Tetra dying from old age?

[Jag1980]

For about a week now I noticed that my largest Tetra looks bad,
Shape is different then normal.
Head is shaped like it has not been eating but it has been, and It's body is double it's normal size. I noticed that there was a white thing hanging from it's butt that looked like a couple empty egg sacks or something, did not look like cotton or any kind of fuzz. Another fish knocked it off of him and it all flew off with ease.
Scales are not sticking out.
He is also being picked on now by the other fish, they nip at him and chase him around a little bit, and the fish will come up to the glass right up to me when trying to view and sit there like he is asking for help or something.
All other fish are perfectly fine.
I never had a disease in my tank before.
The Tetra is about 6+ years old. Is this a sign of old age and dying or is it something else?

Here's a picture and what the fish looked like before:
Very healthey and flat bodied

 

[unvmyplecos]

hes big!!! (to me at least) i hope you find good help i know nothing sorry=(

 

[unvmyplecos]

though doubling in size is not a normal sign of death as i have expierienced

 

[Jag1980]

Only thing I really changed in my tank in the last 2 weeks is I changed my Filtration to a Fluval 205 that I bought used and I been feeding my Tetra ADA Fish Food.

I just feed my fish some flake and granules and he is not eating.
I did not notice this fish problem but a few days ago, less then a week.

I think it's just a old fish starting to die? I'm thinking the fish is more like 7+ years old.

 

[jm1212]

6 years is pretty old for a tetra...

 

[red_wall]

Probably old age... He might live a little longer if you separate him in a smaller tank by himself (to get away from the nipping). Observe him and see if his behavior changes. If not, then its old age. Just a suggestion.

 

[wildman117]

the white thing hanging out of him sounds like some kind of parasitic worm to me
6 is old for a tetra(at least to me) but it still sounds like something is wrong with him

 

[rinmouse]

Over the last year or two I've lost a few of my lemon tetras. I've had them for 5 years, and they were adult sized when I got them. They seem to get kinda 'ratty' looking and faded before they go. One got some kind of tumor. It is probably old age, however, perhaps due to his immune system being compromised by age, he's picked something else up. If you have a quarantine set up, why not put him in there, especially if he's being picked on. I mean, being nipped to death isn't the nicest way to go.

 

[Jag1980]

Quarantine tank will probably put him into shock since it's so different from what he has been living in for the past 6 years.
I tried this with a fish before because I thought it was sick, but wasn't. The fish seemed very stressed and did not do well even after 3 days of being in the tank. I used all the same water from original tank and gravel and a cave. Fish sat it the corner bottom of the tank the whole time and coloring was very pale. Returned the fish back to home tank and looked great and swam around normally after 10 Min's of being in the tank.. So I try not to move my fish to a quarantine tank.

I might have to make a exception for this case since it's already seems to be dying..


I might set up a low light Soil tank as a test/quarantine tank

 

[snoopy65]

I would move him just because what if it isn't just old age and he has something? It may have started with just being old, but if he has contracted something, he could infect the other fish in your tank.

Any tetra 6+ years is very old and it says something about the way you take care of your fish. I had a red eye tetra for 4+ years who finally died of old age. Congrats to you for taking such good care of your fish!