meg1220

I've noticed a cluster of small, white specks on my neon tetra's tail; is this ICH?
I'm already turning up the heater.

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CHoffman

I can't really tell. If it's ICH turning up the heater to around 83-84 will help. You need to make sure you have lots of air going into the tank because higher temps mean less oxygen. If it's not ICH and a fungus you'll know because the higher temps will make the fungus grow more quickly. Keep a very close eye on it to see what happens with the higher temps.

Borisbbadd

I can't tell either,

If it is Ich, it will look like someone took the fish out and sprinkled salt on it.

If it is, the higher temps, and frequent water changes ( vacuuming the gravel ) will help.


Randy

meg1220

So now the tail has a tear starting from these white-ish bumps through the end. Maybe this could be mechanical (i.e., from another fish picking on it)? There has been some extra stress going on in the tank recently, which they seem to be showing by picking on each other more. Tried to get a picture last night, but my camera died. I may get a chance to try again tonight. Could a fungus cause a tear?

eiginh

It can be fin rot and fungus. If it's Ich it would be small tiny white dots and as it progresses more would be visible all over the fish's body. It states you have 6 neon tetras in your aqua. info which should be a good school...What are your water parameters and when was your last water change?

meg1220

The tank is going through a cycle right now, which is partly what I meant when I said that things were stressful for them right now. Basically, what happened was I put some fertilizer tabs into the substrate of my tank, not realizing that the copper would be toxic to my (approximately 9 bazillion) red cherry shrimp (wow, do those things breed like crazy). I noticed there was a problem when I started seeing lots of dead shrimp. Of course, this caused my cycle to crash and water parameters to go all wacky. I had to do a huge tank overhaul to clean out all the dead shrimp and rescue the survivors to another tank. I've been changing about 50% of the water every other day at least, and adding prime every day. The water changes, though clearly necessary, freak them out even more- they've long gotten to the point where they hide as soom as the hood comes off the tank.

So I guess at this point, it seems like a fungus is a likely culprit?

eiginh

Can you try to get a clearer photo, I know it'll take a lot of shots but that will really help determine. Google finrot/fungus and check if your fish have the same symptoms. If so grab some melafix from a LFS and treat your tank. Your other fish might have it too but not visible yet. Others might also have better suggestions so just wait for a bit.