*sigh Another Issue*

[Twinklecaz]

So yesterday I bought 3 very lovely looking Sparkling Gourami. About 10 mins after I put them in my tank I noticed that one of my Pygmy Corys was sitting at a funny angle on one of the plants. On closer inspection I noticed that over half his tail was missing!

I've tried to take a pic but I just can't get it to show up something so small but the best way I can describe is you know how their tails are like this <
<

Well the top one is gone all but for a tiny little point and I think part of the bottom one is too.

He was acting really ill at the time, kinda face down in the plant but I have to say he seems to be acting totally normal now and he chased after his peas earlier same as always.

Really I'd just like people's opinions on this.....do you think this is fin rot or do you think that it's a bit of a coincidence that I'd just put the Sparklers in and one of them took a chunk out of him?

I'm torn on this one coz yes it is a conincidence and none of the other fish have frayed fins but a Sparkler attacking a Cory? Really? Also I haven't seen anything like agressive behaviour from them in the 24 hours I've had them.

To be honest yesterday I did think he'd been attacked but now I'm looking with very paranoid eyes at the others at how see through their tails are trying to think if they've always been like it. I mean, it is possible he was like that before and I'd only just noticed I suppose. But the fact that he looked so ill last night and fine today implies to me that it had just happened.


I did dose some Myaxin yesterday and a smaller dose today which I guess is the best thing to do if it is fin rot but I'm pretty sure my fish HATE it, they go very subdued when I've dosed it and I'm worried I'm poisoning them.

So yeah, sorry to go on but those are my questions - what do you think this is and what do you think the best course of action is?


My water stats are 0,0,20, Ph7.0.

and my little tail diagram didn't work!

 

[KittyKat]

I don't think sparkling gouramis would do that.. I never had a problem keeping them with Corys

 

[Twinklecaz]

Yeah exactly, it would be really odd!

My other thought was he got it caught in/on something

 

[Twinklecaz]

I've managed to get a pic!

 

[myrtle]

Poor thing! I think you'd have noticed if it had always been like that and is it me or do his/her fins look clamped? I've just had a look at one of my Pygmies who is resting on a rock and his dorsal fin is up in the air, not down like your poor thing.

 

[RustedKnight]

Poor thing! I think you'd have noticed if it had always been like that and is it me or do his/her fins look clamped? I've just had a look at one of my Pygmies who is resting on a rock and his dorsal fin is up in the air, not down like your poor thing.

Yeah my cory's always have their dorsal fin up. Always.

He doesn't look very happy, but to be fair he's missing the equivalent of a leg. Keep a close eye on him, do you have a quarantine/treatment tank you could put him into??

 

[Twinklecaz]

Hi guys

Yeah all my others have upright dorsal fins. Bless I spose it is like losing a leg

I do have another tank that I'm currently cycling for some Galaxies but the thing is, every time I've moved a fish to my Q tank they've died within 12 hours and whenever I've just treated them in the main tank (like my yellow Platy had some sort of body rot due to scraping himself a few weeks ago) so far they've always been ok. So I have a kinda superstiton about it now.

Do you see why I don't think it's fin rot? It just doesn't look like it to me.

I'm thinking the best thing I can do is give a light dose of Myaxin for maybe a couple more days and I'm gonna do maybe a 20% waterchange every day, a to keep the sand as clean as possible and b to keep the water as clean as poss. I guess that gives his tail the best chance of growing back he has? I'm keeping a close eye coz he only has about 1mm left of it on the bad side

 

[Twinklecaz]

AH! I just saw one of the Sparklers chase one of the Neons!!!!!!

 

[RustedKnight]

Hi guys

Yeah all my others have upright dorsal fins. Bless I spose it is like losing a leg

I do have another tank that I'm currently cycling for some Galaxies but the thing is, every time I've moved a fish to my Q tank they've died within 12 hours and whenever I've just treated them in the main tank (like my yellow Platy had some sort of body rot due to scraping himself a few weeks ago) so far they've always been ok. So I have a kinda superstiton about it now.

Do you see why I don't think it's fin rot? It just doesn't look like it to me.

I'm thinking the best thing I can do is give a light dose of Myaxin for maybe a couple more days and I'm gonna do maybe a 20% waterchange every day, a to keep the sand as clean as possible and b to keep the water as clean as poss. I guess that gives his tail the best chance of growing back he has? I'm keeping a close eye coz he only has about 1mm left of it on the bad side

Yeah that sounds like a good idea.. Keep a thorough check on him, as soon as it starts looking like fin rot, you either have to treat him quick, or consider the other option (you know.. the clove oil option)

I think his tail should grow back, in full in theory, and keep an eye on those sparklers, if they're going to be problem fish they'll need to be sorted.. Is it some form of territorial action maybe??

 

[KittyKat]

I had a considerably larger fish lose equivalent amount of tail 4 days ago, and a chunk taken out of his forehead down to the bone. Removed the offenders (breeding pair) to a breeding tank, treated the whole display tank with eSHa 2000. By this morning, most of the flesh on the forehead was back and the skin was starting to grow as well as. The tail is clearly starting to grow back too.

What I am trying to say is "don't give up on him yet", I think there is a good chance of recovery and my advice would be to treat the whole tank with any generic anti-bacterial medication.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Hi guys, thanks again.

Yeah I'm gonna keep on top of WC/light med and just see what happens. I think that if one of the Sparklers did do this then they'll do similar again in which case Galaxies will not be the stocking for the small tank........THEY will!


I'll let you know how it goes. Good news is that I just checked in on injured Cory and his dorsal fin is up and he's sifting through sand with the others so fingers crossed and touch wood he'll pull through as long as I take care

 

[RustedKnight]

Sounds like he's already acting happier, tis a good sign. Here's hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery

 

[myrtle]

Glad he's perked up, I suppose it could have been the shock that made his fins clamp.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Hello

Sorry to bring this post up again but though my Pygmy is absolutely fine these days *touch wood lol* his tail hasn't grown at all. It still looks exactly the same as in that photo above. Should it have grown by now if it was going to?

Is there anything I can do/give him to encourage it? Or should I just accept his loss of tail like he clearly has ?

 

[Harlequins]

Aww sorry to hear about your wee pygmy

When i first got my sparklers,one of my skunks had a chunk out of his tail,at first i thought the same has you whether it was fin rot,but then i noticed one of the sparklers use to hide under this log the skunks used also...

so i moved things around and put more plants in for the sparklers,and touch wood alls been fine since,i upped the water changes and did 10% every day for a week,his tail is looking alot better now.

If yours is still getting around etc,then he should be fine.One of my Tri's was born with a deformed tail,its just a wee spiky bit and hes getting around ok,nearly 8 months old now

If it was fin rot it would've got alot worse by now.