cmoreland

Now forgive me if there is another thread on this but I have had one of my neon tetra's die on me a couple of months ago. Cause of death was slow actually, it basically just got more and more crooked and got to the point where it couldn't swim around normally. Eventually it got really thin and passed.

Now several months later I've got another crooked spine on one of my other Neon's. They both have a voracious appetite but have trouble grabbing the food before their bigger, healthier brethren gobble it up. It's coloring is fine but it is getting thinner the same way the last one did and I'm afraid I'll lose him soon.

I've had the tank for almost a year and I do monthly 50% water changes after it cycled initially way back when. The only other inhabitants are a Platy, 3 other Neons and a sucker fish (you know, one of the ugly ones) in a 10 gallon.

The only thing I can think of is the water I'm using from tap is harming the fish long term. It's awefully hard water. I do use RO water for top off (no Stress Coat added) and I add the Stress Coat Plus with every water change, but the water change water is usually from tap.

Any ideas?

Shawnie

im sorry for your losses
have you read about neon tetra disease? im not familiar with it, but ive seen others mention it..maybe google it? also google tuberculosis for fish and see if any of those give imformation that might be similar to yours....good luck!

Jaysee

I've battled NTD (neon tetra disease) and it will wipe out a tank very quickly - less than 2 weeks. It doesn't sound like NTD to me, though I only know what you've told me.

I remove sick fish immediately, and depending on the reason/fish, will try to treat it or will dispose of it. Your case sounds more like fish TB, and if it were my fish I would dispose of it immediately. I don't mean to be harsh, but that's the way it goes.

cmoreland

What's all this about Fish TB infecting humans? Should I break down my tank here? Kinda scary!

cmoreland

Well, after researching Fish TB quite a bit I've decided to remove the fish with the bent spine for good. There is no cure and I felt terrible about it. Not a good night. I hope the rest are ok but if one more starts to deform I'm afraid I'll be forced to tear it all down and bleach everything