.

Hope this helps

 

[sunset]

thank you Andy, lesson learned. Today I can see white dots on the gold fishes... now how do I run the treatments? I read they are not compatible with carbon filters and that s what I use in my tanks. do I switch them off during the treatment? how will the filtration work?

 

[sunset]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HZvski4SEcRcw3Vj8

 

[Andy Sager]

thank you Andy, lesson learned. Today I can see white dots on the gold fishes... now how do I run the treatments? I read they are not compatible with carbon filters and that s what I use in my tanks. do I switch them off during the treatment? how will the filtration work?

The carbon in your filter cartridges has a limited " shelf life" so if it's been in the tank for more than 30 days, chances are it's used up so what you can do is make a slit in the top of the cartridge and pour out the carbon and then leave the cartridge in the filter for the treatment.
If the carbon is basically fresh, remove it from the cartridge, dry it out in the sun or oven then save it for when the treatment is finished so that it can be used to remove any linguring color from the medication. Formalin/ Formaldehyde will dissipate but the Malachite green will remain in the tank.

After the first round of medication for the parasites, you will then need to treat the tank for the bacterial infection that the fish are also suffering from caused by the parasites. You will need to know the Ph and General Hardness of your water to know which antibiotic is best for your situation. ( You may need to remove the carbon again depending on which antibiotic you use. )

 

[sunset]

I didn't think about removing the carbon from the cartridge. great suggestion. thank you �� just started the treatment ����

 

[Andy Sager]

I didn't think about removing the carbon from the cartridge. great suggestion. thank you �� just started the treatment ����

There has been a lot, A LOT of discussion over the years of the necessity for using carbon or charcoal in aquariums. Yes, it does some chemical removals but it has a rather short lifespan in the tank and with carbon, while it is rechargeable, it's a hassle IMO to recharge. The argument against HOB filters is they are touting changing the filter cartridges often while truthfully, the majority of the nitrifying microbes are in the filter cartridges because they tend to have a higher oxygen content in the water going through them. So WHY would you want to change them so often? ( The reason most think is for company profits over fish welfare. )
Many people replace the filter cartridges with precut pads or sponges that will house the biological filter or only replace the existing cartridge when it can no longer be washed off without falling apart. ( You add the replacement cartridge to the filter so it gets a colony going long before it gets that bad so that you do not lose the microbes when you remove the old cartridge. )

So stay tuned for more tips and tricks .

 

[Aiken Drum]

The best hang on back filters either have space to house some traditional media, or ive seen them with like a built in grid, so that some of those microbes will build up on something other than the cartridge. The cartridge then is then mostly providing a mechanical and chemical filtration role, and you can change it without crashing your cycle.

Are we saying the fish have ich? If so raising the temperature to speed up the parasites life cycle is important. Or are we saying Epistylis where lowering the temperature would be a good idea?

 

[Andy Sager]

The best hang on back filters either have space to house some traditional media, or ive seen them with like a built in grid, so that some of those microbes will build up on something other than the cartridge. The cartridge then is then mostly providing a mechanical and chemical filtration role, and you can change it without crashing your cycle.

Are we saying the fish have ich? If so raising the temperature to speed up the parasites life cycle is important. Or are we saying Epistylis where lowering the temperature would be a good idea?

It's not ich. There's too much bacterial damage for it to be ich. It's more Epistylis or Chilodonella so raising the temperature is the wrong treatment due to the bacterial issue. If anything, lowering the temp would help keep the bacterial issues from getting worse.