Twitching Xray Tetra

Hi all,
I've noticed one of my Pristella twitching and hanging around a part of the tank away from the other tetras. His head is higher than his tail too. No other signs of disease. Checked the water and all is fine. Nitrates around 30 so I've done a 30% water change to be on the safe side. Any advice? Thanks!

Thanks Sue,
Hopefully he'll improve, though I'm kind of proud that I've done what you would have suggested. I may be getting the hang of this fish keeping malarkey!

That sounds exactly the same as my Pristella. Spends most of the day twitching in the corner, then snaps out of it and schools with the rest of her buddies.

The Tetra Twitch is cracking name... it'll probably catch on!

The problem with that is knowing what exactly the infection is. If it is bacteria, it might be possible to treat it; if it is viral, there are no medications that will work. It could even be constipation or some other swelling pressing on the swim bladder.

If you want to try a treatment, the only one that might work is an anti-internal bacteria medication. If that doesn't work, there's nothing else to try, I'm afraid.

I have quite a bit of experience in this area - but all with goldfish.  As a first port of call, I tried a change in diet (no pellets/flakes, only peas chopped into tiny morsels or sometimes bloodworm).  As a second port of call, if that hadn't worked after a few days, then I tried aquarium salt - often very effective overnight.  My third port of call was either swimbladder or internal bacterial infection treatment, the latter being the better option.  It seems like you've tried everything (and I appreciate that he won't eat peas - my pristella tetras don't either), so, indeed, it does seem like a waiting game.

The only other suggestion that I have is that, if you were to keep him in / move him back into the quarantine tank, lowering the water as much as possible (heater/filter permitting) so that he doesn't have a long way to go if he loses his balance or floats up like a helium balloon which can be distressing - and I've read that raising the temperature by a degree or two can help too.

Incidentally, aquarium salt shouldn't be used with some fish - cories, I believe, but there may be others.

Hope the waiting game has a positive outcome - you've been doing your best.

Thanks FCMF,
Unfortunately aquarium salt and internal bacteria meds didn't improve his condition after 2 days in QT and poor fellow was all washed out colourwise. The rest of the shoal looked so happy and vibrant that I decided to pop him back in with them. His colours are back to normal but he's still looking terribly ill. Don't think he'll make it but surprised he was still going when I got home today. Keep your fingers crossed for him!

Sorry to hear that. Sometimes we just don't know what the underlying problem is, and even if we do there aren't many medications available in the UK.

I know that with bettas, feeding dry food straight from the pack can cause bloating. This is using both pellets/flakes and dried 'live' food. Bettas gobble their food down so fast it is still dry when it gets inside, then it absorbs water and swells up, causing the damage. This is why I presoak all dried food, no matter which fish it is for.




And that is another use for shrimp. You soon know if a fish has died.