Sick Neons

Eish people...I'm a little concerned here. I noticed my Neons are developing bulging bellies. I've looked into the symptoms on the web and I get hits from Neon Tetra Disease through to constipation. The fish don't seem in any discomfort, except the one with the massive belly...eyes are also starting to bulge. I have quarantined 3 Neons in a bucket, might need to quarantine 1 more. Apart from the 1 with the massive belly, the others are starting to get little bumps in the same area. I've looked at some NTD pictures, but mine don't seem to look like that. Let me run through the list first:

General
Where do you stay? Pretoria
How long have you been keeping tropical fishes? Approx. 2.5 years
How long has the tank been running before you added fish/this fish?
1 Week before adding my fish(moved from old tank, so used the old water + filter media + Seachem Prime & Stability for the new water). Bought some more Neons, White Clouds & Yoyo Loaches some time after. But that was already weeks ago. Don't know if this fish was an original or a new one.
What fish do you have in your Tank (type, number and size)?
Neon Tetras(14 - S to M), Silver Tip Tetras(4 - M), Zebra Danios(6 - L), Rainbow Shark(1 - L), White Clouds(9 - S), YoYo Loaches(3 - S)
When did you last buy any new fish?
More than a month ago
Which food are you feeding and how often do you feed?
TetraMin Flakes - 1x per day. Sometimes not every day



Disease
Describe the problem that the fish is having (behaviour, breathing, excretion (droppings), food intake, colour)?
Swimming normally. Has developed a huge belly. Started small but grew into a soccerball. Eyes starting to bulge.
Is the fish eating?
Yes
Has the problem occurred before?:
No
Have you treated the problem and how?
No. Just Quarantined.
Have you had any other problems in the past?
No
What were they?
Did you treat for these problems?
How?

Your aquarium & Maintenance
How big is the tank. (L x b x h)? 120cm x 45cm x 45cm
How many litres of water?
240L + 80L in sump
What type of filter do you run?
Sump
What is IN the filter?
Filter sponge, Ceramic Tubes, Plastic Balls
How many litres per hour is the filter rated for?
3500L/Hr at 0m (Probably closer to 2500L/hr currently)
How often do you clean your tank?
1x per week
How do you clean your tank?
Siphon surface of the gravel, occasionally wipe glass with dedicated sponge
How much water do you take out for Water change?
40 - 60 L
Do you prepare your water for water changes? How and what do you add?
Yes. Seachem Prime.
What water do you use. (Tap, bore hole, RO)?
Tap
What substrate do you have?
PFS
What else is in the tank (Rocks, plants, fake plants, shells, anything else)?
Rocks, Plants, Driftwood

Water parameters in your aquarium
Describe the water (smell and colour)?
No smell, tea coloured from leaching wood
Temperature of the water?
24 deg
General hardness (GH)? Don't know
Carbonate hardness (KH)? Don't know
Ammonia:
Nitrite (No2-)? Haven't tested yet. Need to find my test kit.
Nitrate (No3-)? Haven't tested yet. Need to find my test kit.
pH?
How did you test these? Have you checked the expiry date on the test kits?
Haven't tested yet. Need to find my test kit.

Lights
What light do you have? 2 x 10k T5s
How long is the light on for? 6 Hours
Do you have lots of plants in the tank (real or fake)? Some, yes
How do you fertilize the plants? Seachem Flourish

Hopefully you'll be able to offer some suggestions!

 

Maybe they have internal parasites.:idea:

 

Can you try to get us a photo?

 

Will do what I can... Chased the 1 Neon around the tank for 20 minutes this afternoon. I almost euthanased it just for that! Don't have the energy now. Will try tomorrow.


Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

Have you checked symptoms of dropsy?

You could also try giving them peas as a laxative. Just check on the internet regarding how to...

 

Hmm... Seems it could be dropsy. I'll have to monitor the other fish more closely, and do extra water changes this week. Seems the biggest issue is water quality causing poor immune systems.


Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

I don't have allot of knowledge about neons but usually when my cichlids develop stomach problems (swim bladder or swelling) i feed them some frozen peas.Usually add few to a cup then add boiling hot water and crush it up until it forms a paste like substance and then cool it down with some aged,treated or tank water.Cichlids are pretty fussy about their food so i mix in a few other things like bloodworms or crushed cichlid pellets.

Neons might not be so fussy but if they don't eat then you can mix it in with their usual food.

Good luck.

 

Thanks @DCWarHound ... will try the peas thing. I'm sure they'll chow down...

 

You're welcome,forgot to mention that you might want to take off the outer skin.They might try to separate it themselves by spitting it out into smaller pieces and then eating it again.

 

@DCWarHound Do you need to cook it?.

 

Kinda,you can leave them in boiling water for 2 min then you can squeeze them out of the skin and leave them in for another 2 minutes.You can also put them in a bowl with water and put it in a microwave for 3-4min then squeeze out the insides (they get mushier faster when you use boiling water which makes it a bit harder to squeeze out the middle.

I don't see how a fish would eat a forzen pea though a pleco might chow down on it once it drifts to the buttom but most fish will ignore it.

 

I place some peas in a glass bowl, seal it with cling paper and then I push a few holes in it.

And pop it in the microwave for 1 minute, I then remove the shell.

My Tiger barbs love peas.

 

@
DCWarHound lol you where to quick for me :cheesy:

 

Heh

Wish my cichlids would love it as much as your Tiger Barbs,i feed them once a week and they ignore it if i give it to them without something extra.Syno and Golden CAE love em though.

 

Dude they are like piranhas LOL.

 

So, unfortunately 2 Neons didn't make it but I don't think it's illness. I believe the 1 was constipated and the other possibly died of shock due to the move from tank to bucket. The 3rd neon that I quarantined appears to be happy after a week. I'll give it a few more days before I move it back.

 

The problem with dropsy is, that it is dropsy and not ick, external is always easier to treat then internal, with my experience with dropsy its fatal, and even the pea will not help, I know ive lost a couple of bettas trying the pea :cry: they eat it, but never got it out again. Sorry for the bad news @DesertConvert

 

I agree with Hennie. Dropsy hasn't anything to do with stomach or gasblatter. It's liquid in the fishes body because internal organs (kidneys) aren't working anymore (infected by bacteria or viruses) At that stage it isn't treatable anymore. Euthanising it is the only thing to do. There are two things against that diagnose in this thread : normally fish won't eat anymore and two fishes at te same time is like hitting the jackpot (almost never happens). Female neons can get incredibly fat by the way !!!! Maybe variation in food and don't feeding them now and the can be a solution! Greetz Aad

 

It appears I have a disease problem in my tank I've been losing fish (mainly Neon Tetras) over the past months. Last night I euthanased a Silvertip Tetra that had become pale(almost white) and was gasping, and struggling to swim(rapid onset). I've tested water parameters, from the usual ammonia, nitrates, nitrites down to copper & iron. Nothing appears wrong with the water. The other fish all appear healthy. On the one hand it may be dropsy, which would be treatable(?) or it may be NTD in which case I may lose all my fish? I could quarantine the fish in a smaller tank, but that may be pointless if they're all infected already with only certain individuals displaying symptoms.

Any suggestions?

 

Did you see any (white) spots or somethink like that?