Mandy82

i am really worried about my neon tetras, i just came home from work and did a partial water change. when i was done i realised that all my fish seem to have tiny white spots on some of their fins. it almost looks as if somesmall particles got caught in them. i am really worried that they might be sick, because i have not been very lucky since i started keeping fish.hope anybody can help

M

Aldric

sounds like white spot to me but i may be wrong
you can get stuff to put in the water from ur LFS

Shawnie

putting "stuff" in the water isnt good......finding out what it is first, would help...a pic certainly will help allot but in the meantime, does it look like small grains of salt or more like an injury of some kind?

if it looks like salt, its probably ICH and to treat ich you can slowly turn up the temps to 84-84F for 2 weeks....add an extra bubble wand or air stone as warmer water has less oxygen..do 2 gravel vacs a week to clean the ich spores that will fall off the fish, out of the subtrate....make sure the water you put back in the tank, is the warmer temps also..you dont want a temp shock.....good luck!

Aldric

sorry shawnie. by "stuff"! i ment white spot medication

Shawnie

to medicate a tank, is taking a big risk for killing the cycle....and stressing the fish even more....if at all possible, and its not totally overwhelming the tank and fish, the warmer temps for 2 weeks and the other, should cure it....it sounds like its in the beginning stage if it is ich ...medicating for anything is almost a last resort and only done if nothing else seems to work for the most part......but its each members decision

JennDFK

From what I have read tetras are pretty sensitive to ich meds... If it is ich and you do opt for the medication rather than the temperature method I would read up a little on the best type to use on tetras. QuICK cure says to use 1/2 the amount of meds for tanks containing tetras.

Mandy82

thank you verymuch everybody. turning up my heater right now. swanie it looks more like little salt particle.

Nate McFin

Yep, thats ich.
I have Cardinal Tetras and had a very stubborn case of Ich that eventually was sorted out.
I would also recommend the salt and heat method first. If you dont see improvements in a week or so (or if it gets tons worse) Coppersafe worked for my Cardinals. I would not add Quick Cure myself...I tried one of the 1/2 dose treatments and all of the fish began flipping out and eventually all huddled in a corner. They were very unhappy with the treatment so I took it out. Coppersafe is tricky to dose so do some research before you go adding it to your tank! Hopefully it isnt a heat resistant strain and you can get rid of it without meds.
Hope all goes well,
Nate

peacemaker92

Hi Mandy. Sorry to hear about your tetras. I agree with Shawnie and Nate. Increasing the tank's temperature should do it. It worked for my fish. I would never recommend meds to cure a situation because it can make things worse. When I first started at fish keeping, I used meds for my fish before and it killed them somehow.

Well, feel free to ask any members here for help. We're all here to give a helping hand Good luck!

aquarist48

Hello Mandy,
Sorry to hear your fish aren't feeling well. I agree with Shawnie about raising your tank temperature to 84-85 degrees and leaving it there for two weeks. Even if the spots go away before then, do not reduce the temperature until after the two week period. Add an air stone if you don't have one already. Higher temps need more oxygen. Gravel vacuums are a must to remove fallen spores.

Neons are not the best fish to put into a newly cycled tank. They like a tank that has been established for some time. They can be very sensitive to changes.

Best of luck. If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask
Ken

Mandy82

thanx everybody. after i turned up the temperature in my tank the water looks a bit more turbit in it. does anybody knoow the reason for this?

aquarist48

Hey Mandy. I had to look up "turbit". It says a breed of pigeon and gives the description of the pigeon and no other definition. So I'm not sure what you are asking.
Ken

coffeebean

i think she meant turbid. cloudy water.

aquarist48

Thank you coffee bean! That's a new one for me!

Mandy with your tank being fairly new it's a possibility your tank may be getting a bacterial bloom. Not too worry, it's very common in new tanks. It will eventually go away on it's own and with the help of your regular water changes. If it is a bloom it won't go away over night so try not to fret over it and just give it some time. I don't think turning up the heat is the cause of it getting cloudy.
Keep us posted,
Ken

Mandy82

hi thank you guys for all the help. seems like i have managed to beat the ich without any meads. turned down the temp again last weeks and so far the spots have not come back

on the sad note something has happened this morning. when i woke up everything seemed fine in my tank. but when i checked again before i went to work i could only see 2 tetras swimming about and so on closer inspecting i found one dead behind the filter. i really dont know what happened. the water parameters are fine and have been for weeks. i am really worried now because i am going away for 2 weeks on next friday, and i dont want to come back to a tank which is all dead. any suggestions on what i should do?