Really need your help...

None dead today...good news

Here are a couple of pictures. Not very good but I don't have a great camera and I'm not good at taking pictures. You will notice something sticking out on their side. It's white or similar to silicon in color and it is their pectoral fin and I guess the pelvic fin is similar. Only have this on a couple of them now but it was like that for the ones that died.

HARLEQ.jpg harleq2.jpg
 
When you say it's similar to silicon in colour, it makes me wonder if you're dealing with neon tetra disease. If you're seeing the muscles at their fin-bases turning this colour and what's happening looks like it's beneath the skin, you could have NTD in your tank. It's got a very distinctive look, like no other disease. What you're seeing - the whitish part - is muscle tissue being destroyed by the pathogen. Rasboras and other fish are susceptable, despite the 'neon tetra' in the disease name.
Google NTD and see what you can find, take a look at some pictures and see if it looks like what's happening in your tank - you're the only one who can truly tell if that's what it is.
The condition isn't curable. If you positively identify it as NTD there's nothing you can do other than euthanise any infected fish, and ensure that other fish can't feed on any dead ones - they'll contract the condition if they do.
If it's not NTD, does the white area look fuzzy or furry? If so it could be fungus or columnaris bacteria (which looks like cotton wool).
I hope it's not NTD, I've got my fingers crossed for you.
 
There aren't a lot of pictures out there but unfortunatly I do believe that may be it. Will my cories, bushynose and rams be safe or are they all at risk? I'm going to try and get the sick ones out but I've been trying and it won't be easy. Plus I'm thinking that my tank must already be infected anyway.

There doesn't seem to be much hope but is there anything I can try - Melafix of something?
 
neon tetron disease doesnt discriminate to only tetras-all your fish are at risk.
As far as i know there is no cure.
If your certain its NTD possibly the best course of action may be...euthanazion :(
 
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Okay, so I had to put down 5 harlequins for what I suspect to be NTD. I'm not even sure that's what they had but that's all I had to go on. I also just had a cory today that started twirling in circles and floating upside down. I couldn't see any signs of much wrong like spots or anything. Regardless I put him down as he was really struggling.

So before I just carry on killing all my fish does anyone have any hope or suggestions for me? It looks like I have at least one more harlequin I need to get out of there but not sure what else to do? I'm going to go to the store this weekend to see about a Q-tank but I fear it's too late anyway. Why get a q-tank if I'm not sure I want to put more money into this? I can't afford too with all the fish losses.

I got these fish all at the same time about 2 months ago so not sure what has happened and why? My pair of Rams are just the nicest fish and I'm so afraid to lose them. Their colors are so brilliant and they will feed right out of my hand - they aren't afraid one bit. If there is anything I can do to save my fish I would sure appreciate hearing it. I just have this feeling that I've done something so terribly wrong to cause all this but my water parameters have been 0's from the first day I finished my cycle. If I lose my fish I fear that my hobby will be done for me as I don't want to go through this again.

A nice aquarium screensaver would have been cheaper...
 
Oh you poor thing, I am so sorry for your loss. I know as a newbie that I bought a goldfish, a 2 1/2g tank, a small castle and a plastic plant without cycling, and managed to over feed him and the ammonia (which I had no idea was an issue then or before I found this site) from the old food, which of course I assumed he would eat, and unfortunately did and passed away.

I have learned so much here and am so careful of my new Betta. But you never know what will hit. It is frustrating and at time seems no worth it.

Hang in there and have a safe holiday!!!
 
If you've got healthy fish in the tank, leave them - they may be fine. I had quite a few fish survive my tank's outbreak of NTD after the big blackout. I lost all my neons, corys and harlequins, but the angel and livebearers were (and still are) fine.
Any fish that start exhibiting signs should be euthanized - once you know it's NTD there's really no reason to let them linger on, since it's generally considered incurable.
I feel terrible for you, I know what it's like to lose fish to this disease. Some of them may come through just fine - some types of fish are much more suceptible than others. Hang in there, keep us posted.
[edit] What you're going through is just about the worst introduction to the hobby I can imagine. I hope this does't sour you on aquarium keeping, there's so much to enjoy if you can just get through this bad patch. [/edit]
 
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i have no advice at all

but just wanted to say how sorry i am

no comparison at all

but i lost my first neons and felt awful and wondered if tank keeping was for me

what has happened if it is NTD is not down to something you have done wrong it will have come in on your fish

and the death rate is due to the fact that it is spreading as fish die and get eaten or nibbled on i believe so removal of infected fish should remove the problem, also some fish are tougher so take longer to succumb to the illness (someone correct me if i am wrong)

i really hope you dont lose heart as i have read your threads from your fishless cycle to date and you have done everything right and asked advice for things you didnt know

you could not be more interested in the wellbeing of your tank and your bad luck sucks,things like this shouldnt happen to people who do it right
 
Blinky said:
I had quite a few fish survive my tank's outbreak of NTD after the big blackout. I lost all my neons, corys and harlequins, but the angel and livebearers were (and still are) fine.
Click to expand...
I'm still concerned that I have the wrong diagnosis. What were the signs you saw in your cories and harlequins when you had NTD?

What I see in my harlequins is their fins start to turn white and hard (can't explain well), they go off by themselves and at times seem quite agressive when other fish come around. After a while they start to flip over on there backs and have a harder time staying upright.

The one cory I lost just all of the sudden starting swimming in cirlces and kind of flopped over and just layed there for a while. He still swam around after but wasn't doing to well and would go in cirlces and upside down.
I also see once in a while a fish rubbing on the gravel or rocks briefly.

So is my tank just so messed up that I have all sorts of disease going on or does it sound like NTD with some stress thrown in for good measure? (I've been netting fish out almost each day so I think it has been stressful for the fish)
 
My fish exhibited classic signs of NTD, and it still took me ages to realize that was what it was - I learned a lot about fish diseases that week.
The harlequins and neons developed white(ish)-silvery patches just behind the dorsal fins, and showed general signs of illness - not wanting to eat, leaving the group etc. Once you know what NTD looks like, it's unmistakable.
The 'whirling' you saw is something fish do with lots of conditions, it's not specific to any one disease.
The fins looking hard is something I've never seen before. Do they lose parts of their fins, or are they holding them constantly erect?
I really encourage you to try and take an hour or two and do a search for any and all symptoms you see - Google will produce some amazing results. Searching online is how I learned my fish had NTD, since I didn't know about AC yet.
Please keep us posted - I'll go look at my book on fish diseases again and see what I can find.
 
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