Neon turning white?

[MeganL3985]

I noticed today that one of my neons compared to all the others is starting to get more of a white shade than the "see-through" look. Its neon striping is fine, but the rest is turning white. Its also a little on the pudgy side. I'll try to take pics later if I can. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas as to what is going on.

[AquaQueen]

I'm not 100% sure on this but I think there is a Neon disease that makes them loose their color...lemme go check.

[AquaQueen]

This must have been what I seen.
Most tetras will fade in color if they are stressed or uncomfortable with their surroundings. (But note that many lose all their color at night, which is not a cause for alarm).
So far that's the only thing I found that has to do with their colors changing.

[RobbieG]

NTD makes the colored stripes fade after they have been sick with it for a while. If your fish is turning white and swelling up I would treat with an antibacterial remedy like melafix.

I would do it quick too - because neons don't seem to last too ling when they are ill.

[AquaQueen]

very true once they start showing signs of being sick they rarely come back from it if not treated right away.

[MeganL3985]

Treat the whole 5 gal with the melafix?

[RobbieG]

I would - the other fish in it should be OK with the med.

[MeganL3985]

Alright I went out to walmart a bit ago and got some melafix. I just put it in there and checked on the fish. It seems to be hanging more around the back of the tank not with the rest of them. I'm noticing the red in the tail starting to fade a tad and also the blue line looks like its starting to fade a bit in the center. I hope its okay.

[RobbieG]

The colors fade at night and whenever they are stressed. The swelling and isolation are probably the worst signs. Keep an eye out to be sure the other fish don't go after the poor little guy.

[MeganL3985]

They dont bother with him at all.....they keep their distance. I've watched them for a little while this afternoon and also watched them for a few minutes before and after I dropped some melafix in.

[RobbieG]

Some fish can get a little agressive with sick fish. Good luck with the medicine!

[MeganL3985]

He's really sucking air....I have a feeling that the melafix is gonna be too late. He'll probably be dead by morning the way he's looking and acting right now :( poor thing.....I dunno whatelse to do for it.

[RobbieG]

Thats the big trouble with small fish like neons - by the time you realize that they are sick they are usually very sick. I hope he makes it - good luck.

[MeganL3985]

Do you think I should leave it in there? If its NTD, I don't want it to effect the others....but if it isn't I dont want to seperate him and put him out of his element only to have the stress of that kill him. I just dont want it to kill my other fish.

[RobbieG]

If you can put him somewhere by himself I would - If it is a bacterial infection (or even NTD) it is likely that the other fish were exposed to it long before he swelled up but they could still turn on him.

Even if he doesn't make it I would continue the medication for the recommended period. JIC the others are sick and just not showing.

[MeganL3985]

Woke up this morning and turned the light on the tank, honestly expecting him to be dead. He is still white and puffy, but he's now swimming with the others. Not just in the back corner all by himself. I don't know what to think. If it were NTD do you think he would already be dead by now? When I was reading about it, I read that it kills very quickly and their symptoms get worse. So far he looks the same, but is now swimming with the others. Thats a good sign right?

[RobbieG]

It seems like it - keep up what you are doing it is working so far.:19:

[MeganL3985]

Heres a couple pics I got about an hour ago. The first pic, is a weird color, but you can see his coloring a bit easier. The second pic (with the flash) it makes his coloring look normal, but with the flash the pics are clearer and you can see his belly size compared to the others.

[RobbieG]

The belly looking like that is a classic sign of an advanced bacterial infection. Your fish definitely does not have NTD - continue with the antibacterial and doublecheck your water to be sure that it is clean/safe (good PH ammonia etc.) make sure that you are not overfeeding the fish.

[MeganL3985]

Well i'm glad its not NTD then! His color has been coming back more today. Yesterday his colors were faded a bit, but like you said before, that can happen if they're stressed. I imagine he would be stressed if he's got a bacterial infection. I did a 50% water change the other day when I first started noticing the fish looking a little sick, started treatment last night and he's back in with the school this morning. I've been checking on him periodically today. Sometimes he'll be in the back by himself again, other times he'll be in the front of the tank with the others. I guess just watch him closely, monitor water parameters and keep treating.

[tropfish]

i hope he pulls through. good luck! :22:

[AquaQueen]

I hope things turn out fine. Sounds like they will be and he is already starting to feel a bit better. Good Luck and keep us updated!

[MeganL3985]

Eck.....he's still a sickie this morning. Having problems swimming even. Took forever for his little stripe to light up after turning the tank light one. All the others were lit up and he was still plain white with barely visable colors....for about 5 minutes anyway. Poor thing....I hate not being able to do anything else for him.

[MeganL3985]

Btw, Forgot to ask.....today is usually my water changing day....can I still do that even though he's sick and there are meds in the tank? Or do I just go ahead and change some water and add a dose (or half dose) of meds?

[RobbieG]

I would do the water change - the cleaner the water the better off he will be - like yous said add some medication to make up for what gets removed. It is better to have too much of the medication that you are using rather than too little. That isn't true for most meds - but its OK in this case.

Good luck - he has made it longer than most sick neons do - so he may still make it!

[MeganL3985]

I did a water change a little while ago, he's been swimming all around the tank...slowly but still swimming around. He was up at the top poking around when I was pouring in the new water, I was trying to miss him with my cup, I didnt want to hit the poor thing with it. He seems like he's feeling better, just still puffy and mostly colorless. Hope he hangs in there.

[1MileCrash]

in case ya didn't see it in my "dieing neon tetras" post...you might want to check this out. sounds like what your fish has got. i know that at least 2 of mine had it...

ammonia levels are stable at zero. i don't have and can't find any other types of test kits in my area...nitrates or nitrides.

at least i know what a few of the neons died from based on the articles section at left...


Neon Tetra disease:

Neon Tetras are susceptible to the Neon Tetra disease. There is still no available cure for this disease and it will often kill the fish. Neon Tetra disease is caused by a sporozoan named Pleistophora hyphessobryconis. The disease is therefore also known as “Pleistophora”.

During the initial stage of Neon Tetra disease, parasite spores enter the Neon tetra. Common symptoms include restlessness and dull colouration. As the disease proceeds, cyst will develop and the fish body can become lumpy. The Neon Tetra will often have trouble swimming and towards the final stages of the disease the spine can become curved. The weakened fish is also susceptible to secondary infections.

As mentioned above, these is still no cure for Neon Tetra disease and trying to prevent the parasite from entering your aquarium in the first place is therefore the best course of action. The parasite is typically introduced via live food or newly purchased fish. By cultivating your own live food you will gain a greater control over what you put in your aquarium. Brine shrimp is for instance very easy and hassle-free to cultivate at home. When you purchase new fish, you should ideally keep them quarantined in a separate aquarium and look out for signs of illness. In the aquarium, fish often catch the disease when they eat dead fish. Removing sick and dead fish as soon as possible is therefore important. Some aquarists report that using a diatom filter decreases the risk of Neon Tetra disease, but it is only a supplement, not a substitute for the precautions described above. A diatom filter can reduce the amount of free parasites in the water.

There is also a disease known as “false Neon Tetra disease” that is often confused with true Neon Tetra disease. This disease is not caused by a sporozoan; it is caused by bacteria. The symptoms are however very similar and unless you have access to a laboratory it will be virtually impossible for you to tell the difference between the two diseases.

[MeganL3985]

Yeah I think he's probably got false NTD, he's been sick for 3 days and started him on Melafix the other night. He's still alive so I think if it were actually NTD he would've died by now. But who knows I guess. I just hope he's okay. Thanks for the article btw. :)

[MeganL3985]

Well he died :( So much for the 3 days of sickness but still hangin in there. I just hope he didnt suffer too much. I found him laying next to one of the rocks. I got him out of there and did a 25% water change. I also added some more melafix in the new water, just b/c i think i'm going to still treat the other fish incase they've got the bacterial infection or were nipping on him after he was dead. I'm not sure when it happened. I checked on him last around 8pm. So I dunno. So my school is down to 4 now, with the 2 oto cats. Might add another 2 neons in there since they like to be in groups of 5 or more. 6 seemed to be the perfect number with them. Plenty of room to swim around together with the oto's and not an overload on the tank.

[RobbieG]

Sorry to hear about your fish - it is a very good idea to treat the other fish.

Its tough to treat neons - they are so small that by the time you can see that they are sick they are usually very sick

[salman]

The thing with tetra's is that they are soo small that you can't see whats wrong with them. It may be the Neon Tetra Disease, same symptoms you have mentioned, but there is no cure. I hope the melafix cures him.