Flame tetra sick..

[Cameron]

my flame tetra just was laying at the bottom of my tank tonight, and i watched it for a while and it swims but it floats like a rock so it just kinda sits around and looks to be breathing very fast and heavy, almost like it lips are shivering. I tested my water Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: n/a Nitrate: 10. So i think it might be a combination of being picked on by my 4 serpae tetras and not getting much food, cause it looks very small... any info would be nice, i dont think he has much of a chance, thanks guys~!

[Cameron]

any ideas?

[Lady Hobbs]

Nope. But it does appear he is dying, tho. Sorry.

You start by asking when was your last water change and how good is the tank oxygenated. If you know all is well there, there is nothing to be done.

[Cameron]

its been i 2 weeks since my last change, i've been slacking cause the holidays.. i dont have a airstone or anything and im using an AC 50 and whisper 30 HOB's would i be better off getting and air pump going, can u have too much oxygenation thanks, he passed on 2 days ago by the way, he had almost no fins left..

[Lady Hobbs]

Fish will do that. Start picking on the weak ones or nibble on them after they die. Could be simply because they were serpae tetra's who can be a bit nippy but mostly, I think, because you didn't have a full school of them. You'll have less problems with aggression with larger schools.

[Cameron]

alright thanks for the help, i will get 4 more of them, eventually, they're VERY hardy they went through my whole cycle w/o a water change, cause i didnt know any better.. oh well i'll get 3 or 4 more soon