Ok, I have 1 orange tetra and 3 neons. 2 of my neons are acting ill... They are emaciated, swimming oddly (head downward and slightly sideways), and one has a crooked back. I haven't noticed any color fading, they have lost their appetites and just stay near the plants. I know they will die soon but how can I prevent it from killing my others? Some of the symptoms match with Neon Tetra Disease, but they haven't gotten lumpy or lost coloration. I'll continue to see... They are in a 5 gallon filled with bottled water, it has a 5-15 filter (it's a minibow with the filter that came with it) and I put an air bubble wand in there to keep it cleaner and filter better. If these guys die, I'll probably just give up on fish.... have had too much trouble and money put into these guys and not quite enough time to do all the water changes. Anyways, any ideas would be great.... including how to euthanize a fish, just in case they really go downhill.

hi there
neons are really hard to keep alive as they are susceptible to many illnesses and the water has to be spot on for them. neons like to have a mature tank of at least 6 months old.
i dont think you should be using bottled water as it contains lots of additional minerals and usually lots of salt.
have you tested your tap water and if so what are the readings for that.
it sounds like the fish have tb with the way they are getting crooked spines or theres an electrical current going through the water, but i think with the glowlight not being affected its something the neons dont like and i would probably say its more likely to do with the water.

Sandy is right that neons are delicate, little fish, and often are hard to keep unless you provide them with perfect conditions.

Sorry you are having so much trouble with your fish. I hope you don't give up on fishkeeping after this bad experience. You have learned a lot keeping these fish, and if you pick hardier fish the next time, I think you could get more enjoyment from the hobby.

I would like to get 2 more glowlights but sadly no one carries them up here.... I know a goldfish is a BAD idea.... I hate them suffering.... and I do prefer my rodents. I have wonderful luck with rodents and mammals but give me fish and they die.... I really think it's our water... it's very high in iron and smells like sulfer. I will do a 50% water change with brita filtered water (it has a charcoal filter and filters most of the iron out).

Kim

Ok, what I've done with the tetras is... I took them out (guess I and the caretakers while I had been gone were overfeeding which is a problem with the fish way more than the rodents) and put them in a 3 gallon carrier with half their old water, half new water. The tank I filled with cold water from the tap and some bottled water. (The cold water doesn't have as many hard minerals/doesn't smell either, just warm/hot water). I am letting the tank sit overnight until the tanks both reach the same temperature. I have thermometers on both tanks... I also left the filter in the tank and all the gravel, but I lightly rinsed the gravel (and found tons of food debris) and rinsed the plants. I have the tank running and when I add the fish I plan to put some old water with them. Sound good?

Kim

tetras are tropical fish and need the water to be heated to a constant 24c. what does your thermometer read?
sounds like the iron in the water might be too much for them as well but filtering it should help. i would say to get ammonia, nitrite test kits too to see what levels they are.
you only need to feed a tiny pinch once a day.

and i would also say never use water from the hot tap as this does have lots of chemicals added. you can buy dechlorinator that takes out heavy metals but i prefer to use the cold and to take the chill off i use some hot water from a kettle.

Our well water has a high iron content, and Prime has worked very well for me It couldn't hurt to use the water from the cold water tap, plus Prime, just to really be on the safe side

Also, just to file away for future reference; I have had very good luck with danios and white cloud mountain minnows in my well water (with high mineral content). They don't require a heater, either.

Well, I'm not going to get rid of these ones just to go out and get new fish.... I put them back in their tank (temp is 74* F) and they seem to be doing ok. I'm not sure if the shock from going to rotten water to clean water will kill them or not... I let the tank sit for about 12 hours before putting them back in... If they die, I will get 1 betta since I seem to have more luck with bettas and they do better in a small tank anyways...

Kim

I wasn't suggesting that you replace these fish with others, I was just letting you know that there were fish that may be more suitable to your water if these didn't make it, since you were suggesting you might give up on fish totally.

Oh, I know... thanks for the suggestions though... don't think I'll probably get anything more than a betta if I do get more fish.