# Glowlight fin-twitching lately



## NeptuneStar (Aug 18, 2011)

I have three glowlight tetras who were fine a couple days ago when I took the sponges off their canister filter and rinsed them in tank water. Since then, they twitch constantly. They seem to move fine and are quick when they want to be, and they still eat well. But their fins twitch rapidly, and their breathing seems quickened. I am getting very worried.

The water parameters all look normal. The water's just slightly soft, slightly acidic, no nitrites, nitrates, or ammonia. 

The only recent change was that I began using AmmoniaSafe the last few weeks to supplement my frequent PWCs. (The tank is not cycled, and I wanted to keep the ammonia levels as low as possible until I could transfer the fish to a larger tank that I am fishless-cycling.) I used it every other day for three or four weeks. Is it possible that the AmmoniaSafe has been building up and eventually caused this reaction?

There is one other concern. The glowlights had an elderly neon tetra for a tankmate until last month. He developed pop-eye and was eventually euthanized. The glowlights seemed fine until this week when one of them started to swim just slightly off-center once in a while. It worries me a bit when it does it, but it corrects itself and goes back to swimming normally. This may be unrelated to the twitching, but it's not good. I've started the tank on a round of Melafix just to be safe.

Can anyone help me? If I only knew what was happening to them, I could change what I am doing, or medicate them if they are sick.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

So, they are currently in a non-cycled tank and you will be moving them to a tank that is cycled, and was done by fishless cycling? (Just to be sure I read you right.)

The problem could be that they are in a non-cycled tank - when you say the params' are "normal" what do you mean? What are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate at? 

If you are cycling the tank, don't rinse the filter media.... that just sets you back to the beginning. You WANT the bacteria to build up in the media.

Also, using things like Ammonia Safe, AmmoLock or AmQuel are going to stall your cycle, as they are going to get rid of ammonia before the Nitrifying bacteria can build up, so stop dosing that. What did the bottle say for dosing? If you are not doing water changes between doses, I'm guessing that it's going to build up in there.

I'm not sure about medicating a tank that isn't cycled.... I don't know if the meds will mess with the cycle.

I hope some of this helps. Good luck with your fish.


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## NeptuneStar (Aug 18, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions. I did take that advice and stopped dosing ammoniasafe yesterday. I was doing PWC's between doses, and now I am doing them every day. My fish seemed to enjoy the daily changes before I started using the ammoniasafe, and so I figure going back to them couldn't hurt anything. There is no change in the twitching yet, though. It's like their normal movements, only much faster.

And yes, that's right--I will be moving them, but I'm not concerned about stalling the cycle of the small tank they are currently in, since I've given up on that cycle. With the fish in it, I'm not trying, since the necessary ammonia build-up would probably kill glowlights. I'm waiting for the larger tank to cycle now.

The "parameters" that I keep a check on are pH, KH, and GH, as well as ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. There aren't any nitrites or nitrates, and the ammonia usually waffles between zero and 0.25ppm.

The reason I rinsed the media was because I had noticed the pump flow had weakened due to dust clogging it. I mentioned it because it seemed like the twitching began right after I did it.

I am starting to suspect an illness, probably whatever killed my neon. I think it probably lingered even after I cleaned the tank, and maybe the other fishes took longer to show symptoms since they were younger and stronger. I just wish I could figure out what illness that is.

Would it help if I said the neon started to swim vertically before its death? That might mean a problem regulating its water intake. Does that point to a type of illness that would require a specific medication?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

How old was the Neon? Could it possibly have been that it was old and just died?

Swimming funny sounds like it could be a swim bladder problem. If you google swim bladder issues, you'll find lots of sites that can tell you how to fix the problem - if it's still at a point where it can be fixed. Since your fish died, maybe you can find out if it will spread or not.


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## NeptuneStar (Aug 18, 2011)

holly12 said:


> How old was the Neon? Could it possibly have been that it was old and just died?


Perhaps. I mean, I don't have any proof that what is affecting the glowlight is the same disease. Post-fishy-death, I had actually read that sometimes fish get sick in their old age like humans do, for no other reason.

But here's an update: The twitching, while it hasn't stopped, has slowed down a little. However, the sick fish lists to one side most of the time now. I went to my local pet shop this morning and purchased some Maracyn 2. It seemed to indicate on the back of the box that it treats the symptoms my neon died from. I'm hoping the little glowlight has just caught the same thing and that the medicine will wipe it out. I dosed the whole tank, and hopefully the twitching is related and will also go away.

Here's to fishy health!


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Sounds like a plan. (Twitching that is slowing down is always good.)

Hope the fish gets better - keep us updated.


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## NeptuneStar (Aug 18, 2011)

Update: The listing fish has shown no improvement after three days on Maracyn 2. It has lost its pretty orange stripes and lists to one side nearly all the time. I am starting to wonder if I chose the wrong medicine by diagnosing incorrectly.


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## NeptuneStar (Aug 18, 2011)

Four days on Maracyn 2, and no improvement. As a matter of fact, another fish in the tank has begun to list a little. I am freaking out because I have a new tank I'm preparing, which was supposed to alleviate much of their stress so they would stay healthy...but they may never see it. Ironically, I was going to keep the smaller tank they are in now as a quarantine tank, and now they all NEED to be quarantined anyway.

Someone, please help if you've ever gone through this and know what to try next. I don't believe it is constipation, and it looks as though it isn't gram-negative bacterial. Would parasites cause swim bladder problems? I don't see any, but maybe they're microscopic. These tetras are not old at all. They were still growing to maturity when I got them. This shouldn't be happening.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

You don't have to see a parasite for there to be one. Fish can get internal parasites. Is their poo white and/or stringy? If so, that's an indicator of internal parasites. (Not sure if they cause swim bladder troubles, but that could be secondary to a parasite maybe.) I've heard ppl on this site have fed their fish finely chopped garlic when they notice white/stringy poo and this sometimes helps with internal parasites. (There is also medicated food.)


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