# Neon tetras with white fuzz on mouth? My betta will get sick!?



## Jully (Aug 7, 2012)

I just bought 6 neon tetras like an hour ago, and when we stopped at safeway just to get some milk I noticed on the mouths of 3 neon tetras there was this white stuff stuck to there mouth, it was pretty disgusting. I have a 55 gallon tank, and I bought some mollies & tetras & guppies to go in that tank, and I was going to start a community tank and if ANY of them fight like the tetras fighting with other fish I would put them in my other new betta's tank which is 20 gallons & my newest betta  Anyways, I don't want my new betta getting fixed. What should I do the white ball things are on there mouths and there mouths are open like they can't even close them.

I separated the tetras and put them into my old 1/2 gallon tank, and then I took my bettas tetra whisper filter out of his tank [temp reasons] and put it in the 1/2 so they can get some air, I also added a bit of aquarium salt and aqua + so they don't stress, and it's a conditioner. My mom is just taking a small nap right now because she's very tired, and we were thinking of putting the 3 neon tetras back in the bag and then tying it and returning them and seeing if they accept it the bag was FILTHY. Before I put the fish in I waited 10 minutes for a float, and 15 minutes before I put them in then I added a bit of aquarium salt in there bags after 25 minutes TOTAL I took the net and netted the clean ones out and put them in the tank I never let the store water get in because it was D.I.R.T.Y there was poop in the bag, when you hold it to the sunlight dirt would float around it was horrible.


So do you know what is the white ball things stuck to the tetras mouths? *Will it harm my betta*, or *should I try to return the tetras?* Poor tetras, I don't want them to die I just want to bring them to the store so they can let them swim back where they came from. The 3 of them are in a 1/2 gallon right now, with a filter on LOW setting, they are nipping at each other. I don't want my betta getting sick, we got them in a group of 6 orginially but I had to split them up due to the fact some of them had white balls attached to them and we didn't even notice until LATER. And the tetras were about $4.27 per? We spent over $83.99 for just 4 mollies, 6 guppies & 6 tetras that's how expensive Pet Habitat is when we could of gone to King Eds and spent about $15.00 maximum on these types of fish.


----------



## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

I wouldn't have put any into your main tank; they all are infected its just some don't show the symptoms. I would have taken them right back to the store while they were still in the bag and chewed management out for selling sick fish (not the employees). Cotton mouth is VERY contagious and will spread to your other fish simply by adding their water to the main tank. Your best option now is to treat with API fungal cure in any tank they (or their water, a shared net or bag) came into contact with. I had the same thing happen to me with a 55 as well


----------



## Friendlyfishies (Aug 16, 2012)

It sound like columnaris and can wipe out an entire tankt of fish nearly over night. Please look up colimnaris and how to treat. I lost 6 out of 8 guppies and had to euthanise 2 within 2 days of having them ...very gross and sad. Treat them right away and any fish that came in contact. Wash hands and equipment constantly.


----------



## Jully (Aug 7, 2012)

http://oi49.tinypic.com/21mdilz.jpg One of the tetras, with the biggest one on his mouth. I don't think they sell the stuff that treats it, they barely sell any medicine it's Bull, they would probably carry 'betta fix' but I don't think anything to clear that up.


That's bull because we payed $83+ for all the fish, guppies were $12.99 per + tax and another dollar or two because of mall rent, and same price with the mollies and all the tetras together and the guy put like 2 mollies & 6 guppies in the same bag. And then the tetras were with a black molly [my fav] and a white one or all color one, and we spent that much now there all going to die? Honestly, that's just BULL. I am so mad, the fish were in horrible care the tank looked all nice, it was nicely decorated but when they got in the bag it was *DIRTY *and now all the fish are going to die tomorrow & we spent $83+ and now we need to spend more money :-(

But yeah, that's what it looks like, one tetra has a small one, one has a medium one and the last one has a huge one....


----------



## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

If you can get your meds asap you could very well save the majority. the fungal cure cost me about 10 bucks for enough to treat 100 gallons, and there was a similar off brand that treated 50 gallons for 6 bucks.


----------



## Friendlyfishies (Aug 16, 2012)

As I said I went through this with my guppies...you may not have as much of an outbreak as I did or as quickly since your tank it quite large, they probably will get it but slower so it may give you more time to treat but I would def treat today if you havent already. I can only give you advice for guppies as I dont know if the same advice will work for your other fish but my last two survivors only survived after...
this is a link someone sent me when I went through it with the guppies
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html
One of the experienced people on that particular fish forum also made this comment..
"I have no proof but I think it is now widespread in some major fish distribution system. I keep seeing posts like "my new fish got a fuzzy mouth and died in 3 days". 
Columnaris is also known as cotton mouth and black molly disease. Guppies and mollies seem especially susceptible. Harder and/or saltier water won't can't hurt as both columnaris and "fungus" do better in soft, acid water..?"

I heavily salted my guppy tank, double or maybe even triple the AQ salt than what it said on the directions but I added salt a little slowly as not to shock them et. Also uping the heat might help (again this is only for guppies!) I dont know how to treat the other fish...i learned that guppies are nearly brackish fish (saltwater) and most petstores actually keep them in heavily salted tanks, appearently keep disease at bay...then I brought mine home and placed them in a low salted tank and cotton mouth spread like fire. My last two moved to a 3 gal after I treated them and saw no signs...I still double dose them with salt and keep them at 80 degrees. When I treated them I also used pimafix or melafix..problem is I cant remember which one I used! I think it was pimafix. Again I only did this with guppies, I dont know if you can treat the other fish the same? But I would find out how to treat the hole tank. Good luck! Sorry you have to go through this...I personally will never have another community tank because of the diseases, too stressful. after moving the last two guppies I put goldfish in the tank after disinfecting it and will simply stick to the bettas. If you do by chance lose the whole tank which I hope you dont, you will want to really disinfect with bleach. I threw away my filter, substrate and toys (some says I could just disinfect that too, but i didnt want to take any chances) and I bleached the tank out twice inside and out.


----------



## Jully (Aug 7, 2012)

Thanks, I return the 3 neon tetras which were sick, at 8:39 the mall closes at 9pm when we arrived there we took the fish in, I didn't see the same people so looks like new people came in for another shift. Anyways, one of the girls in the front desk was just sitting there with her legs on another chair and doing nothing, and then I said "Hello, um we bought some neon tetras from here & they are all sick they have some white stuff in there mouth" so she held up the bag and she looked at them and she's like "Oh yes, they do looks like the fungus reached to them, do you have a receipt?" and I'm like "No, they didn't give us a receipt" because they didn't then she's like "Oh, that's odd?" then she got a ladder and gave me 3 new neon tetras, some of them in the tank had white stuff in there mouth too, thank god the ones she gave us weren't sick as well! And then she's like "If you have any more problems, and going to return something please keep the receipt." It pissed me off because I had no receipt, and we spent $83.99 so I am GLAD they gave us three new ones.

I am now going to write a letter to Pet Habitat, since I am utterly disgusted with there tanks & sick fish.


I was able to keep the tetras alive for about 4+ hours, I had a 1/2 gallon put them in there then I put my filter on LOW setting, I had no heater but they survived then when it was 8:15pm, I kept the fish bag, plastic bag, and two elastics and then I poured the tank water in half way, and then got the net and put the tetras in, tied the bag and then we were off. And returned them, I am glad the neon's stayed alive.


----------

