# Neon tetra's disappear



## The Flying Dutchman

I had 15 neon tetra's( Paracheirodon innesi) in my aquarium. Now I have 8 left
and they look healthy to me.
Further on I have 2 diamond Gouramis, 5 black tetra's and 10 algea eaters.
And I have 2 grey snakes wich I thought they were also algea eaters but
I have seen them eating a dead tetra. The snakes are about 2 inches long
and very fast swimmers. They were in the aquarium before the tetra's came in.
Is there any chance they are killing the tetra's? Has someone a similar
experience?





Ron


----------



## The Flying Dutchman

7 left


----------



## MediaHound

Grey snakes? Do you know the species?
Some kind of loach??


----------



## canadianfish

neon tetras have a habit of disapearing. They can get sucked up the filter, or get eaten my the other fish. If the gourami is bigger then 4 inches, thenhe might be the culprit.

Also, neons have avery, very low tolerance with nitrite, a bacteria created from the breakdown of amonia. Its only reccomended to aquire neons if your tak is wel estabolished. I have customers come in all the time returning dead neons becasue my staff sells them to aqariums with massive new tank syndrome.


----------



## The Flying Dutchman

Interesting that the Gouramis could be the culprit! Never thought about that.
I am sure it not the filter, that's impossible. They are not sick either, I know
when a fish is sick.
I will watch those 2 Gouramis and see if they are chasing them.

Thanks


Ron


----------



## canadianfish

if your tank is hevily planted you may not see the sick fish, they tend to hide if there is lots of plants and things when there sick. I loose 50/100 neons in the first few days, but i never see them die.


----------



## The Flying Dutchman

Wow, thats a great loss, I have no complaints anymore


Ron


----------



## mitcore

gourami have been know to attack the smaller breeds of fish though i am saying it is possible i would like to know what you snake is?
i have never heard of them, are they meaters? algae eaters and do the have a common name

cheers


----------



## seyz

I recently bought 3 neon tetras and out them in the tank with two older gouramies that were monsterous to them. It be like putting a shitzu dog next to a great dane. But the tetras did fine(two of them died though for unrelated causes =/), but they held their own with the bigger fish.

Check around, move around the gravel. I noticed the two of them went missing then discovered that they were dead. =/ Hope it turns up better for you


----------



## seyz

The Flying Dutchman said:


> Interesting that the Gouramis could be the culprit! Never thought about that.
> I am sure it not the filter, that's impossible. They are not sick either, I know
> when a fish is sick.
> I will watch those 2 Gouramis and see if they are chasing them.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> 
> Ron


That's still a lot of tetras for the gouramis to get.. Maybe something more is up with it.


----------



## djrichie

captive breed neons are a very weak fish to start out with, so weak in fact that they have their own disease called NTD (neon tetra disease). These fish have been a favorite for fish keepers for 50 years if not more, because of that they have been inbreed. they are very intollerable to high levels nitrates, if you miss doing WC weekly you will find them getting sick or if not dead, water quality is so important.

Neon tetra disease: This disease is sporazoan in origin, caused by the ingestion of material infected by the spores of Pleistophora hyphessobryconis. When these spores are hatched within the fish, they burrow through the intestinal walls, causing cysts within musclar and organ tissue. The tissue dies, resulting in colour changes, weakness, neurological symptoms including whirling, spinal curvature and obvious changes in fish shape. 

Early symptoms can include a gradual loss of pigment and failure to shoal with other fish. The spinal curvature and neurological symptoms will not be visible until the final stages of the disease, when death is imminent. 

This disease is associated with numerous secondary infections, including oedema (bloating) caused by kidney failure and fin rot. Skin can sometimes be degraded by the spinal curvature and necrosis, and wounds may become evident.

Eventually this necrosis will kill the fish. The corpse may then be eaten by live fish, which will continue the spread of the disease. 

NTD can be differentiated from other infections by its failure to respond to antibiotics and other treatments. 

There is no effective treatment for Neon Tetra Disease. Antibiotics are ineffective against the spores, though they may appear to effect some temporary relief by minimising secondary infection. 

Some success has been reported from the use of Protazin by Waterlife, however no cure has been scientifically documented. As NTD shares so many symptoms with other, more treatable diseases, only a controlled test in laboratory conditions could determine the efficacy of any "cure." So far, no cure has been found under these conditions.

The only effective prevention is rigourous quarantine procedures and a solid euthanasia policy. Due to intensive farming methods, this disease is most prevalent in the most popular aquarium fish - tetras. These should be quarantined for at least three weeks on purchase and should only be purchased from stocks which appear healthy with no dead animals within the tank.

As the spores are transmitted via ingestion, fish should not be permitted to eat any corpses. Any fish suspected of suffering from NTD should be removed and either kept in very strict quarantine or immediately euthanased. 

The spores can continue to live within the aquarium environment and some fishkeepers have reported managing an outbreak by disinfecting the aquarium, replacing all gravel and filter media and re-cycling the tank. Whilst extreme, this measure will guarantee that all aquascape-based spores are removed. Due to the sporazoan nature of the disease, it is important that infected corpses are not "flushed" or otherwise introduced to native water supplies. It cannot be determined that all spores are killed through the normal sanitation process, and the risk to wild fish stocks should this disease be released is high.


----------



## aconrad

In my experience gourami's will be vicious. I had 3 gold gouramis and they ate 5 big black tetras luckily they didnt get my black veil angel. I'd say the gourami did it.


----------



## jaiko1975

i read neon tetras are over reproduce and keep in poor health conditions at hatcheries. i know i purchase 10 whiting a week i had 3 left. I found out they had ick to late for the Oder seven but with ick treatment 3 were saved.


----------



## djrichie

If you want neons tetras, you will want to buy wild caught...... here is my source for wild cuaght neons,,,, also has green neons 

*boxlotfish.com*


----------



## Fishboydanny1

snakes??? could you pst a picture?


----------



## garfreak526

They sometimes kill themselves if they are sick. They will go under plants and die*y2 but you have to move the plant to tell. I mean like pick it up and look under it.

If any of the fish are over 5 inches they will be the ones eating your tetras. The "snakes" dont really seem to be that big so i dont think they are the ones eating the fish. About the dead body, that happened to me with my tetras i found one of my other fish eating a dead body of a tetra, i don''t think it was killed then eated it might have died of sickness then was eaen by the other fish.*y2*y2*y2


----------

