# What is this disease?



## JBmfG (Oct 11, 2013)

I am having an issue with about half of my 9 neon tetras. At first i thought someone was fin nipping but when i watch the tank none of that is happening. Furthermore, where the fins are missing, its a little white and the neons are a little haggered looking in general. They look like they've been beaten up on their sides maybe missing scales or something. It's so hard to say because they are so small. I eventually decided that its finrot and got them on tetracycline. That treatment took a week or so and is now done. I dont see any major improvment but I am not sure if i should this quickly. At the same time i also noticed some ICH on my black neons and so raised the temp and they seem good to go now. Whatever is going on with my regular neons does not look like ich to me. Below is a dropbox of some photos of them. Hard to see clearly but if you look at the tails you will see the problem hopefully. Does this looks like finrot or something else? How long after the tetracycline doses should i see a difference?

I dont have enough posts for a URL but if you goto dropbox.com and use the below you will get there. 

Thanks!
/sh/jc6ugweuwt1a7zq/LzeAgm24M9


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## JBmfG (Oct 11, 2013)

Tank size: 20G
Ammonia: Normal
NitrIte: Normal
NitrAte:Normal
PH/GH/KH:Normal
Cycled,yes or no: yes
Number of fish: ~15
Acclimation process: bag in water to get temp the same ~30 min. Add tankwater to bag ~30 min. Add fish
Physical signs of illness(IE spots,shimmer,ECT): first post
How often between fish additions: nothing set.
Waterchange schedule: ~20% biweekly
Tank temp: 82 right now for the ich treatment

When i say normal i mean on the dipstick the colors all come up in the safe range.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Didn't see any pictures ,but up your water changes to at least 20% weekly.Unless you raised your temp to 86+ you haven't gotten rid of ich.Get Kordon "rid ich plus" or "quick cure" and follow directions.Vacumm gravel thoroughly.The longer ich gets to live the harder it is to get rid of.If treated quickly(like as soon as you think it) the easier it is to cure.
Search freshwater form on this site for "drip acclimation" and never add water fish come in to your tank.
Your test levels are "Petco/Petsmart" BS as nothing is normal so real numbers are required if you want accurrate advice,although I can say without further info that test strips are very innaccurate and most here use API master freshwater liquid test kits.


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## JBmfG (Oct 11, 2013)

Thanks for the advice, just ordered that testing kit on amazon. I will raise my temperature more but the black neons that clearly had ich no longer have the white dots. I did notice that one of the neons has a larger white patch on his side. Looks a little cottony. I have a video in my dropbox that shows it pretty plainly. As soon as I can post it i will


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist
Ich leaves fish to settle in substrate and multiply by the thousands,become free swimming and search for a new host all in 4-5 days!
Read the link so you know what you are up against.
Ich can be the easieat thing in the world to cure or kill all your fish!
You got to kill it.
The fungas may be treated with the same meds ,so just watch your water quality and make sure everything is well.


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## JBmfG (Oct 11, 2013)

Ok cool. I just ordered the kordon rid ich plus from amazon as well. until it arrives i will keep the temp up and do a water change. Vacuuming throughly is hard however because i have a sand bottom and lots of plants. Hard to get in all the nooks and crannies but ill do my best.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Pay attention to medicating and raising temps together. Both things can deplete oxygen levels in the tank. I would drop your temp before you medicated.


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## JBmfG (Oct 11, 2013)

Ok, got my testing kit and the rid ich+ in the mail today. Here are my values:

pH = 7.6
Ammonia = 0-.25ppm
Nitrite = 0-0.25 ppm
Nitrate = 10-20ppm


I gave ranges for Ammonia and Nitrite because im a little color blind and seeing the differences between the shades isnt my strongest suit. However, in both instances i would say it was closer to 0 than .25. Since my last post I've gotten the water up to exactly 86 degrees f. 

My fish are all still acting very normal and i see no obvious signs of Ich on the black neons. The regular neon tetras that were looking bad still look bad but i dont think they are worse. I dont think any of the ones that looked good to begin with have gotten sick either.

I can add links now so here is my dropbox of pictures. The easiest one to see is the very first part of the video thats there:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jc6ugweuwt1a7zq/LzeAgm24M9


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Looks more like fin rot ,or columnaris.
Aquarium Fish Disease - Fin Rot
Aquarium Fish Disease Columnaris - Flexibacter columnaris


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## Jet (Oct 14, 2013)

coralbandit said:


> Looks more like fin rot ,or columnaris.
> Aquarium Fish Disease - Fin Rot
> Aquarium Fish Disease Columnaris - Flexibacter columnaris


I agree. It could be fungal or bacterial fin rot. My guess is bacterial because fungal infections are usually secondary. If it is columnaris, an anti bacterial treatment will be effective too.


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