Neon Tetra Disease - Move Quickly to Save the Rest!
Neon Tetra disease is devastating if you end up with it in your tank.
If you don't act fast you can end up losing your entire shoal of Neons within a couple of weeks.
So what is Neon Tetra disease and where does it come from.
This disease is not peculiar to Neon Tetras.
It bears their name simply because it was first recognised in Neon tetras but it can also kill other fish, virtually all of the Tetra family with the exception of Cardinal Tetras ,which somehow seem to be immune, as well as Angelfish and Barbs and Rasboras.
The disease usually comes into a tank carried by other fish and is a great argument for always quarantining any new fish for at least two weeks.
If that is impossible, take a good look at other fish in the shop before buying and avoid any tank that appears to have sick fish in it as they will already have infected their tank mates.
The disease is fatal, different fish will take varying lengths of time to die so euthanasia is the most humane thing you can do for any fish that has the disease.
You need to remove it from the tank before it dies as any fish that decides to nibble on a recently deceased tank mate will invariably get the disease.
Symptoms are restlessness, especially at night, the fish's swimming habit will change, it will probably stop shoaling with other fish and start to swim erratically, fish will begin to lose their colour and cysts will start to form in muscles which can give a lumpy appearance.
In advanced cases the spine can become curved and the fish will struggle to swim.
Although it is virtually impossible to rid a tank of the disease once it has it, careful cleaning and good tank maintenance will reduce the risk of further infection.
The disease is carried by spores but will only infect fish that manage to ingest the spores so as long as a tank is maintained properly re-infection of new stock is unlikely but it may be wise to steer clear of species that can contract the disease for a few months after an outbreak
If you don't act fast you can end up losing your entire shoal of Neons within a couple of weeks.
So what is Neon Tetra disease and where does it come from.
This disease is not peculiar to Neon Tetras.
It bears their name simply because it was first recognised in Neon tetras but it can also kill other fish, virtually all of the Tetra family with the exception of Cardinal Tetras ,which somehow seem to be immune, as well as Angelfish and Barbs and Rasboras.
The disease usually comes into a tank carried by other fish and is a great argument for always quarantining any new fish for at least two weeks.
If that is impossible, take a good look at other fish in the shop before buying and avoid any tank that appears to have sick fish in it as they will already have infected their tank mates.
The disease is fatal, different fish will take varying lengths of time to die so euthanasia is the most humane thing you can do for any fish that has the disease.
You need to remove it from the tank before it dies as any fish that decides to nibble on a recently deceased tank mate will invariably get the disease.
Symptoms are restlessness, especially at night, the fish's swimming habit will change, it will probably stop shoaling with other fish and start to swim erratically, fish will begin to lose their colour and cysts will start to form in muscles which can give a lumpy appearance.
In advanced cases the spine can become curved and the fish will struggle to swim.
Although it is virtually impossible to rid a tank of the disease once it has it, careful cleaning and good tank maintenance will reduce the risk of further infection.
The disease is carried by spores but will only infect fish that manage to ingest the spores so as long as a tank is maintained properly re-infection of new stock is unlikely but it may be wise to steer clear of species that can contract the disease for a few months after an outbreak
