I need advice on what this could be and what to do...

[gggrrr]

I have recently got into keeping fish. I have a 65L tank with 2 albino corys and 5 neon tetras currently in it, this has been established for about 3.5 months now. I have noticed today that one of the tetras is losing its colour, see photo attached(sorry its not the best quality). Other than this patch there is nothing off about its behaviour or appetite etc. None of the other tetras have any sort of indication that they too have whatever this may be. Reading online about neon tetra disease and fake neon tetra disease and there isn't much to indicate the difference. There is conflicting advice about what to do in order to help the fish, I don't have the equipment or facilities to quarantine this fish so I would love some advice on what I should do in order to have the best outcome for all fish in the tank.
Thanks in advance.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Hmm... Not sure what this is. @Colin_T is our fish disease specialist here, maybe he can help.
It sort of looks like how fish look when they've been dead a couple days. Very odd.

But as for the other fish, you could do with bringing up your number of corys to 3 at least, or maybe 6-8 depending on the cost in your LFS. Since they're a schooling fish, they do better in groups. Same with the tetras, 8 or more is recommended.

 

[gggrrr]

Hmm... Not sure what this is. @Colin_T is our fish disease specialist here, maybe he can help.
It sort of looks like how fish look when they've been dead a couple days. Very odd.

But as for the other fish, you could do with bringing up your number of corys to 3 at least, or maybe 6-8 depending on the cost in your LFS. Since they're a schooling fish, they do better in groups. Same with the tetras, 8 or more is recommended.

Thank you for taking the time to reply, it is very peculiar hence why I’m a bit worried.
I will bare the numbers in mind and as soon as I can look at increasing the numbers of each slightly, my tank does look a bit empty so will be worth getting some more fish in there so will get some more of the current residents.
Thanks!

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, it is very peculiar hence why I’m a bit worried.
I will bare the numbers in mind and as soon as I can look at increasing the numbers of each slightly, my tank does look a bit empty so will be worth getting some more fish in there so will get some more of the current residents.
Thanks!

Would love to see the rest of your tank if possible!

 

[quinnARIUM]

I have seen similar appearances on neon tetras both when they were alone or have too small of a school, or when they have a poor diet. I would try feeding them new, higher quality food and do a big water change (I have found that crushed bug bite flakes and mini pellets work best for small tetras). I would be careful about getting more fish just yet-- even though it may help, wait till your tetra gets better just in case it is a contagious disease.

Hope this helps!

 

[Colin_T]

How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the fish had the white patch?
Have you added anything to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

-------------------
If the white patch only appeared in the last 24 hours it could be neon disease, which is a bacterial infection that needs anti-biotics to treat it.

If the white patch appeared over a few weeks it is something else.

 

[gggrrr]

How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the fish had the white patch?
Have you added anything to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

-------------------
If the white patch only appeared in the last 24 hours it could be neon disease, which is a bacterial infection that needs anti-biotics to treat it.

If the white patch appeared over a few weeks it is something else.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!
I have had the fish for about 3.5 months now, I noticed the white patch about 2/3 days ago, it has not increased or decreased in size since I have noticed, the fish seems perfectly fine otherwise. Nothing new has been added in the past 2 weeks either.

 

[gggrrr]

I have seen similar appearances on neon tetras both when they were alone or have too small of a school, or when they have a poor diet. I would try feeding them new, higher quality food and do a big water change (I have found that crushed bug bite flakes and mini pellets work best for small tetras). I would be careful about getting more fish just yet-- even though it may help, wait till your tetra gets better just in case it is a contagious disease.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for replying, will get some new food and give that a go!