# Black Neon breathing rapidly



## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Just as the title says I noticed one of my black neons is breathing rapidly and is avoiding the other two. I also noticed that they seem to loose a bit of their color after I do a water change, (maybe due to stress?) 

With my male guppy having died out of the blue this week, I am wondering if it could be a bacterial infection or a parasitic infection of some kind. I tested the water and the parameters are as follows

Nitrate = 5
Nitrite = 0
Ammonia = 0
PH = 7.6

Stock list
3 black neons
1 female guppy
1 female guppy (in QT)
1 baby moon

Tank size = 15gal

Any ideas?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

My fish also lose a bit of colour after a water change, but they recover quickly.

When you do water changes, are you using a dechlorinator? It may be as simple as that.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Darkblade48 said:


> My fish also lose a bit of colour after a water change, but they recover quickly.
> 
> When you do water changes, are you using a dechlorinator? It may be as simple as that.


Yes I always use dechlorinator when doing water changes


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## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

i think it's pretty normal for them to lose some colour after a water change. are you using prime as a water conditioner? it will work best if your tap water contains ammonia. it really could be a lot of things. are there any other symptoms? does the fish look fat or thin? are the fins in good condition. make sure there is ample surface movement to get oxygene into the water.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

bluekrissyspikes said:


> i think it's pretty normal for them to lose some colour after a water change. are you using prime as a water conditioner? it will work best if your tap water contains ammonia. it really could be a lot of things. are there any other symptoms? does the fish look fat or thin? are the fins in good condition. make sure there is ample surface movement to get oxygene into the water.


I use Nutrafin's Aqua Plus for water conditioner. Fins are in good conditon, looks to be a little bit smaller then the other two. There is plenty of surface movement, have a large airstone and the filter creates some movement as welll.

I was looking into the Jungle Labs parasite tabs, anyone have luck with those?


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Another one bites the dust


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## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

hmm....i'm not sure what to tell you. adding a small amount of dissolved salt sometimes helps kill off diseases. have you added anything new to the tank in the last month or so? or changed anything?


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## Tearran (Oct 4, 2009)

Next time, I would check to see if the others are picking on him, neons actually need a school to feel safe and to establish a pecking order, with only 3 they may become agressive to a weaker individual resulting in his current stressed state. 

Things i would check if your worried about parasites or bacteria:

Watch the fish in question for about a half hour, see if hes is 

A) eating/attempting to east
B) Rubing himself on your substrate or aquarium decor
C) check his poo, white and stringy usually can mean stress or be a symptom of something else.

If it doesnt look like a disease to you, and hes was just discoloured and hiding, I would try adding 4 more neons and that should actually help to reduce stress in the group

lastly the only other then I can suggest, if hes was new to your tank form the store, he might just have been stressed from the shipping process, unfortunatly neons arnt bred to be the hardiest fish (not sure about black neons) and tend to die alot from the rigors of shipping.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Thanks everyone for your input 

I cleaned out the filter last night, as it was pretty dirty, rinsed the media in small bucket of tank water, and scrubbed and rinsed the parts in hot tap water. 

I just picked up Jungle Labs Parasite tabs, and did a treatment. 

I am not sure if that will help but figured it would be better safe then sorry. 

Has anyone had luck with those?

I also took my female guppy out of QT as her fin has healed and she is eating a bit. 

Will wait and see I guess


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