neons in six gallon with tail spots

Question
Hi Chris, I have a 6 gallon freshwater aquarium that is about 4 months old. PH, ammonia and nitrite levels are all within the range they are supposed to be. I have 2 neon tetras and one bright yellow snail in it.( We are novices for fish,too) We've had 3-4 neons die within that time, but now seem to have 2 "sort of" healthy ones. Weve had them approximately 7-8weeks. They both have a white spot at the tail end of the body but it doesnt extend into the tailfin. We ve treated for ich (because thats what we figured it was.), but its not spreading and its not going away with the ich treatment. Im guessing it must be a fungus type of problem. I have some "Pimafix" to treat it with. We have the tank light on a timer and it gets approx 12 hours of light/day. I do have quite a bit of algae build up, but just clean that up. My question(s) I guess--does that sound fungal for my tetras and would Algae fix help the algae problem?

Answer
Hi Lori;

I've seen spots like that on my fishes' tails from time to time. It was usually a wound healing if it turned out not to be ick. They have been through a very tough time too. The break-in period can cause irritations and injuries on the fish. New Tank Syndrome toxins will cause it and can make fish quite sick and even die. The other fish died from them so the two survivors are just stronger and probably have some "scars". Watch to be sure they don't get worse. Here is a link to more about new tanks on my web page about it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

I really don't like to recommend algae killing chemicals. They aren't good for the fish. From personal experience of my own and with clients, algae killers can make the fish lethargic and unable to breed. They can also kill snails depending on what the ingredients are. The safest way to control it is to reduce light and make more water changes to reduce fish waste. It's 'fertilizer' for algae. All tanks need at least a 25% water change every week and gravel vacuuming every 3 to 4 weeks anyway. Be sure feeding isn't out of control too. It makes excess waste for the algae to use as fertilizer. Most of us overfeed from time to time. We just have to remember the "rules" and cut back as needed. When you feed the fish, they only need a tiny bit once or twice a day. They must finish their food in less than 5 minutes if you feed once per day. This means all food must be gone from the bottom or on decorations too within that 5 minutes. The snail will eat more algae if there is less food for him so don't make "leftovers" just for him. If you like to feed twice a day, they must finish in 2 or 3 mintes. The whole idea is to let fish feed for 5 minutes in one day. This will really help keep waste from going out of control and help keep algae from going crazy too.

Your snail may need more food when the algae is all gone. Provide it as a leaf of romaine lettuce or a little chunk of squash, green bean or cucumber at night every 3 days or so. These foods don't rot like flakes and pellets so they can be left in for several hours. Don't feed too much or he won't maintain the algae cleaning.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins