neon tetra not looking good...what is it?

[1MileCrash]

this one neon tetra isn't lookin so hot. since i got it it hasn't had a lot of color but i haven't been concerned up until now because he ate, swam, and schooled like the others. the only thing is that he didn't have good coloration...and his tail drooped...i do recall that.

anyway...now...he is staying at the surface of the tank, has even less coloration (is almost white), has the droopy tail, but today...and this is the big one...i notice that he appears...fuzzy or furry. it sounds weird but he has this light fuzz that makes him look like...i idunno...a pomeranian puppy i guess. it's light...not really dense and it appears to be white.

what's the deal here? i don't have a separate quarantine tank...i was thinking about setting one up but i haven't been able to get around to it at all...mostly cause i don't know where my old 10 gallon is at.

[Lady Hobbs]

He may have fungus. You probably will lose him. They are rather tender little guys.

I was only able to get 4 when I got mine. One never stayed with the others. I found that strange. He would lose color now and then but the next day be all colored up again. Finally after 8 months of this, he gave up the ghost and died. Never could figure out what was wrong with him and why he was always the loner.

[1MileCrash]

yeah that's kind like this guy. he's hangin out by himself now. actually yesterday i found one other neon stuck to the filter. it was the one that sat by itself on the one end of the tank...didn't want to hang out with anyone else.

i kinda figured that i'd be loosing this one pretty soon...if not by tonite then tomorrow morning no doubt.l

[Nick_Pavlovski]

Same things happened to me earlier this month.
I lost four to the illness, and had to humanely kill the other 2 who were sick.

[RobbieG]

Neons can be tough I've had some batches that just plain dropped like flies and others that flourished in the same tank the next day.

[jeffs99dime]

try putting up some pics of the affected neon. it may help others answer your question more in depth