# Neon Turning white & ragged fins Columnaris?



## flowerslegacy (Jul 31, 2013)

Tank size:25 gal
Ammonia: 0
NitrIte: 0
NitrAte: 30ppm
PH/GH/KH: 7.2/100ppm/50ppm 
Cycled,yes or no: Y
Number of fish: 20 (all small breeds)
Acclimation process: floating & adding tank water over 30 mins
Physical signs of illness(IE spots,shimmer,ECT): see pics below
How often between fish additions: months
Waterchange schedule: 50% 1x week to 2x month w/vacuum
Tank temp: 78

They were fine during QT. After 2 weeks in the main tank I noticed the one tail turning from red to white and it was really obvious. So I QT'd it. I started staring at the rest of them and noticed the ragged fins on a couple others - even the dorsals. The one with the worst fins is the most aggressive. So I just QT'd all of them. I haven't medicated because I don't know what's wrong with them. I'm new to tetra's. They're swimming, eating and acting completely healthy. I've googled like crazy with no real answer. Is it columnaris? Fin nipping? Cancer? Any help would be much appreciated. I'm new to the forum.


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Judging from the picture, it doesn't appear to be a disease process. The center fish is definitely more pale than the others but the fading appears to be cellular, not external. I don't see film on the fish and the slim looks to be intact. I absolutely hate judging by pictures but your picture is good. The white edge around the tail might simply be a little fungus on the wound bed or discoloration around the edge of damaged/healing tissue. Do you ever see them fin nipping? 

My first guess is that the problem is behavioral, aka aggression. Fish change color when they are stressed...they get lighter or darker when they're p|ssed. Maybe the center fish is currently the boss and the others are trying to take him down, or he wants to be the boss and he's fighting for that spot. Tetras that are scared and schooling tend to get along better than tetras that are at ease and scattered about...that's when they get territorial. Another possibility is that the center fish is a boy and he wants to breed, or that the center fish is a girl and the boys want to breed her but she's fighting them off which will make her look to be the aggressor.

You did the right thing by separating them. I'd keep on observing their behavior. I wouldn't medicate them as of yet. I suspect they're just being snots...and just like people, there's no medicine for that. If you confirm that you have one bossy fish that's causing problems, I'd remove him. If you don't, the stress level may be enough to cause a secondary disease process to erupt. Unfortunately, sometimes after you remove an aggressor, another fish will simply assume that role. But not always.


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## flowerslegacy (Jul 31, 2013)

Goby that's awesome. Thank you so much for replying. I don't know much about tetra's so I've been at a loss. I have a couple of aggressors that I've observed: The one with the worse fins and the one that's turning white. I always thought that the tail fin was the victim of nipping, until I saw the 'white' one nip a couple of dorsal's. They've appeared to calm down since they've been in QT. I wish I could say that I didn't medicate, but I had them on Acriflavin MS for a couple of days. I'm removing the meds from their water now and getting them back to clean water. I thought about getting a few more to alleviate the aggression, but I don't want to overstock my tank. I'm at my limit, even though the breeds I have are small. Thanks again for your reply. I'll clean them up and keep them on observation.


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## flowerslegacy (Jul 31, 2013)

Sorry to bump this thread, but I have an additional question. If you look at the second photo, you'll see the neon that was turning white. He continued to behave normally with no signs of further disease. None of the other neon's in QT with him contracted anything so I moved them all back to the main tank. Immediately they all colored up, including this white guy. The only lack luster was the end of his tail, which you see in the pic. However, over the last couple of weeks his color slowly deteriorated and then he began to gasp. He was swimming around with his mouth open and then his gills had turned red. I immedately removed him and euthanized him w/clove oil. Any idea what he had?? Of course I'm concerned about the other fish in my tank. Based on NTD symptoms and responses, as well as columnaris, none of the other fish are showing any signs of disease. Did he have an internal bacterial infection? Plus, all the other fish were around this guy for a long time with no signs (yet). Any direction or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.


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