Tail rot

Question
I have a neon tetra that has its tail decaying. I think it could be tail rot due to a bacterial infection. On a website called Aquarium Fishdeals it says that if a fish is still eating you can give it an antibiotic food. Well what about the other fish in my aquarium? Can I feed them that? Also how long can it be before it's too late to treat the fish?

Answer
You can give a treated food but I suggest using a water treatment instead. This is something that you put a certain amount of drops or teaspoons in the water. While if in the best conditions the fish should be treated under isolation, if you have no other available tanks for the treatment of the one fish, the only option you have is to expose the healthy fish to the treatment along with the sick fish. This should not be a problem. Also, it varies as to when it is too late to treat. Rephrased, it is never too late to treat but it may be where the fish is too stressed to survive. Either way, you should always try and treat the fish to give them the best chance possible. I hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else.