Types of Diseases That Can Attack the Phoenix Tetra Fish

In their wild habitat, Phoenix Tetras can live quite long. Phoenix Tetra fish disease is one of the reasons why their aquarium lifespan even cut up to half. 

Phoenix Tetras are not only beautiful and lovable but also unchallenging to maintain. Still, you have to make sure of their good and long wellbeing since there are unexpected conditions like Phoenix Tetra fish disease. Let's figure out more about the types of diseases and common signs why your aquatic pets are under the weather.  

Phoenix Tetra Lifespan

Phoenix Tetras can live on an average of 5 to 10 years. Smaller fish may have a shorter lifetime, while fish that lay eggs may have a longer life. Unfortunately, due to Phoenix Tetra fish disease, accompanied by an unhealthy environment and unbalanced diet, the lifespan of aquarium-bred species might be lesser than that.

Typical Tetra Diseases

If poorly taken care of, your Phoenix Tetra collection may be prone to illness. Certain circumstances may contribute to the most common to lethal diseases as follow: 

Columnaris

The main cause of this Phoenix Tetra fish disease is a bacteria called Flavobacterium Columnare. Here are some signs when your fish suffer from Columnaris:
- Scale ulcers start to appear
- White (cloudy) patches are noticeable close to the gills
- Gills start to lose color

Mouth Fungus (Mouth Rot)

The main cause of this Mouth Fungus is an infection by bacteria called Flexibacter Columnaris or Flavobacterium Columnare. They attach themselves to dead fish bodies, food leftovers, and fish feces. Some of their symptoms are:
- The formation of fungus or cotton-patch-like structure near the fish mouth area 
- Similar signs with Columnaris but less frequent, leading to noticeable spots on the area of fins, gills, etc. 

Dropsy

Also known as bloating, this Phoenix Tetra fish disease is an internal fluid building up inside the body. As a result, the fish's abdomen becomes swollen. It is a kind of underlying illness due to inappropriate nutrition, a sudden huge drop in temperature, hostile tank mates, and more. Check out the symptoms below.
- Fish starts to lose appetite
- Occasionally noticeable bent spine 
- Start to swim approaching the surface
- Gills start to have a pale color
- Red-colored, bloated anus
- fins start to clinch together
- A pinecone-like stand-up scales

Hemorrhagic Septicemia

Instigated by Piscine novirhabdovirus, this is not only extremely fatal for Phoenix Tetras but also other freshwater fish species. Take a look at its signs. 
- Hardly showing external signs, except for swollen bellies and red-colored eyes, as well as in fin and gill areas
- Irregular swimming behavior

Neon Tetra Disease (NTD)

There is what-so-called Neon Tetra Disease (NTD), the deadliest one for tetras and even for other fish families. The cause of this Phoenix Tetra fish disease is a parasite named Pleistophora hyphessobryconis. 

The fish get this parasite usually from eating infected live foods or dead fish. After entering the fish body, these parasites begin to attack from the inside. They also make the fish weaker by damaging their muscle tissues. NTD is extremely contagious. The following are some of its prominent signs. 
- Fish start withdrawing themselves from the school, later becoming the bottom inhabitants
- Color losing (skin discoloration).
- Showing ich indications 
- Frequent restlessness
- Unstable in movement 
- Swimming in abnormal patterns (looks like drunken one)
- A lump-filled body and skin cysts
- Imbalanced body, most likely due to curved spine
- Pop-eye, swollen bellies, and fin rot as signs of secondary infection

As you have better knowledge about the types of Phoenix Tetra fish disease and their common indications, now it is your turn to take the necessary preventive measures before visiting an expert. It’s better safe than sorry.

References:
Tetra Fish Care - Everything You Need to Know about Tetra (fishxperts.com)
Tetra Fish Diseases and Treatments - Tetra Fish Care (tetra-fish-care.com)

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