# Emergency! Tetra Issue!



## Ty (Jun 21, 2013)

I just went to PetCo and got 5 bloodfin tetras. I acclimated them, put them into my tank, and was watching them when I noticed one of their mouths looked weird. My husband and I looked at it closely and the fish has no mouth! It's like been eaten off or something. Well, I looked at the four others and four of the five (including the one with no mouth) have white fuzzy stuff on their mouth. The one with no mouth is the fuzziest looking but the other three definitely have something on their mouth. The fifth one is the smallest and I don't see anything on his mouth.

Should I take them back to PetCo ASAP? Is this something that my other fish can get? Sorry for the rambling, I'm freaking out.


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## Ty (Jun 21, 2013)

I don't know what was wrong with them, but I got scared so I just took them back before the store closed. They were in the same bag with two guppies. When I took them back, I looked at all the others in the tank and they looked fine. Could the guppies have fought with them during the 30 minutes they spent in the bag together?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Good deal bringing them back!Keep an eye on your other fish as most disease are contagious,but healthy fish don't always get infected.
You must be SERIOUSLY picky when purchasing fish(especially with no QT).Don't even get fish if there is a sick(unhealthy looking,)or dead fish in tank.
On a side note (and I may be wrong but)I think bloodfins are semi nippy(aggressive)as far as tetras go.To me they are one of the toughest(behavior) tetras going.Rummy nose,cardinals,neons possibly even emperors are more friendly in community setting.
To be safe go to LOOK at fish,write down ones you like and come home and check them out thoroughly.I'm lucky in that my number one LFS has a computer anyone can use so if I see something unfamiliar(usually saltwater) I can search it right there and then,but still often try to avoid the impulse buy and come home to think about it.


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## Ty (Jun 21, 2013)

When I was at PetCo last night, I was thinking about how convenient it would be to have a computer there to look up things like that. Your LFS is just too cool.

I'm watching my fish very closely now. The guy at PetCo said he didn't see what I was talking about (he must have really bad eyes) but I told him I didn't care what he could see, I didn't want those fish giving something to the fish I already have.

So, I will be looking VERY closely to the fish I decide to get next time.


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Ty said:


> When I was at PetCo last night, I was thinking about how convenient it would be to have a computer there to look up things like that. Your LFS is just too cool.
> 
> I'm watching my fish very closely now. The guy at PetCo said he didn't see what I was talking about (he must have really bad eyes) but I told him I didn't care what he could see, I didn't want those fish giving something to the fish I already have.
> 
> So, I will be looking VERY closely to the fish I decide to get next time.


Mouth rot is super common in stressed out tetras and no, it didn't happen during the short time they were in the bag. The fact that none of the stores remaining BFTetras were symptomatic, makes me wonder if he purposely sold you diseased fish. That's hard to believe, but when you took them back...the fact that he acted completely clueless to the obvious makes me even more suspicious. I agree...good job taking them back.


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## Ty (Jun 21, 2013)

I pretty much felt like an idiot because before we left, I even held the bag up to make sure I had the number of fish I was paying for and I didn't notice then.

Stuff like this just makes me apprehensive to even purchase more fish. I was so stressed about it last night, it's just annoying to have to go through.


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## snowghost45 (May 13, 2013)

You have to really look closely at any fish you buy. Many times I've been to my LFS and I have had to point out to the the sales clerk that the fish have ick and they never noticed! Just take your time and observe the fish before buying and good luck!


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Ty said:


> I pretty much felt like an idiot because before we left, I even held the bag up to make sure I had the number of fish I was paying for and I didn't notice then.
> 
> Stuff like this just makes me apprehensive to even purchase more fish. I was so stressed about it last night, it's just annoying to have to go through.


That would have been an easy thing for anyone to miss...you weren't looking for it at the store. The purchase phase tends to be more emotional, but then when people get home they enter the analytical phase and start to notice different stuff. Plus, you likely didn't get to choose each fish individually?

I'm not one to bash chain pet stores like Petco because I don't believe all Petcos are created equally. Some are better than others and some are much better than others. As a general rule though, fish that pass through Petco are going to be at extremely high risk for disease and deformity. Their fish likely came from the same wholesalers as the fish sold in smaller stores, but the nature of their common water system combined with their poorly trained staff is a bad recipe. That, and it's a common industry practice for the larger pet stores to order grade B fish, and the smaller stores grade A's. For Petco, the fish are really just the bait that gets the customers into the store to buy products with a higher profit margin...like the equipment, tanks, food, conditioners, and yes...the medications.

Don't worry about what happened with those fish. All you can do is learn from it and move on. The fact that you had the sense to gather them up and take them straight back instead of rewarding the store by buying $20 worth of meds, is impressive. High five!


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