Worried for my fish. Molly-Neon mis-mix, no reading, full moon stuff...   11/18/09
I have one Dalmatian Molly, one gold molly and 4 neon tetras together in a large tank, it has plenty of plants.
<Do understand Neons and Mollies are not compatible. Neons need cool (around 22-25 C) water that is soft to moderately hard, and not too basic (5-15 degrees dH, pH 6.5-7.5). Mollies by contrast need much warmer water (around 28 C) and the water must be very hard (15+ degrees dH) and very basic (pH 7.5-8). They almost always do better when some marine salt mix is added, at a dose of between 3-9 grammes per litre depending on the tankmates and plants. All of this will be quoted in aquarium books, which is why we recommend you read a book before buying any fish.>
I have recently found out that both my mollies are male (thank goodness) My concern is, for a few weeks now my gold molly has been getting fatter very ball like and can no longer swim, he sits in one spot all the time on the bottom of the tank, my Dalmatian molly appears to be fretting for the gold as he is always going over to him and trying to lift him off the bottom of the tank, he is continuously trying to push him up, and when he gets the gold up so far the gold just sinks straight to the bottom of the tank again,
<He is not "fretting" but being aggressive.>
His breathing has become more erratic and I've noticed his fins are getting faster in movement but he's still not getting anywhere. He has also stopped eating now and Im worried he is going to starve as it has been a few days.
<What are the water conditions? As stated above, Mollies need very specific conditions to do well.>
I have medicated the tank with a multi purpose treatment but it has had no affect on him.
<Useless approach. Diagnose the problem, then treat. Imagine if your doctor couldn't be bothered to check your symptoms, and just gave you the first pot of pills he pulled from a drawer!>
I separated him from the others but he looked panicky and was constantly pushing up against the side, while he was in the other tank i noticed his anus was very white and looked like it was protruding out of his body like a hemorrhoid.
<Is not this.>
Im concerned for my other fish as my Dalmatian molly is more active then usual in what looks like a concerned manner. and one of the Neons seams to be becoming rounder in the tummy and becoming slackish in its movements.
<Check water quality and water chemistry. For both species, 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite are critical. But since Neons and Mollies need completely different water chemistry, it's unlikely (i.e., impossible) to keep both species 100% successfully in the same aquarium.>
Id appreciate any advice you could give me as I don't want to loose any of my fish.
<I'm afraid they're doomed. You've thrown two non-compatible species together, and without giving me any actual data in terms of water quality, water chemistry, or temperature, I have no idea what precisely is going on here.>
i have looked all over websites trying to find an answer but nothing that i can find displays any of his symptoms together.
<These sound like generic "get me out of here" symptoms exhibited by fish being maintained in a poor (or the wrong) environment.>
Kylie
<Cheers, Neale.>

Neon tetra. Hlth.   9/21/09 we have a neon tetra that looks poorly, it has frog eyes is very bloated. <Indeed, seems very swollen.> what is wrong ,water has been checked with API master kit and seems fine. <Define "fine". Let's recap what Neons need. Firstly, the water shouldn't be too hard. Neons come from fairly soft water habitats, and above around 10 degrees dH, they simply don't do reliably well. Secondly, Neons come from relatively cool streams, and normal tropical temperatures can be a bit high. You're aiming for between 22-24 degrees C, which is ideal for Corydoras catfish by the way, which also prefer fairly cool conditions. Finally, Neons are intolerant of ammonia and nitrite. You need consistently zero levels of ammonia and nitrite. There's no "safe" level above zero, whatever you might (mistakenly!) assume from some test kits.> could it be pregnant <No. This Neon is in a very bad way. While this doesn't look like Neon Tetra Disease (which usually causes fish to lose their colour) this fish certainly appears to have some type of infection. Broadly, it has what aquarists often call "Dropsy", which is really nothing more than a symptom rather than an actual disease. For fish that are this small, treatment is usually pointless, and euthanasia is required. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasia.htm Certainly, isolate the fish (in another tank, not a floating trap) if you want try using an antibiotic, and while medicating, remember not to mix anything like nets or buckets between the display tank and the hospital tank. Neons seem particularly prone to infecting one another, and very many people have experienced Neons dying off one at a time, a few weeks apart, until there are none. Poor environmental conditions in your tank may be part of the problem, but given the fact Neons are farmed very intensively to keep them cheap, if you bought these Neons within the last month or so, it's quite possible the blame rests with the retailer, wholesaler or the fish farmer. Personally, I don't rate Neons terribly highly because of this, and when only cheap farmed Neons are available, I recommend 6 weeks quarantine, without fail. Incidentally, the plant in the foreground looks like Acorus, a type of plant that won't live long underwater in a tropical aquarium. Do review any plants you buy carefully: many inexperienced aquarists are sold non-aquatic plants such as Acorus, Dracaena, Spathiphyllum, Selaginella and others. It's such a common con that it's beyond a joke. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/keepoutfw.htm Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Dead (and dying?) fish 4/27/09
Hi, thanks for such a cool site! (Yes, it's me again, Kiara. I'm such a pain, I know...)
<Hello again,>
Whoo, one of my Neons died horribly today (the fat one). He was in a 2.78 L Betta bowl with Oop, my thin tetra who is now eating again (Sorry, but I CANNOT get something bigger!) and my ever-pregnant guppy.
<Look, fish have a certain amount of space they need. 2.78 litres isn't going to work for anything much. Not even a Betta, let alone a Neon, or for that matter, a school of Neons. This isn't negotiable; if you don't have
space for at least 10 gallons/37 litres, you shouldn't be keeping Neons.
Any further discussion on treatment, diseases, etc is a waste of everyone's time, because these fish can't live in the tank you've put them in. It would be as if you'd brought an Elephant home and wanted to keep it as an
indoor pet. No matter how much you might love than Elephant and promise to look after it, there's no way on Earth it could be kept inside your house.
It's the same thing here: there's a difference between loving animals and looking after animals, and frankly animals don't want to be loved, they want to be looked after properly!>
He had still been eating but yesterday was swimming head down at a slant. I did a 100% water change today (which I never do but felt I had to.)
<100% water changes are rarely a good idea; normally one does 25% weekly, or 50% in emergencies.>
He was floating upside down in a corner, horribly bloated, with black spots on his stomach, and his eyes had actually popped out of his head!
<Blah, blah, blah... seriously, the aquarium is too small, and discussion of symptoms irrelevant. Neons need a bigger aquarium, with a heater and a filter. A 10-gallon tank would be acceptable.>
The other fish seem fine now. (My Guppy, Fatty, gave birth 3 weeks ago but now she is fat again and I can (just barely) see eyes in her stomach.
:):):)!!!) What do I do?
<Buy a bigger aquarium.>
Please help! I've researched Neon Tetras and had never heard of anything like this... :(...
<Perhaps because no-one has been misguided enough to keep Neons in such a small aquarium?>
Thanks again,
Kiara.
P.S. Maybe a WWM Forum could help you guys (and other people) out?
<We have one, here:
http://bb.wetwebmedia.com/
Cheers, Neale.>

Dying fish, FW.... Neons...  4/18/09
Hello again! It's me, L.L. (please call me Kiara) again.
<Hello Kiara,>
My Neon Tetras are hanging out near the surface nearly vertical, and one refuses to eat.
<Please, check two things. Firstly water quality. You should have a nitrite test kit at minimum, and you should detect zero nitrite. Secondly, check water chemistry. You should have a pH test kit at minimum. For Neons the precise value doesn't matter -- anything between 6 and 7.5 will do -- but the pH should be stable, i.e., the same thing, week-in, week-out. Neons need a tank not less than 10 gallons in size, and that tank needs a heater and a filter. Usually when Neons get sick it's either because of Neon Tetra Disease (which has very specific symptoms different to what you're describing) or poor water conditions (the symptoms of which match precisely what you're describing).>
The other keeps picking on it.
<When one Neon gets sick, it's common for the others to turn on it. The reasons for this are complicated and don't really concern us here, but suffice it to say that this allows infections such as Neon Tetra Disease to get from sick fish to health fish.>
It's showed interest in freeze-dried bloodworms, but the other gets to it first :(.
Anyway...
We recently found our years-old Mini Bow 2.5-gallon aquarium. It has a stand, hood with lighting (after I turned it off the filament kept flashing and the bulb exuded an "old plastic" smell- :)!), colored gravel, 2.5 Whisper Power Filter, 1 cartridge, carbon...you get the idea. (No air pump or heater, but my old thermometer says the water stays at 76 degrees.)
<Neons do prefer around 24 C/75 F, and one way people shorten their lives is to keep them too warm. That said, unless you house is kept centrally heated to 24 C all day long, an unheated tank isn't suitable. Thermometers are not terribly reliable, and more to the point, just because it's warm in the daytime doesn't mean it'll be warm at night, or when there's a draught from an open window. Tropical fish are tropical fish, and unless you live in the tropics, your house temperature will be too low.>
It also has a plastic plant and a little cave. I am currently using my male Betta to cycle the filter, but my swordtail (or whatever it is; it's black but its scales have a green shimmer and the fins are transparent. Its chest not its stomach is white. The anal fin was once rounded but over the 4 or so months I've had him/her it's become a pointy triangle, NOT a gonopodium!) has outgrown its ½ gal tank (it's 2" long now!).
<You're keeping a Swordtail in a 1/2 gallon tank? I'm surprised it's still alive, to be honest.>
It once spent at least 5 minutes drying out in the sink but miraculously survived and only lost one scale and a little of its tail. Could I use him instead to cycle my tank?
<Not unless you wanted it to get sick.>
And could I also add my male guppy? When would it be safe to remove them and add my guppy fry?
<You can move fry from the rearing tank to the display tank when they're too big for the fish in the display tank to eat. There's no simple answer to that because some community fish have bigger mouths than others. You have to be sensible. Around 3 months usually works out all right, but things like Angelfish can eat a 3-month Guppy without any hassle at all.>
Thanks a lot,
Kiara a.k.a. Livebearer Lover.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Dead (and dying?) fish, Neon Tetra Dis.  5/4/2009
Hi I am Kiara's Mom.
<Hello Kiara's Mom!>
We've got a bigger aquarium. 28 gallons.
<Cool.>
But the filter came broken, so we only have the thermometer and heather, some plants. we saw her neon tetra discolored and with a bump in his tummy.
<Oh; what kind of "bump"? Fish don't tend to bruise easily, or rather, anything that would bruise something like a Neon would probably kill it first. So I'd be a bit open minded here. The two most likely problems are
these: Firstly, Neon Tetra Disease. This may in fact be more than one specific disease, but we'll pass that by for the moment. Neon Tetra Disease makes the Neon look like it's lost its colour, and it also tends to become lethargic and often hides away from the other Neons, as if scared. Its body becomes swollen, and eventually, this can look as if the fish is severely bruised. There's no cure, and these fish usually die within a few days.
Since the disease is contagious, it's important to remove them from other Neons; what happens is if the healthy Neons peck at the sick/dead Neon, they can catch the responsible parasite. Next up is what we might call "secondary bacterial infections". These are caused by a variety of things, but most commonly poor water quality or physical trauma. You can cure these using antibiotics, for example Maracyn, but this does assume the background reason is fixed; e.g., if water quality was poor, the fish is provided with better conditions as well as the medicine. I actually don't recommend Neons for beginners at all, and think a wide variety of other fish make much better (easier!) choices; see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestk.htm
>
So we decided to put him on a Tupperware floating on the aquarium for 30 min.s.. and then leave him there.
<Ah, this might not help much. A floating container of water will keep warm, yes, but it won't be filtered, so the ammonia the fish releases (equivalent to urine in humans) collects and gradually poisons the fish.
There's no reason to isolate a fish like this; either leave it in the tank, or move to another, heated and filtered, aquarium.>
Because of your email. We hope we made a good decision.
<Possibly not. I know this all seems frightfully complicated, but this is why we stress the importance of preventing health problems rather than curing them, and part of that is using a nice, big aquarium. Contrary to what the guy at the pet store might suggest, keeping fish isn't "child's play" and actually takes a little work. Maybe not so much as a dog or cat, but some work nonetheless.>
My daughter just turned 12 and she really take loves and take care of her animals.
<Quite right too!>
Is there an advice you can give us?
<Read! There is a nice primer, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwset-up.htm
>
Thanks.
<I hope this helps. Cheers, Neale.>

Male molly, sore eye, oh my. Ongoing, child, mis-mix with Neons  – 02/19/09
Hi, I am just writing to say my Neons are now in my big tank (2ft tank) with my other fish and seem to be doing fine my small tank has my to tiny baby guppies in it for the minute. My male molly has been nipped on the eye by a neon
<Mmm, not compatible... behaviorally or environmentally. Please read re the water quality needs of these two species>
because he got in its way when it wanted food it has swollen and looks so sore but i was given some Myxazin to treat it none of my other fish seem to have any other problems and seem to get on fine with my Neons I'll just remind you what fish i have, I have 3 guppies (1 adult very pregnant female and 2 unknown babies), a breeding pair of Dalmatian mollies, a breeding pair of platies, 6 Neons and 1 Sailfin Plec. Thanks alot
<No such word>
,Alishia.
<Neons should be moved elsewhere>

Keeping Rams and Neon/cardinal tetras. Sel., sys. mostly  1/24/09
I have a basement tank, 36/ 18 by 14, 52 gallons. I plan on using a river sand bottom,
<Soft sand will be appreciated; the name Mikrogeophagus means "little eartheater", and like the true Geophagines cichlids, these fish (in the wild) sift the sand for algae, invertebrates and decaying organic material.>
my tap pH is around 6.8 to 7. but I plan on using RO water (With a ph of 6.0), they make for you at World of fish, (its voted best LFS in twin cities). At the store they sell blue angel rams, $30 a pair, from a local breeder. These fish look much better, more vigorous and brightly colored then the regular rams they also sell (blue/German) they keep the angel rams in RO water but the others they do not.
<Locally bred fish infinitely better and worth the expense. Farmed Mikrogeophagus ramirezi are of variable quality and often "juiced" with hormones and antibiotics; consequently their survival rate after shipping is dismal, even though they look nice in the shops.>
The tank they are in is labeled NFS, as they are treating for ich, but all fish on the mend, no signs of ich on the rams at all (Corys had it), rams are showing territorial/natural behavior and they use the same RO, water I'll be using if I get them, at the shop.
<If you have locally bred fish available, buying farmed specimens would be dumb.>
I'm planning on buying a high intense light, and planting with live plants and driftwood. What kinds of plant do Rams like or that grow well in their water?
<In the wild they live in sun-baked shallow pools with mostly amphibious vegetation that mostly grows above the waterline. So there's not really much "authentic" you can go for. Instead, concentrate on species that will tolerate the conditions in the aquarium. The very high temperature (minimum 28 C/82 F) will stress some plant species, while the necessary soft water will stress others. To be honest, I'd probably go with floating plants initially, such as the Limnobium, and leave rocks and hollow ornaments across the bottom for the fish. If you wanted rooted plants, buy species in pots that you can easily fertilise with tablets since the sand itself will contain no nutrients (unless you put a layer of pond soil or whatever underneath the sand). Cryptocoryne species would be ideal.>
What are good foods for these guys?
<These are quite fussy fish that tend to have favourite foods. I've never seen Mikrogeophagus show much interest in flake or pellets, though I dare say some will eat the stuff. Mostly they seem to require a varied diet of live or (wet) frozen foods: bloodworms, glassworms, mosquito larvae, daphnia, etc. Remember to vary the diet; if they get just bloodworms, you're setting them up for a vitamin deficiency in the long term.>
I talked to the staff at the LFS and they said add tetras first after cycling then wait a month or more before aiding rams/ change like 5 to 10% of the water a week.
<Likely far too little in terms of water changes. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi are acutely sensitive to nitrate, and tend to develop things like Hexamita at the first sniff of high levels of nitrate. In part this is surely why they die so quickly in most community tanks. So rather than estimating a water change, grab a nitrate kit and keep track of the nitrate level each week for the first few months. You'll get a picture of how quickly nitrate levels rise, and can act accordingly. You're aiming for under 20 mg/l nitrate, and ideally 0-10 mg/l. Part of this is avoiding overfeeding: these
fish need only small amounts of food to do well.>
I was think 1 or 2 pairs of rams and 12 to 15 tetras in a school.
<Ok.>
I was wondering if a school of neon, rummy nose or cardinal tetras would be good dithers ? Are there any other good tetra-like fish to keep with them or is it best to keep the Angel rams separate?
<Neons need cool water, so they're not an option for use alongside the warmth-loving Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. Cardinals can work well, and probably make the best bet. Rummynose tetras would be good in some ways, but they're hyperactive fish, and need to be kept in a decent sized group to school properly; if they just mill about looking nervous, that'll have the reverse effect on your Mikrogeophagus. If you don't mind switching continents, Harlequin Rasboras work well too.>
I do understand the fancy type of rams are less hardy but I will be moving in five years + anyway.( though I am planning on taking the tank with)
<You'd be lucky if most of the farmed specimens last 5 months, to be honest. They really are abysmally poor fish. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. Like pouring money down a drain.>
thanks
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Keeping Rams and Neon/cardinal tetras. 1/24/09
Thanks I will research more, I'll also make a video of it- the tank I mean.
<Sounds good. Look forward to hearing/seeing more in due course. Do try and pick up one of the books on Dwarf Cichlids, there are many. Even the old TFH one by Jörg Vierke (used, less than two dollars on Amazon) will be a
useful read in terms of understanding the ecology of these fish in the wild and their specific requirements in captivity. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi are nice fish, but the reality is most people fail to keep them alive for more than a few months, at best. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Keeping Rams and Neon/cardinal tetras. 1/24/09
When/if I get them should I use jungle parasite clear on them when they go into the main tank, or should I use a separate, tank.?
<"Scattergun" approaches to healthcare rarely work. Quarantine all new livestock, and if signs of illness appear, diagnose and treat as required.
The main killer with Mikrogeophagus ramirezi is Hexamita, and it is likely latent in all specimens, certainly those produced on fish farms. Hexamita becomes a problem when the fish are kept too cold, exposed to high nitrates, given a poor diet.>
Also is it better to use fake plants then live?
<No difference so far as the fish are concerned. Use whichever you want.>
I know if I did so it would save on lighting and help reduce care in an already "Demanding" setup.
<Cichlids would prefer tanks without lights at all, so do whatever you want
so long as there are shady places for the fish to swim. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Keeping Rams and Neon/cardinal tetras, Ram sel.    1/28/09
Do you know of any local Ram breeders that sell decent/or excellent quality rams? I'm going to wait a few years before getting them, but I wanted to look for breeders.
I live in St Paul MN.
<Well, since I live in Hertfordshire, England, I'm afraid I can't comment on the local fish breeders in Minnesota. Obviously the first step is to find your city or state fish or aquarium club, and get in touch with them.
There is certainly a Minnesota Aquarium Society for example:
http://www.mn-aquarium.org/
Join up and attend their meetings. They'll surely be able to get you in touch with people in your area who breed fish. One of the great things about this approach is that the people in aquarium clubs are typically advanced hobbyists, and so are likely to be breeding fish you've never heard of, or don't see in aquarium shops. There are lots and lots of lovely dwarf cichlids that rarely get traded, so you might find some real treasures this way. Cheers, Neale.>

Neon Tetra with Ich and Pop/Cloudy eyes  8/30/08
<Ave,>
I have a neon tetra with 1-2 spots of ich and pop and cloudy eyes.
<Treat promptly for Whitespot and Finrot/Fungus. Here in England I'd be using eSHa 2000 and eSHa EXIT, medications for these complaints that are safe to use together. In your country the range of options may be different.>
I can also see white extended patches on his body.
<Well, if this is Neon Tetra Disease (Pleistophora) there isn't much you can do, but a combination Finrot/Fungus medication like eSHa 2000 would be if something less else.>
The fish is pretty strong, eats normally, swims normally and does not rub against rocks or plants. I isolated the fish in a hospital tank, but I'm wondering how I should treat it. I bought Melafix and a remedy for ich,
<Melafix... largely useless.>
but I'm not sure which one I should use first. I'm also planning to buy food with antibiotics so that I can treat the intestines too. What do you suggest?
Thank you,
Giuseppe
<Not a big fan of randomly treating for internal parasites unless there's evidence the fish is genuinely sick from them, and that's very difficult to judge. Antibiotics obviously have ZERO effect on the internal parasites that aren't bacteria, such as Pleistophora (a protozoan) and Camallanus (a helminth) so again, you need to know what you're dealing with rather than randomly pulling stuff from the shelves and hoping for the best. Cheers, Neale.>

Tetras (Neons & cardinals) dying one by one in the dark in a planted aq.  8/7/08
I hope you can help. Please forgive the length, but I wanted to give you all the info I could think of.
<OK.>
30g L, been up for about 8 weeks (cycled with seed filter from friends established tank), custom hood with AHsupply 96w CF bulb (3.2W/gal), eco-complete substrate mixed with fine gravel. Fluval 205 filter. Stealth 100W heater.
<All sounds good.>
Tank has the following plants (most of which are thriving): Cabomba (2 bunches of 5 stems each), Moneywort (4 bunches of 3 stems each), Melon Sword, Chain sword (just a baby), Microsword (2sq in patch), Ruffle plant, Wisteria (just finally establishing its fine submerged leaves - 1 bunch of 3-4 stems), Broad Ludwigia (1 bunch of 3-4 stems), small Java fern, small Anubias nana, and a large bunch (about 15-20 long stems) of Anacharis (from a friends established tank). Sounds crowded, but you'd be surprised how open it really still is.
<At least some get pretty big -- Echinodorus osiris for example will quickly take over a 30 gallon tank if it thrives; mature plants can be 50 cm tall and 30 cm across! Echinodorus martii likewise.>
To this there's the following fish: 5 spotted Corys, 6 otos, 3 "mystery" snails, 6 zebra danios, and originally 8 each Neons and cardinal tetras.
<Right, well one issue here will be temperature. To wit, Neons prefer cool water, 20-24 degrees C; Cardinals need warm water, 25-28 C. There's no "happy medium" at which both can be expected to do perfectly well. Corydoras, Otocinclus and Danios are also cool-tropical fish, and will thrive at 20-24 C (I'd go for 22 C). But that's too low for the Cardinals. So one way or another, at least some fish are going to be heat or cold stressed.>
The light is on a timer to cycle 6 hours on in the morning, followed by a 3 hour off break mid afternoon, then another 6 hrs on in the evening. Then off for the remaining 9hrs overnight.
<OK.>
All was well, the plants are thriving, the fish too.
<Good.>
Then I added the anacharis about 2 weeks ago. Suddenly I'm missing cardinals and Neons overnight, just 1 or 2. at a time. Never noticed any trouble with the actions/attitudes of the tank mates, everyone pretty much sticks to their schools. But the losses continued. Everyone looked fine when the lights are on... healthy, active, feeding. It was great. Well it's a great mystery alright.
<Well, Neons and to a lesser extent Cardinals can be plagued with "Neon Tetra Disease" and will drop off one by one until the cycle of infection is broken. But it is also possible the new plants brought in a predator, such as a Dragonfly nymph.>
I finally started watching closer at night and I found that after the lights been off for about 90 minutes (+/- 15 minutes) I notice a gradual and frightening change. Both the cardinals and Neons lose nearly all coloration going nearly white/clear.
<Quite normal.>
Then one or two of them start going bonkers and lose their equilibrium swimming upside down, backwards and on their sides, barrel-rolls, tumbling end-over-end, etc., then death.
<That is odd.>
Turn the lights back on and gradually (within 20-40 minutes) all coloration has returned and activity resumes normally.
<Ah, now, this is curious. Have you checked how pH is affected by photosynthesis? When plants photosynthesise they remove CO2 from the water, allowing the pH to rise. When they stop, CO2 accumulates and pH goes down. Alternatively, some (but only the minority) can perform "biogenic decalcification", and I believe Anacharis is one of them. What this means is that they remove carbonate and bicarbonate from the water as the source of carbon for photosynthesis instead of CO2. This is why these plants prefer hard water. Anyway, in the process the water loses its carbonate hardness and consequently its pH buffering capacity. The net result will be that pH will drop while these plants are photosynthesising, and the water pH will also become less stable with regard to other pH altering processes.>
My water parameters have been rock solid since the beginning: Nitrite 0; Ammonia 0; Nitrate "nearly" 0; kH 5deg; GH 12deg; pH 7.6; chlor. 0. I've even tested right before and after a light cycle and saw no appreciable difference. Temp stays between 78.5 and 80.5F.
<Do check the pH and carbonate hardness through the day to test my hypotheses above.>
My thought were CO2 poisoning - but the zero change to pH leads me to believe the CO2 isn't reaching toxic levels. Second thought - The plants are using up all the available O2 (I'm not aerating) at night thereby starving the smaller, more sensitive tetras. So I added a small airstone to the corner of the tank and set a small air pump to kick on when the lights go out (my timer has day/night outlets). It didn't seem to help.
<Leave CO2 off for a few days and see what happens. Won't harm the plants.>
Last Saturday night was the worst, within 2-1/2 hours three tetras gone (down to 6 now, 2 cardinals & 4 Neons left), and all the fish (except the 5 Corys, 2 largest danios, and 3 largest otos) were pale. Even with nighttime aeration.
<Hmm...>
So as a stopgap measure I retooled the timer to cycle the light and dark to 3 hrs light, 2 hrs dark ('round the clock). Two nights of success now with no casualties... but even though there is the requisite "amount" of light and dark I cannot imagine the rapid time cycles are any good for either the fish or plants long-term.
<It isn't good for the plants; they need a certain length of time simply too start photosynthesising, and 3 hours won't be enough.>
My next attempt will be to get a larger air pump and drive an 18" bubble wand across the back of the tank rather than the small airstone driven by the smaller air pump. I know this will drive out more CO2 to the detriment of the plants (though probably not too much), but it should eliminate the worry of CO2 poisoning, and should add O2 in the dark for the plants and fish to (hopefully) share. Also, I'll be raising the filter spout up closer to the surface to provide a little more surface agitation (currently its about 2in below with no agitation).
<Not sure this is the issue.>
Finally, since this all started after adding the fastest grower in the largest number/mass plant-wise (the anacharis). It's possible that plant addition might've pushed the balance over the edge with respect to CO2 and O2 respiration. So I'll be pulling that out and trimming it back to a more manageable (2-3 bunches of 4-5 "short" stems each) size.
<Hmm...>
Hopefully then I can gradually return to slowly extending the light/dark cycles to a more natural rhythm and keep my fish healthy and my plants growing.
Any thoughts? other suggestions? etc? Anything I missed?
Mark
<Cheers, Neale.>

Ick/Whitespot  7/22/08
Hi Guys,
I added five new baby neon tetra's to my tank recently - it seems the neon's have all developed Ick/Whitespot. I already had 6 Neon's 2 guppies and a Sailfin Molly - these all appear to be fine.
<So far at least...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollies.htm
Do review the needs of Mollies, and also be warned Neons may nip the fins of fancy male Guppies.>
I have read your articles regarding ICK and just wanted to confirm your recommendation for best way to treat.
<Promptly!>
I was just going to buy meds and treat the tank with meds and regular water changes. However from reading through your site would you recommend increasing temperature and treating with Salt instead?
<Makes no odds either way. I tend to use commercial medications such as eSHa EXIT (a brand I find works well even with sensitive species like puffers) because it's easier. But if you want to use salt/temperature, go ahead.>
I have added salt before but never with the neon's only with mollies/guppies can my neon's tolerate salt? also my temp is at 80f already is it safe to increase the temp further?
<Neons should tolerate the very low salt concentration required, particularly if you build up the salinity across a few days. As for raising the temperature, I wouldn't. Temperature is about speeding up the life cycle of the parasite; in itself it isn't a "treatment" as such. The idea is that the salt only kills the free living parasite, so the sooner that phase begins, the better.>
Thanks in advance
Scott
<Cheers, Neale.>

Possible Disease? - 06/15/2008
To the crew of WetWebMedia:
<Hello, Soojeong. Sabrina with you today.>
I have had neon tetras for about a year (probably a bit more, but nonetheless); however, a problem stubbornly plagues my humble 20 gallon aquarium. When I first bought eleven neon tetras, seven survived after two weeks to be transferred out of the temporary tank and into my "main" tank. I had no problems so far; I figured that the companies churning out neon tetras in mass quantity had something to do with the near 40% mortality rate (maybe it was even a good deal considering some of the horror stories).
<Though I'm sure there's tons of mass neon production, I believe some are still wild-caught as well.>
I feel it necessary to mention here that the main tank had already been cycled (I cheated a bit and jump-started with a handful of gravel from my old 10-gallon tank)
<Perfect.>
and had its water treated and tested, as was the temporary tank. I put in some plants in to help deal with fish waste. A few weeks later, a bamboo shrimp and a candy striped Pleco joined the group. Everything seemed well and fine, save a few algae here and there. Life was good. Here my troubles began.
<Uh-oh....>
I looked in the tank about a month or two later to find a tetra dead. None showed typical Pleistophora (Neon Tetra Disease, god forbid) symptoms. Since the False NTD caused by bacteria also has similar symptoms as the actual NTD, I ruled it out. Okay.
<Disease common names are worse than fish common names.... Mycobacteriosis has also been called Neon Tetra Disease.... sigh!>
No loss of color (unless postmortem, half-eaten state still counts), no curvature of the spine... Although one or two fish wandered off alone, I didn't think too much into it. I was slightly alarmed at the slightly eaten body, since the other fish might be in danger of meeting the same end. And two weeks later, another died. Then another week or two, and another dead body. Then suddenly everything was fine. Until now, a full year later. Other than two tetras going through a constant cycle of developing enormous bellies and huge appetites to getting skinnier and eating normally, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
<Unless you changed your feeding regime, I'm a little concerned about the weight gain / loss that you saw....>
No new fish were introduced. Today I woke up to three hungry tetras (possibly stressed from small group? I couldn't tell), and the body was nowhere to be seen. It couldn't have jumped out, since I have a full lid because of the bamboo shrimp and my Neons' odd habit of sometimes jumping out of the water to get at the fish flakes. I suspect the body had been eaten.
<Quite possibly. It's also surprising how many nooks and crannies a body the size of a neon can be hidden in.>
I was afraid to bring in new Neons in fear of infecting the new group or the old group. Was I foolish to do so...?
<Foolish? Nah.>
Either way, I didn't want dead tetras. In case it was some sort of an interspecies infection (although the Pleco is still fine), I fear to bring in new fish, and taking the tank apart... I would like to avoid it if I can.
<Agreed.>
Could it have been some sort of an internal parasite?
<Mm, possibly. Really, there are countless possibilities.>
But I can't see any irregularities in the Neons. Besides, I do not want to misdiagnose and kill, nor do I want to use Parasite-Clear and such since most warns against using it for crustaceans.
<Yeah. I wouldn't want to use any medications in your main tank.>
If I did use it, I would have to take my shrimp out of the main tank, and I don't know whether I can ever put the shrimp back in with the others, either.
<A very valid concern. Any medications containing copper should not be considered for your tank, if you wish to keep shrimp. The best option is to remove any affected fish and treat in a separate system. Though, I gather the remaining fish are all asymptomatic?>
If the shrimp is untreated and later put in the treated tank (is that even possible? after how much water changes?)
<Again - don't use copper, and as far as water changes - well, I would give at least a few very large ones, and filter with carbon and PolyFilter before reintroducing invertebrates. But again, if avoidable, I wouldn't want to treat the main tank.>
is there still a risk for a reinfection if it was bacterial or parasitic?
<Well, since there's no clear way at this moment to tell what you're up against, there's no clear answer I can give you as to whether or not it may resurface. I would consider this within the realm of possibility.>
To summarize:
*20 gallon tank (tall); 1 bamboo shrimp (planning to get another soon if possible), 1 candy striped Pleco (still small, but I am planning to get a bigger tank later on), 3 neon tetras.
*Sudden death of neon tetras, no previous symptoms shown; possibly clusters of deaths with incredibly long intermittent periods in between (unlikely, most likely a second infection from unknown source, perhaps?)
<I would guess that the two problems were unrelated.>
I would appreciate any advice you have.
<Note also that the environment may be key here. Neons don't "like" hard water with a high pH. They thrive in very soft, acidic conditions. If your water is hard and alkaline, this should also be considered as a contributing factor in the health of the Neons.>
P.S. Pardon me, I ended up writing a short story. I hope it didn't take up too much of your time.
<Actually, I really appreciate your detail.>
Thank you very much for your efforts.
<And thank you for your kind words.>
Soojeong Kim
<Wishing you and your fishes well, -Sabrina>