# Cure for neon tetra disease?



## The Shoal (Aug 21, 2008)

I was reading through an old fish book, "Exotic Tropical Fishes" . . . old like 1960's old. Anyways, I came across the section on neon tetra disease, which raised my interest because I had just lost a few of my little guys to it. Anyways, what surprised me is that while I have searched high and low throughout the internet and the consensus seems to be that there is no cure for the disease, this book said, and I quote...

"Using commercial formaldehyde, 2 drops to the gallon, will cure Tetras in a matter of hours."

Has this since been disproven/shown to be too cruel to the fish since this time or is this a little-known possible cure? Any thoughts?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Alas, this is only one of a number of "cures" published from that era in many sources, and like those others, it didn't stand up to further scrutiny. The only cure that I know of which really works is a human drug made for protozoan parasites, and it is SO expensive and slow to work that it's not even a real option.

Keeping the fish in formalin over a successive generation will keep the new ones from getting infected, but again, this has it's own major problems.
Gold tetras get their shiny goldness from a layer of parasitic protozoans much like plistophora. When cured they lose their luster and just look dull. This is why captive-raised gold tets are dull; they were raised in a clean environment which was free of the parasites. 
If you'd like to experiment, you can substitute gold tets for neons. Anything that cures the golds of their shininess should likely be a good candidate for a plistophora cure. I think you'll find it's pretty hard to do, but I would be great if someone could finally come up with a practical treatment.


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## merylin (Sep 6, 2008)

Neon Tetra disease is more common than many aquarium enthusiasts realize, and affects species beyond neon tetras.
There is no known cure. To ensure all fish are not lost, remove diseased fish from the tank. Some species, such as Angelfish, may live for quite some time. However, they should be separated from uninfected fish to avoid spreading the disease. 
To prevent this disease quarantine new fish for two weeks, Maintain high water quality, do not purchase from a tank with ill fish, The best prevention is to avoid purchasing sick fish, and to maintain high water. Carefully observe the suppliers fish. Do not purchase any fish from tanks where there are sick, dying, or dead fish present. 
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Merylin


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