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jaylach

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I have a black skirt tetra that has developed white edges along a couple of fins. The other 5 black skirts show no sign nor do any of my corys. Since this fish was originally alone and 5 more were added I suspect that it has come under attack and what I'm seeing MAY be nipping but I've never experienced so don't know. Yes, I can identify as the original black skirt as it is the largest. I searched for fin rot (also never experienced) and no images came even close to matching. The fish is still active and eating well.

IMG_2278.JPG
 
Looks like nipping...
Thanks. :) That was my thought but, odd as it may seem, I've never experienced a case of nipping so didn't know for sure. Odd thing is that this just developed today. Out of all the tetras this one has been the most aggressive. Mayhaps the others just got tired of it... :dunno:
 
I would try watching them more careful!y and maybe put a BIT of salt in the tank to help avoid infection.
 
How much salt would you recommend in a 20 gallon cube? I will consider adding salt but I sort of hesitate due to a new, very small, L262 Stardust pleco that is still getting used to the tank and acclimating. I don't want to disturb this new fish as it is tiny and still hiding in a cave.
 
How much salt would you recommend in a 20 gallon cube? I will consider adding salt but I sort of hesitate due to a new, very small, L262 Stardust pleco that is still getting used to the tank and acclimating. I don't want to disturb this new fish as it is tiny and still hiding in a cave.
Ok. Maybe try getting a breeder box instead and keeping the injured fish in there... Keep up with water changes as well so the water stays clean
 
The white stuff is excess mucous produced by the fish to cover the damaged tail.

Make sure you have at least 10 tetras in the group to reduce aggression and stress.

Wipe the inside of the glass down.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

If it hasn't improved in a few days or it gets worse, post more pictures and add some salt.

------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
 
Salt will be stressful but you don't need to add it unless the white on the tail doesn't clear up. Then use the low dose of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water and see how they go. The pleco should be able to tolerate that without any issues
 
OK, so 20 liters would equal just a bit over 5 gallons. So in a 20 gallon cube, considering less water due to gravel and decorations, I would 4 table spoons? If I do this would you recommend just using rock salt or getting a small bag of instant ocean? On the other hand I don't know if the internal filtration is part of the 20 gallon size so mayhaps the dose would be 5 table spoons? :dunno:

Please keep in mind that the pleco is a very small baby of mayhaps a bit under an inch in size when the mature is 3.5-4 inches. I worry that the small size could possibly make it more susceptible. Sorry if this concern is dumb but, except when I bred guppies as a young teen, I've never had this young of a critter. Actually I have a couple of questions about this pleco but will start a new thread on that.
 
To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating with chemicals or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working. You do not need to remove the carbon if you use salt.
 
To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating with chemicals or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working. You do not need to remove the carbon if you use salt.
Thanks. :) Even though the tank came with a carbon pack that is supposed to be avove the ceramic rings I am not using so that is not an issue. Never really believed in carbon. I suppose carbon has its use in certain situations but I don't think it needed in a healthy tank.

You answered about everything I could want except for one thing. With built in filtration is that included in the 20 gallon tank size or would the 20 gallon size just include the actual tank area not including the filtration? Not really sure of modern terms but my guess is that my tank would be considered a nano.
 
Not sure what you are asking here....the filter will take up SOME volume, yes, but it is (mainly) filled with water, so calculating the volume it occupies could be tricky...but if it was advertised as a 20G cube, then I would imagine that means empty volume, not including the filter

Off topic, but in order to keep an adequate amount of BS tetras to spread aggression, AND with the addition of the pleco (small now yes, but bigger later, and lots of bioload), you are going to need a bigger tank, TBH
 

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