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i posted last night about one of my neons bullying the others, and even nipping at a penguin tetra almost double his size. but today when looked a little closer i noticed the ones that i have recently purchased have lumps about mid belly. some are worse than others, the only one that doesnt seem to be affected is the one that has been in the tank for several months.

its a 29 gal cycled
as of a reading from yesterday

ammonia:0
nitrite:0
nitrate:15-ish
temp:80

ps. young bgk in tank as well

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

Before all the rampant talk of NTD kicks off I should tell you that the infection is probably aeromonas hydrophilia, and you can cure it with antibiotics, or maracyn, or myaxazin etc. Needs at least a five day course and usually a repeat treatment after another week. Its a common as muck infection and probably kills more small fish than any other single cause other than water quality. Tends to make the stomachs blow up, deaths from organ failure etc. Kills the small fish much easier than the big ones cos it produces hydrogen sulphide gas in the gut. When you cut a dead fish open that died of it, they really stink, insides have usually rotted to a yellow fluid. Treat it soon as possible.

Still now you know why the fish were aggressive, persecution of deathly sick fish is completely usual.

Good luck!

but what should i do with my bgk in the mean time?

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

You have a BGK in with tetras? EEeeek! You do know how big they get dont you?

Well, you have to choose a medication that treats him too without killing him,choose meds formulated to work for clown loaches , and mormyrids etc, and perhaps think about getting that other tank started that he will eventually need before he grows big enough to eat the tetras!

yea i know how big the get and i plan to have a bigger tank by the time he needs it. plus every where i have read say that they are slow growwers. but i didnt know about the tetras until after i had purchased him

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

They are slow growers , this is true, they also have small mouths,but when they get much past 5-6inches, the tetras could on the menu. A lot of predators take a while to catch on to eating the fish they have lived with all their lives, this is also true, but as soon as they are capable, its a lottery from that point.

Its not a problem as long as you correct it before it happens. I have a young polypterus that will at some point need moving to live with bigger cagemates, but as long as the other fish dont react with fear to the predatory fish, and its not actually capable of killing them yet its not a problem. Plan in advance for the move though.

ya i know what you mean. my girlfriend and i are planning to move from LA california (where we are now) to portland oregon and i was wondering do you think he would make it through the move or should i trade him in?

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

as i posted i have a bgk in the tank. i was thinking i can put the neons in a 5 gallon bucket and treat them but i have cats and im not sure how that would work considering they think they run the house. but before i go about doing this. is maracyn, or myaxazin safe for a bgk?

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

ok im so confused lumps where gone this morning. then about 15 minutes after lump comes back slightly. sometimes they look perfectly fine, and school. but other times they are all seperated and look a little odd

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

Theres not much point, cos the bacteria will be in the water, I mean, you can try it, and hope they dont get reinfected, but living in a bucket with meds they will probably get mild ammonia burn to the gills which will give the bacteria an immediate route back into the body when they go back to their own tank . Then, what do you do if the BGK goes down sick? Might as well find the appropriate med,safe for the BGK, and face it down in the tank IMHO. If it takes you a while find the right med and you dont want the neons dying while you wait, it might be a technique you can use, but to be honest I think the problem will reoccur until you treat the tank and the BGK too.

Like I said , the lumps are hydrogen sulphide gas. They go when the fish farts or burps Its when they cant do that the deaths come though.

what kinda meds should i use?

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

See if you can find some furan 2 , it should be safe for use with knifefish, be very sure not to overdose though.

In theory, if packaged properly with a little extra oxgen, and boxed in polystyrene he should be able to make the move if you really want, but unless you manage to have a cycled tank at the final destination he may not do too well with the combined stress. If thats not possible id consider giving him up to a new owner or even back to the shop.

thats what i figured about the move. i already moved once and it was reletively successfull, i only lost 3 zebra danios and a guppy.

you said furan 2? do you know who makes it or where to find it?

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

Its made by API aquarium pharmaceuticals, unfortunately theres no mention of your nationality so im not sure where to direct you, but if you google it, theres always mail order.If your in the mainland US you can probably pick up a few tablets at the LFS or at least find a decent substitute.

ya im in the mainland us. thanks for the help. oh and ill point up my flag thingy

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

ok so i got the furan 2 like you reccomended i dosed the tank. it turned this greenish color but the meds says that is normal. hopefully this works. ill keep you updated

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

So how did the saga end? Did the furan 2 work for all? Did you have to take our your charcoal filter media first?

The frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives. Native proverb

well today was the first dose of the treament so far so good. no losses yet, one slight panic, but no fatatlies

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

i finished one round of treatment lumps are gone. looks like they are healing well. but then is still some redness of the gills. when should i try treat again or should i even treat again?

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"