poofy fuzzy cardinal tetra

[usacutie81]

I am sooo glad I just bought a quarantine tank and decided to put my cardinals in it. One of them is faded (which I think is prolly stress related), but the really worry is that I just noticed he's got a whitish fuzz on his back and on his left side. His gills are really poofy, like they're swollen, and really red. What is this? (I'm doing research on it now, just wanted your input as well.)

 

[usacutie81]

Okay, I just read that swollen and rapid gill movements could be due to high nitrite, which is totally possible since I didn't really cycle the tank all the way, just used established gravel and stuff. I'm going to test it right now.

 

[usacutie81]

Does nobody have any advice?

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

how did the params come out?

 

[MissFishy]

Good thing you quarantined!

 

[Big Vine]

Does nobody have any advice?

As far as the immediate situation goes? No.

But I would highly recommend, as I've suggested elsewhere, to start keeping snails or something in your quarantine tank in order to keep it cycled for when you don't have new/sick fish in it.

Nitrites aren't typically tolerated by such sensitive fish---especially not right after the stress of being moved from the store and into your tank. In fact, I'm sure that they were exposed to ammonia as well, since you said that the tank hasn't really cycled yet. Depending how far it is into the cycling process, there could be high nitrates as well.

All of these things will stress most fish to death, whether it be via secondary disease/infection or pure shock. There are certain hardier fish that I would use to cycle a tank, but cardinals most certainly aren't one of them.

Sorry you had to learn this lesson the hard way.

Please provide us with your water parameters, as YahooFishKeeper requested.

Big Vine

 

[usacutie81]

I got the params, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, and Nitrate 7. So I don't think that's the problem. What do I do? Should I medicate him? Leave him be? I feel so bad for the poor little guy!

 

[Pure]

On one hand you do have to ask yourself how much trouble is a tetra worth? On the other hand it is a life......You can medicate with a combination melifix and primafix and see if that helps..If not antibiotics may need to be used.

 

[MissFishy]

I would do some research on "neon tetra disease" It sounds like they may have a case of it. As far as the fuzziness, the only thing I can think of that may help at this point is some salt or melafix to kill off whatever is on him, although they are really fragile fish and may not make it. Keep us updated. You could also raise the temp up a bit.

 

[usacutie81]

I'm not going to be able to get to the store for a few days, so I'm just gonna have to stick with salt for now. How much should I add? It's a 5 gal. tank. The temp is already at like 80-81 cuz I remembered that higher temps help with sickness, should I raise it a little more?

 

[Big Vine]

Water parameters are looking good. I'll go ahead and assume that your pH is fairly stable.

I would leave the temp. as is and not add any salt until you post some good close-up shots (I've seen your Fern Gully pics...I know you can do it!) so that we know what you're dealing with.

Personally, as far as new (yet relatively cheap) fish are concerned, my tendency is to euthanize the ones that are showing symptoms of illness (unless it is something that I know I can treat with a fairly high degree of success---such as ich).

If you still have receipts and are within the return-policy period, I would take him back and get healthy fish. If not, I'd euthanize him immediately in the hopes that the others are unaffected.

Big Vine

 

[MissFishy]

IMO, chances are that the other fish are already infected if it's at this point. I'm not sure how neons react to salt, but I would personally try it. Maybe 1 tablespoon per 5 gals and see if that helps any. You could still try and raise the temp up a couple degrees with no harm done. A picture would help a lot, put that new camera to use!

 

[usacutie81]

Alrighty, I finally got time to take some pics. Sorry they are a little blurry, keep in mind that I'm still learning how to use this camera. You can see in the first pic how he is looking kinda emaciated, like his stomach is missing.

This pic shows his poofy red gills, they stick out whenever he breathes. His fins are all torn at the edges.

BTW the other cardinal in the tank looks fine and is showing no symptoms.

 

[Dan Steveo]

Depending how far it is into the cycling process, there could be high nitrates as well.

i dont mean to be pickish but aren't nitrAtes less harmfull to fish. or not harmfull at all?

 

[hyunelan2]

You can medicate with a combination melifix and primafix and see if that helps.

That'd be my suggestion, if you have them. Then again, for the price of Pimafix and Melafix, how many replacement Tetras could you buy?

 

[MissFishy]

IMO, it looks like a case of fin rot and possibly parasites. Sunken in stomachs are a sign of internal parasites. Depending on what you want to do for it...and keep in mind they are fragile and it might die anyways...my suggestion is to do melafix (a good thing to have on hand anyways) and some parasite food (crushed, if he is still eating). Make sure the other neons don't eat the parasite food. I can't really see the gills, but from what I can see, they are just protuding since he is so skinny.

 

[usacutie81]

Well, it's too late, I came home and he was dead. Poor little guy. The other one still seems to be doing fine, I haven't seen any symptoms in him and his color is almost normal now. Should I leave him in the QT for another few weeks or is it okay to move him into the 75 gal with his buddies? I don't want him to be lonely, but then again, I don't want the rest of them to catch whatever it is and infect the entire tank.

 

[Big Vine]

i dont mean to be pickish but aren't nitrAtes less harmfull to fish. or not harmfull at all?

Yes, nitrates are less harmful to fish than ammonia and nitrites.
However, based on my understanding, high nitrates are still toxic to fish.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
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usacutie,

Sorry about the loss.
If the remaining cardinal appears to be healthy and is acting as though he is healthy (actively feeding, etc.), then I would put him in with the others.

But that's just me.

I'm sure that others might recommend keeping him isolated for a while longer, just to be on the safe side. Sorry I can't be of much help.

Big Vine

 

[usacutie81]

Yes, nitrates are less harmful to fish than ammonia and nitrites.
However, based on my understanding, high nitrates are still toxic to fish.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
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No, you're correct. NitrAtes are less harmful than NitrItes and Ammonia, but still toxic in high quantities. This is one of the reasonings behind water changes, to keep the NitrAtes in low numbers. The NitrAtes can be used by live plants as fertilizer, which also keeps the numbers down. High NitrAtes can cause an overgrowth of algae, as well as poisoning the fish. Hmmm...maybe I should check the NitrAte level in my "algae tank" aka, the 75 gal...

 

[Dan Steveo]

sorry about the loss. thanks for the advice on the nitrates aswell.