Phantom Tetra With No Tail At All

[Nicomarie]

I've just spotted one of my female phantom tetras missing the whole of her tail.

Last night I did a plant change around and it's possible I might have done this. I took out 50% of water then removed the easier to catch fish and popped them in bucket, I then took out all wood and plants before capturing the rest. A few took a fair bit of work to get out so this is why I think it might of been me.
There is also a possibility of a scrap I suppose? I've ruled out fin rot as water testing is perfect, no sign of disease on any fish, and no other injuries.
Will she be ok? Will the tail heal? Should I do anything?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Clean water... lots of clean water.
 
 
Watch for signs of infection, struggles to swim, eat, etc.

 

[Nicomarie]

Thanks for input

I did a 50% water change yesterday as I only had enough buckets to hold half the water.
How much and how often should I keep changing the water?
Would it be best to QT her in a salt bath for infection? I'd really prefer not to cause any further stress if can be helped.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

If you have a cycled QT that would be good. However, tetras also can become stressed when isolated, so it's a bit of a catch 22. I had a neon once with Popeye, from an injury, I put it in a QT and it's was lethargic and wouldn't eat. I put it back in the main tank after two weeks of no improvement and no eating. Same day I moved it back to the main tank, it ate immediately.


I'd wait to move the tetra until you see it being picked on, not eating or sign of infection. But it's your call. 25% daily would be ideal if you can do it. At least 25% every other day.

 

[Nicomarie]

Ok thanks I will just leave her be and just keep watching and keep on the water changes.
Do tail fine grow back or will she always just have a stump now?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It very well could grow back.  Fins have a tendancy to regrow.  But, it depends on how far down the damage is, I think.

 

[Nicomarie]

Cheers will just wait and see what happens.

Quick question about how I operate with my QT tank.
I keep my QT tank filter running in my main tank until needed, when it's needed I fill the QT tank with 80% of main tank water and 20% fresh treated water,. Is this effective or does a new cycle begin. I do liquid test on it daily/eod and seems to stay stable. Just want to double check I'm doing it right.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That would work fine. 
 
 
No need to use the main tank water other than to reduce shock to the fish when adding it to the QT.  The closer the water matches the main tank the better for the fish, but has no effect on the cycle.
 
 
The QT filter running on the main tank will have some of the right bacteria, but not much.  No need for a bunch in the main tank.  So, when placed on the QT, there won't be a ton to convert the ammonia... The good news is that only one small fish won't produce much ammonia.  Of course, doing daily water changes on the QT to keep the water as clean as possible will help to keep the ammonia down if the filter bacteria can't keep up at first.
 
 
 
If you are going to be adding a bunch of fish (like when buying new fish and keeping them in quarantine for a while) it would be best to set-up up the QT a little early and run the filter on the QT while adding some ammonia to boost the bacteria population for a bit. 

 

[Nicomarie]

That's brill, thanks so much eaglesaquarium you've been a massive help.