[MiOtung]

I got some Bloodfin Tetras from Petsmart the other day. 9 of the 10 I got look great, but one of them is unusually thin and his mouth is oddly shaped and red. When I was in the store I looked at the health of the fish I bought pretty closely, but I'm not sure if he had this when I bought him or if he developed it in the last 24 hours.

Not sure if this is mouth rot or if it's something I just heard about for the first time on google, red mouth disease.

Unsure of the way to go in treatment. I took him out of my larger community tank and put him in a 10 gallon so I can monitor him closer. Added some aquarium salt to the water.

Any advice would be great.

 

[Diana]

If the fish is oddly shaped, distorted, bent spine or other issue I would euthanize and sterilize the tank.

If the fish is just thin from poor eating then treatment is an option. I would start with antibiotics, as red under the skin can be one sign of an internal bacterial infection.

Never put fish in the main tank without quarantining and treating them. Minimum time in the quarantine tank is 1 month, and that is only if no treatment is needed.
This gives you plenty of time to see that the fish are healthy, or to start treatment as needed. This way also you are not exposing your main tank to diseases or parasites, or the treatments for these problems. You can customize the medication to suit the fish and the disease without worrying about killing other livestock or plants.