ChelseaB

Hello everyone. So far I've had my tank for over a month, levels are fine, the fish I do have are happy as can be. I added three black neon tetras yesterday. Two of them are happy, swimming together, and enjoying food. The third however, is spinning uncontrollably around the tank. He's hitting the ornaments and plants, and can't seem to swim straight- he just keeps spinning in circles. I'm not too sure what to do with him, if he's just confused or if there's something wrong and he's not recovering, the other fish seem disrupted. It's a 45 minute drive to where I got him, and I feel bad for the other two since their school is going to have to stay small until I can figure out what to do w/ this one. I feel bad for him (I introduced them into the tank slowly by adding my tank water, etc. for the recommended period of time) and he's making me very upset. Please help.

ifixoldhouses

sounds like a swimbladder issue. Not much you can do.

ChelseaB

So do I just wait until his time's up?

ifixoldhouses

pretty much in my experience, I just had a $60 Discus die that way.

cherrybarbboi

idk wut it iz but ik tht if hes spinning circles kinda like a torpedo he may b stressed out

ifixoldhouses

a dose of salt would help with stress.

cherrybarbboi

yea i think salt would help aquarium salt tht is. it helps with A LOT of stuff. it can even help wounds heal. i think u put in a tblespoon for every 5 gallons

ChelseaB

Yep, I'm good on the salt. My husband took him back to the store today, I didn't know this, but the lady who bagged him was really rough handling the fish- might have had something to do with it. He looked fine until he was taken out of the tank and put in the bag for us to take home (this is what my husband told me). I added the rest of the school tonight, and everybody is acting normal. I do feel bad for that little guy though, that really bothered me.

I appreciate everybody's help! That is a bummer about your Discus- not a fun way to go

ChelseaB

Alrighty, I spoke too soon, so I have another black neon, just one, that's doing it again. I did add some more salt, and my levels are fine, so I'm wondering if he is just stressed out since this was exactly what the other one was doing. However, this time it happened after I shut the light off to go to bed. About 30 minutes later I walked by the tank and noticed one of them spinning around again, almost like he's disoriented.

I guess all I can do really is wait it out. This is the first time I've had a problem with a fish, and it's been with the black neons both times.

aquarist48

Good morning. Hate to hear about your Neons. Neons can be tricky to keep sometimes. I would suggest waiting a while before adding any more. In my opinion Neons should be added to a well established tank. (one that has been cycled for several months) Best of luck and hope they get well soon.

ChelseaB

I've had 5 neons for over a month now, and they are just thriving. I don't know what it is w/ these black neons, and it's just one out of the group. I suppose we'll just see what happens, thanks for the input.

cherrybarbboi

hi again : ) this may sound funny but i can relate to the "crazy when the lite goes off" becauze i had 2 glofish (which r alive and well rite now) who went absolutley CRAZY when i turned the lite in mi tank off. i hate to say it but im not sure about your fish. they sound stressed out to me. i do have a question tho. when u put them in the tank did you put the bag in the water first and let them get adjusted to the temperature and then put a lil bit of the tank water in the bag and wait for like 10 minutes because thts wut i do now but when i didnt once one of mi fish tht i had just brought in had the exact same issue. how did u aclimate him to the tank?

ChelseaB

Well he died yesterday afternoon. He was acting just like the one I took back to the store. The other four seem very happy and are eating with my neons. Water levels are still fine. This was the first casualty of the tank.