Neon Tetra Disease Or Fungus?

HI all, I have a sick neon tetra in my 10 gallon tank. For a month now I've been treating the tank for fungus. However my tetra doesn't seem to be healing. He is still eating, and has decent color. However I can't tell if it's fungus or neon tetra disease.

here are some pics



If anyone can help clear this up for me it'd be apperiated

 

It’s NTD, very common in neons.
How many do you have?

 

5 currently, it's a new tank, don't wanna overload the bacteria. So if it's NTD, what should I do about it?

 

False NTD probably. Get this one oit, euthanise and.monitor the others.

 

You need to get that fish out of the display tank. I see a couple of cyst like areas in the same spot in both pictures. My school of 20 neons is down to 4. It is my fault. The fish that originally presented with symptoms was swimming and eating fine and I thought the disease had a long way to go. It died in the tank one night and by the time I found it the next morning, it had been munched on. That is how the disease is spread. I thought I got past it but it popped up again a few months later. I have a really hard time euthanizing fish unless they are in obvious pain or distress, sooo...I'm down to four neons and I now have more quarantine tanks than anyone I know. You can try to treat your guy with antibiotics in a qt if you are unsure of his condition, but I would certainly get him out of the tank and away from the other neons in case it is neon tetra disease.

 

According to the main scientific study on Neon Tetra mortality, NTD (Neon Tetra Disease or microsporidia) is in fact rare in Neon Tetras, it is much more likely to be Columnaris.

Fungus tends to colonise dead body tissues after it has been killed by other pathogens such as Columnaris.

I have two years of experience of Columnaris in my Neon Tetras and I have been researching it and trying to cure it.

I don't believe it can be cured, simply because I see many instances of the disease on this forum and many recommendations for medications from helpful forum members but no evidence of the Neon Tetras being cured. I think that the disease will remain on the purchased fish and can only be prevented from killing fish in less advanced cases by providing good aquarium conditions.

How long ago were your Neons purchased, have there been any losses at that time and at any times since?

I would say this particular fish of yours is close to death and I would remove it and euthanise it to reduce the number of pathogens in the aquarium but you may alternatively allow nature to take its course and remove it at that time if you wish.

Big research efforts in the scientific world are going into studying Columnaris and if you wish to learn more just ask me or alternatively do your own research and share it here.

 

Fungus = Dosent usually infect healthy fish with live tissue
FNT = False neon tetra disease, I guess its just columnaris, a pretty common bacterial infection

If a lot of fish are coming down with it, use antibiotics

 

True neon tetra disease has brown skin lesions and bent spines.