# Neon Tetra's acting weird? Mouth open?



## meximan (Oct 27, 2012)

I have 8 neon tetras in a quarantine tank....(my pre-tank before my main tank for new fish)...They have been doing well until these last few days...

The largest Neon got a white "sore" near his dorsal fine on his body , i thought he was getting beat up by some black skirt tetras. So ive been treating the tank with malafix to help him out....about 2 days later, he was swimming around the tank, with his mouth STUCK open and gills out a bit...

I checked the water paramaters with some test strips and everything checked out ok?

I actually pulled that fish out of the tank in fear that it was neon tetra disease (he never got a bent deformed spine)....I checked inside his mouth to see if he had anything stuck and there was nothing...Shortly after he died.

A day later the next tetra started showing signs of sickness, this time this fish's fins looked a little beat up/thin, and his body lines werent smooth, kind of skinny. I have still been treating with malafix...He died last night.

Today one day later, another big tetra is acting weird...He has his mouth open and gills puffed out, but No visual signs of disease or sores ect.
Im watching him like a hawk....Does anyone have any idea what the heck is going on here?

I have some quick cure and rid ich, but I have some Shrimp in the tank and it says its harmfull to invertabrates..


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Melafix is snakeoil. Even if it's not which it is, it would only be able to treat fungus. That sounds like a bacterial infection to me. Methylene blue would be much better to treat with, but I wouldn't advise treating a disease without knowing what it is. Methylene blue is pretty safe to use as it is non toxic to fish unless extremely high dosages are used. Your water might be too hard for neons, but that shouldn't cause sores and would probably kill them much faster. Clean and warm water is your best bet for most diseases.


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## meximan (Oct 27, 2012)

Did a 30% water change last night, just in case. I bought one of those 10 gallon starter kits, with 10 gal filter....The tank also didnt have any air being pumped into it, so i threw an air stone in there to see if it would help them out.....woke up this morning with another dead.

The test strips do test for ammonia i have both sets. here are some pictures from this morning.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Test strips are garbage and unreliable when it comes to accurate readings. Invest in a liquid test kit instead. Drs Foster & Smith have API FW test kit for $20. There's something else going on in the tank.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

It sounds like disease or damage. A dislocated jaw will cause the mouth to hang open, that usually happens from fighting. And mouth open and gasping with puffed gills, red showing is usually ammonia. Don't rely entirely on the strips. test the test at least once.

But fish dropping one by one not long after a new fish was added is usually disease. I'm not familiar with your symptoms, though.


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