Neon Tetra - Peeling Skin on head

[pretz]

We have a neon tetra which I noticed today that had some sort of lighter color peeling skin looking little bits on his head. he just keeps going away from the pack in the darker corners of the tank.

in caution, I removed him from the tank and into a flower vase (thats all I have )

Any ideas?

He still swims around every now and then with the pack but mostly just sits still at the bottom of the tank hiding in the corners.

None of the other fish are showing anything like it yet.

INFO:

20 gallon

- 7 neons (one of which is like the above)
- 2 zebra Danios

Any ideas would be helpful... could it possibly be a wound? a bite mark or something?

[pretz]

well... within an hour or so after removing him... he died. It was very sad and I feel horrible about it. I can't stand losing the little guys.

In addition, when looking at the main tank, I noticed that the red in the neon body was not nearly as red as it was and was fading in 4 out of the 6 remaining. I know this loss of redness is a sign of NTD sometimes... so needless to say I am freaked out at losing all my lil guys...

but when I checked back about 20 minutes later they were mostly all back to the brilliant colors... save a little fading left in some?

Is this at all seen in neons? Color saturation changing lighter and darker?

I am very scared about this. I do not want to lose them!

Any thoughts or suggestions would be great.

The 3 zebras seem totally fine.

[Lotus]

Faded colors on fish is generally a sign of stress. It could be the neons had a little altercation or something, or maybe there was something else that freaked them temporarily. It's always something to check out if you don't know the reason they are looking a little pale. Sometimes just sticking your hand in the tank is enough to stress some fish a little bit.

[pretz]

they were just added to the tank today... so that could be something...?

I hope stress is all it is, not that I want them to be stressed but it is better than a disease.

[wayne at home]

Moving them will stress them, but they should be able to survive it (or buying them would be difficult). Hop the rest are ok.

[sailfinmolly]

Neons will fade, and come back. You'll notice this more in the mornings when you turn your light on and your fish are still sleeping. I think a trouble sign is when they stay faded and don't ever come back to normal.

I think you discoverd the first tell tale sign in neon behavior is that they are schooling fish, and when one breaks the school and has no interest in it, there is probably something wrong.

sailfin

[pretz]

looks like the color came back in... but ever since adding the new zebras and neons to the original neons...

the neons have been doing much less swimming together and more alone time...

I hope they are all right. hopefully just adjusting.

[sailfinmolly]

You might not see alot of school swimming in a 20 gallon tank. Sometimes schooling all depends on if there is any larger or more agressive fish in the tank.

However if there healthy they should engage in it some of the time.

Your probably right with new fish, they need that adjusting time.
Have fun!

[EinNaws]

the same exact thing happened with my neons, almost to a T. One of my neons had peeling skin on his head, i took him out thinking it might be ick. the next day he was dead. recently one of my neons stopped schooling and his colors were faded, fearing NTD i also removed him (into a vase oddly enough). this is day 2 of neon in a vase and he seems to be swimming fine but his fins are starting to detrerate (i can't spell, but they look tattered)...we'll see what happens

[Lotus]

Peeling is more likely from Flexibacter columnaris, especially if you also see cottony growth, fins tattered, etc. Maracyn II should do the trick, although it can be a very fast-moving disease. It is highly contagious, so keep an eye on your other fish.