New To This And Need Help Fish Eating Fish Fins

[sut]

HI GUYS.,

I am new to tropical fish well any fish really. but i have brought myself a nice little tank and then brought a few fish to put into it, i have brought 2 small silver sharks 3 neon tetra and 1 male fighting fish, also when i got the tank it came with 4 fish already in they are all the same breed i have no idea what they are called but they are naturally blind ( i hope that helps you to know what they are ) .
now my issue is from adding the new fish into the tank i have found that the fighting fish the 3 neon tetra ahev had there tail and other fins attacked so they now have no fins also the 1 shark appears to have had a bite out of its top fin,

does anyone know what fish maybe doing this and why. i have watched them for ages and cant see it happening so i take it these attacks are taking place when its dark. soes anyone have any idea how to stop this happening again or when i add more fish.

will the fish that have lost there fins be ok?

thank you for any help.

 

[karawr]

A pic would help of the "blind" fish. (have never heard of this)

The silver sharks will grow incredibly big and are best to get rid of now.

The neons need to be in groups of 6 or more.

How big is this tank and what filter?

Basically you don't have a good mix of fish here at all.

 

[TropicalJuwel]

Hi Sut,

Just a few questions for you, did you cycle your tank? What i mean by that is did you run your fish tank without fish and using ammonia to build up bacteria in your filter so that it was consuming the ammonia and nitrite. What is the dimensions of your tank and how many litres does it hold?

Now I would have said its probably your fighter doing the fin nipping but you say the fighter has lost some as well, I dont think it would be the silver sharks as there not known for fin nipping. Can you get a photo uploaded of the 4 fish that you dont know what they are as it may be them.

There is some problem with your stocking though, silver sharks need to be in numbers of 5+ as are shoaling fish, they get very big, up 30 cms and are very skitish (dont like any movement near the tank) they will also see your neons as a tasty treat when there big enough to fit in there mouths. Unless you have a very big tank they will not be suitable for you, put it this way I have a 6 foot 450 litre tank and mine out grew that. 1 day when I went near the tank 1 smashed through the lid and was out flapping on the floor. I straight away decided they were to big for me and found them a new home, sadly as I loved them. Neons also need to be in higher numbers, 6 and above, but the more the merrier.

Have you got a liquid test kit, this is very important bit of kit for any fish keeper? To keep an eye of your water conditions.

Fish fins grow back over time but it is important you find the culprit as soon as possible.

Welcome to the forum. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Essjay1 136]

The blind fish - are they blind cave fish? According to google, they are fish of the genus Astyanax, though different sites give different species names. Google blind cave fish and see if the images look like your fish.
Opinion on these fish ranges from they only nip fins when searching for food to them being aggressive fin nippers. If you do have blind cave fish, they may well be the culprits.

 

[Akasha72]

essjay beat me to it - they sound like blind cave fish. They are naturally blind and navigate using the pressure sensitive lateral line (that's what the book says not me lol)They are a kind of pale orange in colour and shaped a bit like a neon tetra.

I've seen them at my lfs but they're not for me - the no eyes thing is a bit freaky.

Now you know what they are you're able to do some research on the net and find out for sure if they are the culprits

Good luck

Akasha

 

[sut]

hi guys.

thank you so much for all your replies.

first thing first i cant take the picture for you as my camera is crap and this fish are moving to much and to fast to get a photo lol. the fish in question though dont have eyes they just seem to have a silver spot where the eyes should be i hope that helps.

TropicalJuwel. the tank and water has been running for about 3 months and this fish was only added over this weekend, the tank is 4 and half foot long 2 foot deep and 2 foot wide. and thank you for the infomation about the silver sharks mine are only about 7 cm at the minute ( how fast do they grow ) how long till they are 30 cm or so, thank you for your help.

not sure if these are cave fish or not i will have to contact the seller to find the real name and update you guys, all i can say though is thank you so much for the help.

 

[Akasha72]

Picture of a blind cave fish (hopefully I've done it right!)

 

[sut]

Akasha72 thank you, yes that is what i have.

 

[Akasha72]

http/www.bestfish.com/nippers.html

You might want to read that. It gives a list of the fish that will nip fins. Your blind cave fish are on the list

 

[sut]

thank you,

so now it appears to be them fish any idea what to do with them or anyway to stop them, i cant return them so im abit stuck.

 

[balajake]

thank you,

so now it appears to be them fish any idea what to do with them or anyway to stop them, i cant return them so im abit stuck.

most fish shops will take in your unwanted fish

 

[TropicalJuwel]

Ordipends what you feed the sharks and water quality but they grow very quick, mine got to about 25cm in 12-14 months, so your looking at about 16-18 months full size but being in that tank will stunt them, what you dont want to do is keep them in a tank thats to small which will stunt there growth and make them even more skitish. Its such a shame as they are lovely fish and 1 of the reasons I got into fish keeping but they get to be a nightmare. Everytime you go near the tank you can hear them hitting the glass or even jumping out and hitting the lid so makes you on edge everytime you go near the tank, then I was trying to go slowly and not make any quick movements all for fear of them jumping out which 1 day1 did. Catching them became a nightmare when I found them a new home, had to practically drain the whole tank and they still generated enough upward thrust to jump 40-50 cms in the air.

I think they will out grow that tank in 8 months easily, from personal experiance I would only consider having them again in something like an 8 foot tank and only then in a room where I wasn't constantly walking near it. On the plus side seems you have found the fin nipper, as said above ask you lfs I'm sure they can help or maybe know an lfs who will take them. Glad you finally got some fish in your tank, sounds like that was a long cycle you had.