Tetra dropping like flies...

I'm at a loss. I have a bunch of tetra (Neon, Black Neon, Bloodfins, Cardinals, Glowlight) and they seem to have been steadily dying one-by-one from no known (to me) cause... I just get to the tank and a fish is dead... until today when I got my first glimpse of symptoms before death.

The illness seems to go from nothing to dead VERY quickly within an hour or so (usually when I'm not home) and all other fish seem fine until randomly one just dies a day or couple days later. Has been happening for a week or so. Every day or 2nd day some random fish that had been perfectly fine winds up dead. Today I noticed for the first time one of the glowlights' body was starting to turn a hazy white and a bit swollen in one specific area. The fins in the "hazy white" area seemed stuck in their positions, and it didn't look like it could flex that region. However the rest of it's body (fore and aft of the hazy area) seemed to function fine. It seemed a bit shy and hid from me, but mostly it looked like it was just trying to stay still and sit in one spot. At that point it wasn't struggling to swim, it wasn't disoriented, it just seemed a bit stiff. Basically the way I can describe it is: It looked like a part of it's body had already died, it looked exactly like a typical dead fish would look, but only in one spot and the rest was functioning fine.

Next time I came to the tank it was completely dead, with a cardinal (I hadn't noticed any warning signs) dead right next to it. Now both their bodies were fully opaque from the haze and they'd lost all colour. They were lying upside down on the gravel.

Help?!

 

I should've added that I've been dosing herbtana with no effect.

 

Sorry that this is happening to you. I k ow that feeling of helplessness. Unfortunately it sounds as if it could be neon tetra disease or maybe columnaris. Both are not treatable for all intents and purposes. I believe there are some complex treatment options for columnaris, but I haven't heard many success stories. If I was you, I'd cull any fish that look vaguely like they could be infected. Post a pic of the casualties if you can.

 

@DoubleDutch has an extensive knowledge on diseases. Any ideas Aad?

 

The white aereas, the "stiff" swimming and extreme lethallity could mean you encountered NTD. Seriously hoping I am wrong!!!!

Neon Tetra Disease

 

Neon tetra disease and for most part columnaris will display symptoms quite some time before the fish die.

Maybe some internal organ failure?

Neons and Cardinal tetras these days seem to have a very limited life span.

 

Hoping you are right about the disease @Vis

Think this hasn't to do with lifespan though.

 

Is the water tested ??

 

Did not mean they died of age, just that they do not seem to last long in any tank these days.

A big group quickly dwindles down to only a few for no reason.

 

Yeah, I think since I'm essentially poked if it is NTD, I may aswell do some antibiotics and hope to hell it's a form of false NTD or some other bacterial infection.

Anything else I could do in unison "in case" it's something else? Salt maybe? Would Cardinals survive a bit of salt?

Well that depends, tested for what? I test GH, KH, pH, Phosphates, Iron, NO₂, and NO₃.

Yup... I don't think fish stockists mind though.

 

Okeydokey....

> Where do you stay?

Roodepoort

> How long have you been keeping tropical fishes?

4 months.

> How long has the tank been running before you added fish/this fish?

It ran a month fishless cycle, with daily NO₂ and NO₃ testing until it had spiked and cycled. It's been stocked with fish since then. The dying fish are of various shopping trips.

> What fish do you have in your Tank (type, number and size)?

5 Glowlight tetra
7 Cardinal tetra
4 Glass bloodfin tetra
1 Neon tetra (left)
5 Black neon tetra.
A bunch of what seem like pond snails, I try to remove what I can during cleaning.

I like tetra

> When did you last buy any new fish?

I re-stocked a bit last week but the problem had already started by then. Before then a number of weeks.

> Which food are you feeding and how often do you feed?

Small pinch of flake once in the morning and once in the evening. Every now and then I also add a small bit granular food.
I try very hard not to over-feed.

> Describe the problem that the fish is having (behaviour, breathing, excretion (droppings), food intake, colour)?

Pretty much described.

> Is the fish eating?

As far as I can discern they eat until the symptoms start and then they die rapidly.

> Has the problem occurred before?

Ongoing only.

> Have you treated the problem and how?

I've attempted to boost their immune system with Microbe-Lift Herbtana.

> Have you had any other problems in the past?
> What were they?

A bit of ich a couple of months ago, but was sorted very quickly.

> Did you treat for these problems?
> How?

Herbtana did the trick.

> How big is the tank. (L x b x h)?
92x31x51 cm.

> How many litres of water?
~130l

> What type of filter do you run?
> What is IN the filter?

Internal w/ sponge and carbon. Carbon has been removed for current treatment.

> How many litres per hour is the filter rated for?

662 lph

> How often do you clean your tank?

Weekly.

> How do you clean your tank?

Vacuum gravel, water change, brush glass with magnet scraper, wash filter media in tank water.

> How much water do you take out for Water change?

About 40%, this is just how much gets removed while I vacuum gravel.

> Do you prepare your water for water changes? How and what do you add?

Seachem Prime added to water before it goes into tank.

> What water do you use. (Tap, bore hole, RO)?

Tap.

> What substrate do you have?

Seachem Flourite

> What else is in the tank (Rocks, plants, fake plants, shells, anything else)?

2 rocks that have been there from the start, a bunch of live plants and driftwood that was properly soaked and does not seem to leech or affect water quality.

> Describe the water (smell and colour)?

Very clear with a very feint 'fresh' smell and perhaps a weee greenish tint.

> Temperature of the water?

Our heatwave has admittedly made this hard to control, around 28°C, usually closer to 24°C.

> General hardness (GH)? 6°
> Carbonate hardness (KH)? 6°
> Ammonia: Unknown.
> Nitrite (No2-)? 0
> Nitrate (No3-)? 10mg/l
> pH? ~7
> How did you test these? Have you checked the expiry date on the test kits?

Test strips mostly, I occasionally double check nitrate and nitrite with a liquid test. Test expiry date is fine.

> What light do you have?

2x T8 6500K 2ft.

> How long is the light on for?

8hrs.

> Do you have lots of plants in the tank (real or fake)?

Medium amount of real plants and mosses.

> How do you fertilize the plants?

Seachem potassium, flourish excel, trace and iron.

> If possible, can you post some pictures of
> (1) The sick fish

No, they die very quickly I missed my opportunity. Will try get some.

> (2) A close up of the sick fish, and/or effected area

As above.

> (3) the full tank.

 

Thanks for completing that rather exhaustive questionnaire. Your tank conditions are exemplary, so definitely not an environmental issue.
Have you noticed any slight bumps/swelling or maybe a curved spine prior to final symptoms?

 

Thanks.

Well I ante'd up on a NH test today just to be sure and it's at 0. Phosphates are also really low. I'm with you.

I'm not sure what a "curved spine" would look like. Could you have a look at these pics please?

1: I've seen some strange angles on some of my black neons but they actually fare better than all the other fish. It seems normal to me, but I may be mistaken.
2: I've also noticed some blackish-ness on my fish that is especially visible on glowlights. I've included pics on it. It basically looks like the scales are outlined. Is this normal?

 

I can't see any sign of curved spines on the fish in the pics. It would be very noticeable. My advice here would be to cull any fish that look like they could be infected. I had a similar situation, and the good news is that not all of the fish in the tank were infected.

 

Could it be I can't see the pics?

 

What do you see? What happens? Anyone with the link should be able to view after declining a log-in prompt.

 

Yeah, well... we'll see about that. They've all looked great until the 11th hour. HOWEVER we are now heading for 48h without deaths. *HOLDING THUMBS*