New Nematobrycon palmeri in quarantine...
Hello WWM Crew!
<Hello Rene!>
I am coming to you with a question and hopefully a possible diagnosis for what is going on with these guys. I recently received 6 Nematobrycon from a fish farm that is usually reputable so I will keep their name to myself for now.
<Understood. Emperor Tetras are usually good value. They're adaptable and not prone to disease.>
I Ordered these guys a few weeks ago but they were just sent this week. I got them unpacked and into the quarantine tank when I noticed that 4 of the six had strange looking (bumps/growth?) on their chin area sizes of the growths vary from fish to fish. Not sure if it is some kind of birth defect, tumor or parasite possibly?
<The fact all of them have the odd mouth defect is striking. I have seen the occasional tetra with this sort of thing, usually in Neons, and put it down to a birth defect or possibly the result of fighting. Whether such a defect is genetic or caused by, for example, lack of some key nutrient during growth is hard to say.>
It doesn't look like fungus to me, not cotton like or hairy. More like a growth/tumor of some kind.
<Agreed.>
I did message the farm about it within minutes of getting them sorted in the tank for inspection. That was yesterday morning and I have not heard back from them as of yet (possibly due to the weekend) so I have been looking online for any kind of answers. I have come up with nothing. I can send my tank info if needed I just didn't think it was relevant considering this particular situation. I am including the best pics I could manage to get as they are quick little things. Some of them are eating but not all of them.
<If they're feeding, then a non-lethal birth defect may be the case here.
But I would still expect a full refund, even if sending the fish back is pointless. No reason to destroy them humanely if they can feed, but neither should you accept them as good or even acceptable quality Emperor Tetras that satisfy your contract with the seller.>
I do not want to just start dumping meds into the water unless needed.
<Agreed; and without symptoms, any medication would be random.>
I do have Kanaplex, API General Cure, Jungle Fungus Clear and Levamisole HCI on hand if any of those would be helpful. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance. Rene'
<Most welcome. Cheers, Neale.>
Filter is only a couple weeks old.
<I don't understand this exactly. Do you mean you changed the old filter for a new one? If so, then the new filter could be cycling and ammonia and nitrite above zero. That could easily account for the problem. If you mean the tank had no filter at all until two weeks ago, I'm surprised this puffer survived until now.>
I know not to change everything all at once. Is he dying? I think I'll die if he does.
<My first step would be to check the salinity. Strongly brackish water will help. If you're dosing salt in "teaspoon per gallon" amounts then you're not doing it right. You really need substantial amounts of marine salt mix. For SG 1.005, at 25 C you'd be dosing the salt at 9 grams per litre (1.2 oz per US gallon) which is quite a bit -- 9 grams is about 1.5 teaspoons of typical salt mix. I'm also going to ask you to check the ammonia and/or nitrite levels. If they're not zero, then that's a major problem that needs urgent attention. I'm finally going to have you do some reading, here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brackishsubwebindex/gspsart.htm
Hope this helps, Neale.>

Re: New Nematobrycon palmeri in quarantine...      4/1/19
Hello Neale!
<Good afternoon!>
Thank you for responding so promptly!
<Welcome.>
I honestly hadn't even thought about asking for a refund as they arrived alive. I will definitely look into that as its always a bit more costly ordering fish directly.
<Indeed it is, hence the usual contract in terms of safe arrival of livestock.>
Unfortunately we have no quality pet stores in my area, just a Petco and you couldn't pay me to take home anything they have. That said, a birth defect or possible injury from fighting is actually a relief to hear considering the other possibilities.
<Understood.>
I wanted to find out as much as possible as soon as possible as some things are so time sensitive when it comes to most fish illnesses.
<Correct.>
Aside from this they appear to be healthy.
<Good; and if feeding and behaving normally, this is a good reason to assume a birth defect.>
Thank you again for your time and response. We really do rely so much on this site and all of you when it comes to our aquatic hobby. Sorry about the lengthy messages. Thank you again!
<And thank you for these kind words. Cheers, Neale.>

Now: AZGardens, not sending the right fish/replying to messages (Was: New Nematobrycon Palmeri in quarantine...)     4/3/19 Re: New Nematobrycon Palmeri in quarantine... Sorry to add on, but something else I notice is bothering me... I don't think I was even sent the correct species. <Does indeed seem the case with these photos.> Once they settled in and I was able to get a better look at them. I would like a second opinion. I am attaching a couple of new pics with them colored up, as well as a stock photo of what I believe them to be. <Indeed.> The first thing I noticed was that they have adipose fins. If I remember correctly Nematobrycon Palmeri (Emperor Tetra) don't have those fins at all? Or am I mixed up in my memory? <You are quite correct.> So I was thinking maybe they were Inpaichthys kerri (Royal Tetra) except that the markings and coloring do not match up, in the end I believe they are actually Hyphessobrycon margitae (Red-Blue Peru-Tetra) ... <Certainly seems plausible.> I am sorry to bother you all with this but the farm still has not responded to any of my emails and I am in the process of going through my PayPal to request a refund as the farm (AZGardens) will not even attempt to work with me. <PayPal often do help here.> If you agree that these fish are not the correct species that I ordered and paid for please let me know! <Your photographs are definitely NOT Nematobrycon palmeri; they do not seem to be Inpaichthys kerri either. Definitely something else. Whether precisely Hyphessobrycon margitae isn't something I'm quite so sure about. But Hyphessobrycon something, yes!> I am finding through more research that this "farm" isnt as reputable as I had thought after more investigating when they didn't respond to my emails at all or even acknowledge them. Sorry to take up your time. Thank you, Rene <I don't know anything personally about AZGardens, so can't comment on their reputation. But in this instance, yes, you seem to have been sent the wrong species, and pretty poor quality specimens at that. Cheers, Neale.>

Tetra sudden illness        3/4/19
Howdy,
<Doody,>
We’ve a 29 gal tank we clean & test weekly. Normal ranges. 5 Serpae tetras, 3 other tetras (silver?) a loach and a Pleco. been with us 2+ years with no problems. Everyone ELSE is fine.
<Cool.>
Between yesterday morning roll call and today’s, this Serpae tetra went ghost pale, floating weird a la swim bladder, and I think he/she looks bloated. Wedged itself into plant leaves. And stopped moving & swimming. Infrequent breathing.
Any ideas on illness?
<Hard to say. Small tetras sometimes contract diseases that are all very similar in appearance (lethargy, loss of colour, disinterest in food, perhaps social behaviour oddities like leaving the group and hiding instead). In some cases they are bacterial, in others microbes of other types, like Pleistophora. In all honesty, with these very small fishes, it's often best to simply euthanise to reduce the risk of cross-infection. Clove Oil does the job nicely.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasia.htm
Serpae Tetras are generally very tough, legendarily so, though they are also notoriously nippy towards other fish and aggressive towards their own kind, especially when feeding. There are some lookalike species (such as Ember Tetras) that aren't nearly so tough, and don't handle hard water (for example) as long as Serpae Tetras. So I'd keep an open mind in that direction, too. Cheers, Neale.>

Hello! /Neale     11/2/18
First I would like to say that this website has been a complete obsession almost for any little thing that I ever seem to have questions about. I haven't had to actually write more than once before now. You all are lifesavers! Literally. With this particular situation though I am completely stumped. I have gone through everything I can on here and have not found a match yet that I can see. I will start with a bit of history, not too much though and water parameters. This is a 30gal long, planted tank. Everything from stem plants to floating hornwort. Home to a shoal of 6 albino Cory's ranging from 1-3 1/2 years of age. A school of 6 Glofish (skirt) tetras also ranging the same age. A small school of 6 Glolight tetras. A pair of juvenile peacock gudgeons and a male Betta that is a little over 2 years old. Water parameters are in ppm... 0 amm, 0 nitrite, less than 10 nitrate, GH around 80ppm, KH around 50-60ppm and PH ranges between 7-7.2. I do use peat moss and air stones in my 20gal water tank that I keep cycled and full for water changes as my water here comes out a hard 280-300 GH, about 120-150 KH and a PH of 8.4-8.6. I top off with a mixture of distilled and spring water. My question is about one of my older tetras. She has developed 2 odd pimple-like spots on her but they have come up from under her scales and pushed them out. Its hard to get a good pic of as her scales reflect back the light and the 2 "whitehead" looking bumps are under. She is about 3 1/2years old and roughly the size of a 50¢ piece. She acts completely normal and is eating normally and such. I first noticed these 2 bumps about a week ago and they don't seem to have gotten bigger or gone down any. I thought maybe some kind of parasite but nothing I have read about sounds like this. The only new fish to the tank within the past year are the gudgeons and they have been added in the past month. They have settled in nicely and seem healthy. Idk if they could have brought something with them or if its unrelated. I am attaching the best pic I could get but getting her holding still enough for any length of time to take a pic is not an easy task. Any thoughts or help/advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Allie.
<<Bob's covered the basics, but will add an observation re: Hemigrammus rodwayi, the Gold Tetra. This species is actually silver in colour, but the ones in the trade are infected with a non-lethal trematode parasite. I believe this happens naturally, in the wild, rather than a manmade thing. Anyway, the parasite causes the skin to secrete extra guanine, and that forms metallic gold patches, hence the common name of the fish. Praziquantel and other antihelminthic medications have been used successfully against trematodes, though in the case of the Gold Tetra the fish itself appears to be unharmed so such treatment is rarely, if ever, done by home aquarists. Still, it's an option. Of course first of all I'd be treating as per Whitespot and Velvet, just in case either of those (or some similar ciliate parasite) are to blame. The old salt/heat method can work very well, and has minimal toxicity if done correctly. Otherwise, if the tankmates aren't sensitive to standard anti-Whitespot medications, you could try a couple runs of those (Velvet in particular seems to need two courses to be thoroughly dispensed with). Good luck, Neale.>>
Re: Hello!     11/2/18
OK, I don't have any salinity in the tank at all as the Cory's don't seem to like it.
<Soft water fish, including Corydoras, are just fine at the 2g/litre used to treat Whitespot. Just as a reminder, other medications often include copper sulphate and formalin, which are FAR more toxic than salt, particularly to catfish and loaches. Hence the old salt/heat method remains a very useful approach for handling Whitespot and Velvet in situations where other medications aren't an option. Do also note than 2g/litre IS NOT brackish water, and furthermore, the salt/heat method operates over a week or two. A lot of people get confused by the salt dosage, and assume it'll turn the tank brackish. It really won't.>
I do have both the API Aquarium Salt ( just incase ) and Instant Ocean ( I have a low end brackish set up on another tank ).
<The API tonic salt is the one you want. While the Instant Ocean salt would work, it'd also raise pH and hardness. Plain non-iodised cooking salt, or some aquarium specific alternative, only affects salinity, and has no impact at all on pH and hardness.>
I can treat with if necessary. The temp stays between 76-78°.
<Traditionally the temperature is knocked up a few degrees to speed up the life cycle of the Whitespot or Velvet parasite. Once mature, the motile stages burst out of the fish, allowing them to swim about looking for a new host, but crucially, this is THE ONLY stage at which they can be killed. They have little tolerance for salt, much less than fish, so the salt added to the water kills them. Anyway, 28-30 C/82-86 F is considered optimal for the heat/salt technique. Since warm water has less oxygen than cold, you need to up the aeration during the process, or the fish may become stressed.>
I have looked into the velvet and it doesn't seem like that but it could be I reckon and I'm pretty sure its not the Whitespot/ick.
<Velvet tends to be like powdered sugar, often resulting in a golden sheen. Attacks the gills first, so affected fish often gasp, breathe heavily, or look nervous and distressed. Velvet usually progresses extremely rapidly. Whitespot more like table salt, with visible pimples. Often develops more slowly.>
I have had a bit of experience with that over the years but I will definitely be watching close and will treat the tank if other fish start developing whatever this is. I haven't moved her to the hospital tank yet as I'm not sure if that would help or hinder the situation.
<Indeed.>
I think she would be really stressed by herself but I will do it if its necessary. I did notice today that she has 2 identical spots on the other side in the exact same places. Just not as noticeable. No other spots anywhere else and they are right in a horizontal line almost like its part of her spine or something. I thought the spine was higher up though. I don't have much in the way of meds on hand aside from Melafix.
<Melafix largely useless.>
The ones I had expired unused months ago and I just haven't replaced them yet but I will. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to respond! If you think of anything else please let me know. Thanks again.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Hello!     11/2/18
I can't believe I didn't attach those pics! I was really sleepy when I emailed lol. Sending now and looking into Microsporidian and see what I can find! Thank you.
<Oh! Another possibility is that these spots are resultant from reproductive, hormonal cause... "Nuptial tubercles"... These too shall pass if so. BobF>

Re: Hello!     11/2/18
Wow! Never heard of that! I will look into that as well thank you! I'm just glad that it will pass if so. I am rather attached to my fish and was really worried.
<I sense/d this; and am glad for it. These organisms are dependent on our care entirely.>
Especially considering that they are genetically altered. This has been my first time owning fish that have been altered in such a way.
<Aye; a bit of "jellyfish DNA" clipped on eh?>
They have been much healthier than I originally thought they would be with no losses as of yet. Quite hardy and comical little guys. Thank you very much for the insight!
<Glad to share. Bob Fenner>

Ember tetra pathogen     10/22/18
Dear Crew,
<Amber>
I am hoping you can help me to diagnose what I believe to be a disease slowly killing off my ember tetras. I am wondering if it is Pleistophora, but all of the symptoms don't quite seem to match up with that. Anyway, before I get into it, here are the basics of the tank.
Planted 29g with Aqueon20 filter (with additional/better filtration media) and sponge filtration, kept at 78-80 degrees F. Water parameters are good and I do ~30% water changes once per week (sometimes it goes 2 weeks). I use soft, slightly acidic tap water that I treat with Seachem Prime. I have occasionally dosed the tank with Flourish Excel but generally don't add anything to the water except Prime for conditioning during water changes.
This tank has been set up for around 7 months.
The tank is currently stocked with:
9 ember tetras
3 Otocinclus
6 hockey stick Pencilfish
1 (Micro)Ctenopoma ansorgii
2 gold rams
1 large Amano shrimp
1 Nerite snail
I feed 1-2x per day. Most days they get a bit of Nutrafin Basix Staple Food and Nutrafin Bug Bites Cichlid Formula. Around 1-2x per week I feed them Hikari frozen brine shrimp and I also add about 1/2 of a Hikari algae wafer a few times per week (though I don't think the embers get much of that).
Over the past 7 months they have gotten Hikari frozen blood worms maybe 6x and freeze-dried blood worms maybe 20x (though they haven't gotten any blood worms in the past probably 1-2 months).
<Good>
The first fish I added to the tank were a few embers. Since then, I have added a few more, as well as the other listed occupants (more or less in the above listed order). Over the course of the past 7 months, I have lost 3 ember tetras but I have had no other illness or suspicious deaths in this tank (one ram got wedged and died behind the intake sponge on my HOB). I blamed the first ember death on stress or injury related to transfer between tanks. A few months later, I found another ember dead in the tank.
Everyone else seemed healthy, so I convinced myself this was just another 'fluke' death (pardon the pun). I was hoping there was no disease problem in my tank but these losses made me suspicious, so I have been keeping a close eye on it. I lost the third ember about 2 weeks ago. It started when I noticed that the stomach on one of my embers looked slightly misshapen, distended, and her organs seemed darker in colour than the other embers. I wasn't sure if I was imagining things. The next day, she looked worse. The bulge on her stomach was larger and was sliiightly fuzzy and whitish at the apex. It looked to me like some sort of internal problem was finally pushing its way through her skin. She was swimming around normally - and I assume eating - with the other fish. I decided she was going into quarantine. After chasing her around the tank for awhile, I finally caught her in a net, BUT when I first caught her, she was pinned against the glass a little bit. I was VERY gentle but apparently this pinning, or just the act of scooping her into a net, was enough to rupture the bulge in her stomach. I could not find whatever had ruptured out of her. I put her into a glass jar and expected her to die pretty quickly - she had a gaping hole in her stomach cavity. She continued to live for probably an hour or two before I euthanized her. Thinking back on the previous deaths, I am convinced there is a pattern here. All three had something funny going on with their stomachs. I don't remember many details from the first 2 deaths
other than some fuzziness/tissue damage to the stomach area and dark areas inside the stomach cavity. I have done some searching on WWM and what I am experiencing sounds VERY similar to the posted email 'Mystery ember tetra illness' from Lea on 8/25/12.
I am hoping you can help me figure out what is going on. I didn't get any pictures with this ember's stomach intact, but I took some after she died (first pic attached). I stored her in the fridge overnight and looked at her under a microscope the next day. Since I lost the majority of the 'growth', I wasn't sure what I would find, but I believe I have some images of whatever this pathogen is. The scale bars didn't export properly with the images when I saved them however, they are at 100x-200x magnification
and the images have not been cropped, just resized.
<Thank you for this useful info>
The first microscope image is wet-mounted without a cover slip. The focus is poor but this pic lets you see how spherical the objects are, as well as the black 'filaments' covering their surfaces. The second microscope image is of a cluster of similar objects wet-mounted between slides. Prior to squishing them, they were spherical and clustered together kind of like grapes. These ones did not have the back material surrounding them as some others did. If you zoom in, you can see how some of these spheres seem to be dividing. The third microscope image is of the black speck that is visible toward the tail of the tetra in the first image. It was hard to tell if this speck was embedded in the muscle tissue or just pushed toward the far end of the gut cavity. I dissected it out of the fish and wet mounted it. Prior to mounting, it seemed spherical and was completely covered in the same back filaments as some of the other objects were. It easily squished flat between slides, it was not hard or difficult to flatten. I think this image might have been zoomed in a bit more than the others, but this object was noticeably larger than the others. I have several more images if you would like to see them. I just didn't want to bog down your server with all of them at once. I scaled down the attached images as much as I could. Please let me know if the resolution is too low.
<A more highly resolved image would be useful>
I would also like to note that my Ctenopoma likes to sneak up on the embers and Pencilfish occasionally and bite their tails, but they seem to recover from these bites very quickly. I am working on an alternate housing solution for my Ctenopoma (I really don't want to give him away - he's such a character) I realize that the tail nipping may be exacerbating the situation with the gut pathogen but I don't think the two are directly related. Just wanted to share this as a further detail.
<African Leaffish, Ctenopoma species, will eat/inhale small-enough fishes>
I am not sure how or with what I should treat this tank. I have posted to fish lore and got some educated suggestions. I have also talked to Andrea at Aquarium101 (my local fish store) and she recommended that I contact you for advice. She said you have been amazing help with their Flowerhorn, Jiana, and her swim bladder illness.
I am dying to know what this pathogen is and if there is anything I can do to treat it. Also, if it is likely to spread to the other species in my tank. So far suggestions have been Praziquantel and Metronidazole, both of which I have but I have not treated the tank with either yet. I would very much appreciate your expert feedback.
Thank you very much,
Amber
<Have some ideas... but am going to ask Neale Monks here to respond first. Bob Fenner>

Re: Ember tetra pathogen     10/23/18
Thank you for your response! Looking forward to hearing more. I have attached higher resolution images this time. Hope that’s ok. Also wanted to point out that the bush fish is a Microctenopoma ansorgii. I wasn’t sure if the proper genus for this one was Microctenopoma or Ctenopoma.
<The former; and yes, I did see that it is this small species (to about 2") that you have. Even little, they do have large mouths and as you noted, are given to predatory behavior>
Sorry for any confusion on that point. First and second images are zoomed in, I think to 200x, from two of the previous images. The others are just higher resolution of previous images.
Amber
<Let's still wait on Neale's independent response. I am presently given to think the round objects may be eggs, the damage, losses here due to trauma. BobF>
Ember tetra pathogen     /Neale     10/23/18
Dear Crew,
<Amber,>
I am hoping you can help me to diagnose what I believe to be a disease slowly killing off my ember tetras. I am wondering if it is Pleistophora, but all of the symptoms don't quite seem to match up with that. Anyway, before I get into it, here are the basics of the tank.
<It may be Pleistophora, but this is indistinguishable from bacterial infections such as Flavobacterium infections. So to some degree you need to keep an open mind, even where Neon Tetra Disease seems likely.>
Planted 29g with Aqueon20 filter (with additional/better filtration media) and sponge filtration, kept at 78-80 degrees F. Water parameters are good and I do ~30% water changes once per week (sometimes it goes 2 weeks). I use soft, slightly acidic tap water that I treat with Seachem Prime. I have occasionally dosed the tank with Flourish Excel but generally don't add anything to the water except Prime for conditioning during water changes.
This tank has been set up for around 7 months.
The tank is currently stocked with:
9 ember tetras
3 Otocinclus
6 hockystick Pencilfish
1 (Micro)Ctenopoma ansorgii
<Nice fish!>
2 gold rams
1 large Amano shrimp
1 Nerite snail
I feed 1-2x per day. Most days they get a bit of Nutrafin Basix Staple Food and Nutrafin Bug Bites Cichlid Formula. Around 1-2x per week I feed them Hikari frozen brine shrimp and I also add about 1/2 of a Hikari algae wafer a few times per week (though I don't think the embers get much of that).
Over the past 7 months they have gotten Hikari frozen blood worms maybe 6x and freeze-dried blood worms maybe 20x (though they haven't gotten any blood worms in the past probably 1-2 months).
<All sounds fine.>
The first fish I added to the tank were a few embers. Since then, I have added a few more, as well as the other listed occupants (more or less in the above listed order). Over the course of the past 7 months, I have lost 3 ember tetras but I have had no other illness or suspicious deaths in this tank (one ram got wedged and died behind the intake sponge on my HOB). I blamed the first ember death on stress or injury related to transfer between tanks. A few months later, I found another ember dead in the tank.
Everyone else seemed healthy, so I convinced myself this was just another 'fluke' death (pardon the pun). I was hoping there was no disease problem in my tank but these losses made me suspicious, so I have been keeping a close eye on it. I lost the third ember about 2 weeks ago.
<At this point I'd just give up with Ember Tetras for the time being. It might be that something about the tank, the water, or your maintenance regime isn't appropriate to the species. It might also be a 'bad batch' of them, and if you wait six months, or find another retailer, you might do better.>
It started when I noticed that the stomach on one of my embers looked slightly misshapen, distended, and her organs seemed darker in colour than the other embers. I wasn't sure if I was imagining things. The next day, she looked worse. The bulge on her stomach was larger and was sliiightly fuzzy and whitish at the apex. It looked to me like some sort of internal problem was finally pushing its way through her skin. She was swimming around normally - and I assume eating - with the other fish. I decided she was going into quarantine. After chasing her around the tank for awhile, I finally caught her in a net, BUT when I first caught her, she was pinned against the glass a little bit. I was VERY gentle but apparently this pinning, or just the act of scooping her into a net, was enough to rupture the bulge in her stomach. I could not find whatever had ruptured out of her. I put her into a glass jar and expected her to die pretty quickly - she had a gaping hole in her stomach cavity. She continued to live for probably an hour or two before I euthanized her. Thinking back on the previous deaths, I am convinced there is a pattern here. All three had something funny going on with their stomachs. I don't remember many details
from the first 2 deaths other than some fuzziness/tissue damage to the stomach area and dark areas inside the stomach cavity. I have done some searching on WWM and what I am experiencing sounds VERY similar to the posted email 'Mystery ember tetra illness' from Lea on 8/25/12.
<You might try deworming, using something like Prazi Pro.>
I am hoping you can help me figure out what is going on. I didn't get any pictures with this ember's stomach intact, but I took some after she died (first pic attached). I stored her in the fridge overnight and looked at her under a microscope the next day. Since I lost the majority of the 'growth', I wasn't sure what I would find, but I believe I have some images of whatever this pathogen is. The scale bars didn't export properly with the images when I saved them however, they are at 100x-200x magnification and the images have not been cropped, just resized.
<Nice pictures!>
The first microscope image is wet-mounted without a cover slip. The focus is poor but this pic lets you see how spherical the objects are, as well as the black 'filaments' covering their surfaces. The second microscope image is of a cluster of similar objects wet-mounted between slides. Prior to squishing them, they were spherical and clustered together kind of like grapes. These ones did not have the back material surrounding them as some others did. If you zoom in, you can see how some of these spheres seem to be dividing.
<Does sound like some sort of protozoan parasite. If that's the case, something along the lines of Metronidazole would be the better bet.
Together with an antibiotic such as a Nitrofuran, this combo tends to cover a wide range of non-worm parasites.>
The third microscope image is of the black speck that is visible toward the tail of the tetra in the first image. It was hard to tell if this speck was embedded in the muscle tissue or just pushed toward the far end of the gut cavity. I dissected it out of the fish and wet mounted it. Prior to mounting, it seemed spherical and was completely covered in the same back filaments as some of the other objects were. It easily squished flat between slides, it was not hard or difficult to flatten. I think this image might have been zoomed in a bit more than the others, but this object was noticeably larger than the others. I have several more images if you would like to see them. I just didn't want to bog down your server with all of
them at once. I scaled down the attached images as much as I could. Please let me know if the resolution is too low.
<They're fine.>
I would also like to note that my Ctenopoma likes to sneak up on the embers and Pencilfish occasionally and bite their tails, but they seem to recover from these bites very quickly. I am working on an alternate housing solution for my Ctenopoma (I really don't want to give him away - he's such a character) I realize that the tail nipping may be exacerbating the situation with the gut pathogen but I don't think the two are directly related. Just wanted to share this as a further detail.
<Microctenopoma ansorgii is a lovely fish, and has a fair sized appetite, so maybe offer a little more food? Should be fine with robust tetras, though Embers are probably a bit small.>
I am not sure how or with what I should treat this tank. I have posted to fish lore and got some educated suggestions. I have also talked to Andrea at Aquarium101 (my local fish store) and she recommended that I contact you for advice. She said you have been amazing help with their Flowerhorn, Jiana, and her swim bladder illness. I am dying to know what this pathogen is and if there is anything I can do to treat it. Also, if it is likely to spread to the other species in my tank. So far suggestions have been
Praziquantel and Metronidazole, both of which I have but I have not treated the tank with either yet. I would very much appreciate your expert feedback.
<Either or even both worth a shot. Metronidazole would be my first choice though.>
Thank you very much,
Amber
<Cheers, Neale.>

Rosy tetra with hole in the belly       8/24/18
Hi,
I was wondering if you could help me.
<Sure thing.>
I have a 25 liters fish tank in which I've been housing 2 females lf rosy tetra for the last 3 years.
<These are nice, usually unproblematic tetras.>
Fish keeping is not my priority but I've been regularly changing 25-50% of the water and tried to keep the tank relatively comfortable for these 2 fish to live.
<Understood. However, 25 litres is much, much too small for these fish.
It's barely adequate even for a single Betta. It would also explain your problem.>
A couple of months ago one of them developed a black round dot on it's belly around the anal area.
<Yes; possibly a wound, but hard to say at this point.>
That dot has slowly grown larger and yesterday I noticed it looked like she had cotton on the dot. Well today the "cotton"-like fluff disappeared but she has a massive dent/hole on her belly.
<I can see this, yes. The white stuff coming out from the wound is dead tissue, likely muscle and skin tissue. It's what we'd call an infected ulcer in the case of a human, and while the cause is hard to pin down, it's evidently infected with bacteria that are causing the wound to explain (and preventing it from healing).>
She acts normal and eats normal however the wound doesn't look all right at all.
<I'll say!>
I was wondering if you would happen to know what this is and if there is a way for me to help her at all?
<Two steps. Firstly, a bigger world with better water quality. With the best of intentions, as I'm sure you have just reading this message, 25 litres is, what, 6 or 7 US gallons? For this species you'd really need at
least 2-3 times that amount of water to be considering this a "healthy" environment. Too little water means too many bacteria, and too little water also means too little dilution of metabolic wastes. Regular water changes help, for sure, but realistically you'd need to be changing the water every day or two simply to create conditions similar to, say, a 60-75 litre/15-20 US gallon tank that received water changes every week or two. There's just no sense to that amount of work, especially if fishkeeping is a casual
hobby. Put another way, the less work you want to do, the bigger your tank needs to be. The smaller the tank, the harder work it'll be, and ultimately more expensive once you factor in dead/replacement fish and medications.
Now, the second thing to do is treat as per Finrot. Again, let me stress here that medications are like sticking plasters -- they're fine once the injury is done, but if the patient keeps sticking knives in themselves, plasters aren't going to help! Similarly, if the water conditions don't improve, you'll be repeating the medication again and again because the bacteria will keep coming back. Aeromonas and Pseudomonas spores are everywhere, and you really can't keep them out of the tank any more than you can live your own life germ-free. Can I also add that medications vary in quality. The tea-tree oil ones are generally cheap but unreliable, so avoid. Salt is equally worthless, though often recommended to inexperienced hobbyists. Instead look at a proper antibiotic (if available in your country from a pet store) such as Maracyn 2 or Kanaplex, or else a trusted antibacterial like eSHa 2000 or Waterlife Myxazin.>
Please see some photos attached
Kind regards, Anda
<Hope that this helps. Cheers, Neale.>

Columbian tetra with fin rot from nipping     5/20/18
Hi Neale and Bob,
<Susan,>
You helped me save a zebra Danio who was badly injured from a bullying situation. He has healed beautifully and your suggestions on rearranging the tank and reintroducing the Danios solved the bullying problem.
<Well, that's a good outcome!>
One of my Columbian tetras appears to be the victim of fin nipping with accompanying fin rot now setting in. There are two spots visible (see photo). This school usually gets along great although they do chase one another on occasion.
<This species is prone to that. Bigger groups usually help fix the problem. In any event, medicate as per Finrot.>
I do weekly water changes of 20%. Water parameters are as follows: Zero for ammonia and nitrite. Nitrates around 20 ppm, gH at 7-8°, temp around 76°F, pH 6.8. I run a canister filter with biomedia that includes matrix and chemical filtration is Chemipure green. I also run a sponge filter rated for 20 gallons which is connected to a battery backup air pump (we have frequent power outages where I live).
<Oh!>
Other tank inhabitants are a school of orange laser Corydoras and MTS (substrate is sand) and Nerite snails. Tank is a 20 gallon planted. I have upped my water changes to 10% every 3 days since I discovered the fin rot. It does not appear to be getting worse and the tetra is active and eating but I don't want it to progress further. I can't use aquarium salt because of the Corys.
<Who told you that? Low salt doses, i.e., 2 g per litre, for treating Whitespot for example, will do them less harm/cause less stress than traditional medications using copper or formalin. To be clear, catfish aren't "allergic" to salt. That's a myth. A lot of salt in the water will cause osmoregulatory stress, but trivial salt doses are perfectly safe, even with soft water specialists like Cardinals, let alone Corydoras.>
I do have SeaChem Paraguard on hand that I used to treat my Betta who had fin rot when I purchased him. Do you think its advisable to treat the tetra in the tank with Paraguard?
<I would.>
I can relocate the Nerites and the larger MTS who are active at night and visible on the substrate. MTS are expensive here and only available online so I would prefer not to kill them off.
<Understood. While Melanoides snails usually handle medications just fine, you could dump a few in a loosely covered food container with a bit of water and leave them out of the tank while medicating. They need little care and will go dormant when cool. The Nerites perhaps a bit more a gamble, being more sensitive generally.>
I can also transfer the tetra to a small hospital tank.
<Perhaps put the snails here?>
I had ordered Kanaplex with the intention of adding it to food with their binder Focus, but I was sent the wrong product so it will be about 5 days until the Kanaplex arrives. The Kanaplex was my backup plan if the water changes didn't help. What is the safest course of action in your expert opinion?
<Any medication for Finrot should be fine here. This fish looks in robust health, and really all you want to do is help knock back the bacteria a bit so it's own immune system can kick in.>
Thanks for your help (again).
Susan
P.S.
I'm moving everyone to a 50 gallon planted tank that has just finished cycling once it was settled in and aged a bit. Hopefully that will solve the territorial problems.
<Understood. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Columbian tetra with fin rot from nipping     5/20/18
Thanks Neale!
I am happy to learn that corys can tolerate salt if I ever have to use it in my tank.
<To be clear, as a short-term treatment for Whitespot and Velvet at low doses (2 g/l, for a few days or a couple of weeks). Perfectly safe used that way. But I would not be adding salt as a regular addition to any community tank containing relatively soft water fish, whether Corydoras, tetras or anything else from the Amazon Region.>
Another myth busted.
<It would seem so!>
I went ahead and removed my snails and I'm treating with Paraguard. I will definitely follow your advice and increase my school of tetras once I've relocated them to the 50 gallon.
<Cool.>
Thanks again for your help.
Susan
<Most welcome. Neale.>

Congo tetra swollen.    3/30/18
Hello crew. Hope you are doing alright.
Today one of my Congo tetras, the biggest and dominant male appeared with a big swollen and open mouth. His head looks very red and swollen. He is still responding to stimulus but very weakly. His condition is worsening by the hour, so this is a very aggressive ailment. He was not like this yesterday. Other notable symptoms are an under jaw with marked veins, a small blood blotch near the pectoral fins.
This looks horrible and I've never seen anything like this. He does fight a lot with a certain other male to the point of pursuing each other across the whole 150 gallon aquarium they are in.
I've had my group of Congos for two years now. When i first got them they came with a type of mouth fungus, something that looked like they are white gums and no teeth (its the closest i can to describe it). It never got bad and it went away once happy in my tank. Now all of a sudden this. I checked the other Congos and there is one with the same white gum thing that i saw two years ago, but it is not hindering in normal feeding or behavior. I conducted a large water change (50%).
I have quarantined the sick fish into a 5 gal bucket with 1/2 Methylene blue and will be waiting on response. Its 8 pm and i don't think i can go get anything difficult right now and i don't think he will make the night if i don't do something right now.
I have malachite green, Metronidazole, and Levamisole in my med box. Any opinions crew?
<This does look like the infamous 'Mouth Fungus' to me, which despite its name, is a bacterial infection nowadays more often called Columnaris after the bacterium species responsible, Flavobacterium columnare. It can be extremely aggressive, and while it can be treatable, you need to work promptly. A strong, reliable antibiotic is necessary -- Kanaplex of example is known to be reasonably effective. Outside the US, access to antibiotics can be limited, but I have found eSHa 2000 to be quite effective as well, especially if the problem is caught early on (it's less effective once the fish is really weak). Neither Methylene Blue, Malachite green, Metronidazole, or Levamisole are useful here. Do bear in mind Columnaris is opportunistic and to some degree caused by things like fighting and less than perfect water quality, so reviewing the tank is important as well. Cheers, Neale.>

Help with neon tetra      6/15/17
<12 megs; groan....>
Dear Crew at Wet Web Media,
Tank - 100 liter
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 15, GH 10, KH 7, PH 7.5
8 cherry barb, 8 emperor tetra, 7 neon tetra, 2 phantom tetra
Fluval external canister filter, internal air driven sponge filter.
I have previously kept a 50 liter tank and decided to move to a 100 liter about 6 months ago. I quarantined all fish for 6 weeks and tank was cycled from the start as I used media from old tank.
After about a month in the main tank, one of the Neons developed a white lump on both sides of the tail on the red part. These grew very slowly for about a month and another smaller lump developed on its side, closer to the middle of its body. Once or twice one of the lumps seemed to exude a white substance which then went after a day or two but the lump remained. Otherwise the fish swam, ate and behaved normally. Eventually, the lumps got wider and the fish started to have trouble breathing but was still trying to eat etc. I decided to euthanise with clove oil. This was a week ago. Just today, I noticed another neon has developed a small but telltale white lump in the same red pigmented area. I don't know what to do as I have no idea what it is. Fungus, Columnaris, neon tetra disease,
<This likely: Pleistophora hyphessobryconis>
I've looked them all up but none of them really fit. Because of this I did not medicate as it seemed like I was firing in the dark. If you have any advice or just a hunch as to what it could be I would really appreciate it.
The worst thing is that it doesn't really fit any one disease That are common to neon tetra.
<See here as an example:
http://www.theaquariumguide.com/articles/neon-tetra-disease
Bob Fenner>

Re: Help with neon tetra      6/16/17
Hello,
<Vic>
Thank you for your quick reply.
<Welcome>
Could I just ask you, if it is Neon Tetra Disease, can it infect my other fish, being cherry barb, emperor and phantom tetra?
<Unfortunately, yes. More likely the other Tetras, but the Barbs as well>
Also, I assumed it was a very fast acting disease, killing the fish quickly, so in my case can the disease be chronic, and take over a month to kill the fish?
<At times; yes>
Many thanks,
Vicki
<As many welcomes. BobF>