possible neon tetra disease outbreak

[MJD1974]

Hello,

I've recently lost some fish and am worried it might be neon tetra disease.

My tank has been set up 18 months. It's 20 gallons with plants. I've got two internal filters, an eheim biopower 160 and a fluval 2. I change about 30% water every 10 days to two weeks. All my parameters seem ok (using a six in one test)

I started stocking with a few danios and then gradually added some more danios (six in total), a couple of honey gourami and a couple of otocinclus. I also have some shrimp. Up till now i've only lost one danio and a couple of shrimp.

About six months ago i added seven neon tetra. Almost straight away i lost four of them. I was away for a couple of days and when i got back there was no sign of them at all. i assumed i had maybe added too many fish at once or not acclimatised them properly. There was no trace of them so i thought they must have been eaten.

I waited for a while and then got four more. Again, one seemed to go overnight with no trace. But then the rest seem to have been ok for about three/four months until recently when they started to loose some colour.

Last week i noticed one of the danios had lost a lot of weight and seemed to have a bent spine. I read up and panicked thinking it was TB. I euthanized the danio and have been keeping a close eye on the tank since.

All the danios seem ok now and the other fish too but the rest of the tetras are looking poorly. I lost one last night (partially eaten this morning). I'm thinking it might be neon tetra disease because of the loss of colour. They seem to be gasping at the bottom. Other symptoms include red gills, whiteness around belly/bit lumpy. I've tried to take a pic but struggled to get a good image. This is about the best so far.

I would really appreciate any advice on what to do. I don't have a quarantine tank and i don't want to euthanize any more fish unless i have to (i felt really bad after the danio).

Thanks

[Dave66]

Neon tetra disease (Pleistophora hyphessobryconis) isn't restricted to neon tetras; it was first diagnosed in them. It is an internal fungus that attacks the muscles of the fish, causing visible bumps or knots on the fish.

It is ONLY transmitted when a fish bites or eats a fish who has died from, or is dying from, the fungus. Otherwise it isn't contagious, and a consciences keeper removes dead fish promptly.

Unfortunately there is no cure for NTD.

Red gills almost screams Velvet. See my Disease primer for diagnosis and how to verify and cure that disease.

Dave

[Lady Hobbs]

Have you checked the nitrates?

[MJD1974]

Hi. Thanks for the advice.

I checked the nitrates today and they seem ok but i'm going to do 20% water changes every couple of days for a while as a precaution.

I'll try the test with the torch for velvet but i cant see anything which looks like gold/rust coloured cysts.

One thing this is teaching me is that i really need to get a quarantine tank sorted out. I'll have a look for something second hand. Until then i'll have to keep a close eye on the tank.

[imma24]

When you say the nitrates seem "OK" - what exactly are they?

Although it hasn't been my experience, neons tend to be more sensitive tetras.

Good for you to look into getting a QT - when you bring new fish home it is a lot easier to diagnose a new fish & treat rather than have to deal with something spreading to other fish & needing to treat an entire tank. I have a 5gal I use for quarantine - it works out fine for smaller fish.

I hope your fish turn out ok.

[MJD1974]

Nitrates are about 15 ppm. Havent lost anymore fish since monday. Going to look for cheap QT tank at weekend.
Thanks