Tetra falling apart, bleeding internally, scales coming off?

Question

One of my black skirt tetras entire chest area is red, his scales appear to be coming off, they are basically rotting away, there is white stuff hanging off of him.

He is acting and eating completelly normall tho, no signs of illness except the way he looks.

What could possibly be wrong, should I quarantine him away from the rest of the fish? Hes been like this for a full day.

Answer 1

I would go to a local petstore and ask them.

Answer 2

i dont know anything about fish, but i would keep it away from the other fish just in case

Answer 3

separate him from the others. Does it look like there is blood seeping from his body into his fins? From what you've described, there's not much you can do for him except let him live it out. He's obviously not miserable if still eating and swimming around. I can't remember what it is called but I'm pretty sure his condition can be contagious to other fish. After you separate him, do a partial water change on your other fish, and do another change in about a week.

Answer 4

Good grief.  Nothing you described would indicate Ich.  A much more likely possibility is that it has septicemia, and now columnaris.  Do a water change, remove any activated carbon from the filter, and begin treating with Triple Sulfa, Trisulfa, Maracyn 2, Furan 2, Kanaplex, Terramycin, or similar medications effective against gram negative bacteria.  If using tetracycline or minocycline based medications, treat in darkness, as these drugs degrade with exposure to light.