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just recently (in the past couple of days) one of my pristella tetras has been acting quite strange (seen hanging round the top of the tank not with his buddies etc) and on closer inspection i noticed that the poor little fishy looked really tattered, and old. if i had to have a guess id say the fish was almost 2-3 years old. his fins have white tips that look like a fungal growth and i beleive he might have white spot as his tail has small white dots that protrude slightly. he seems to be breathing (well opening his mouth alot quicker then the other fish) and in general doesnt look good. i did a water test and everything was fine. the ph was a little acidic but not too far from nuetral. what could be wrong??

Some of the Tetra species do age quickly...

If he's two years old, that may be the max. Older fish lose their immunity to disease and usually die infected.

Perhaps he should be removed and put to sleep if indeed he's an old fish.

--garyroland.