If a fish has lost some scales through a wound or injury do they grow back or is the fish permanantly scarred?
Steve
Steve
Fish scales.
- Thread starter InEssex
- Start date
If an injury is deep or severe, fish can scar just like people, but if it has just lost a few scales, AFAIK they'll grow back. Fins that are torn / split should also grow back. In any of these cases, it's important to watch out for infection - make sure the fish is in very clean conditions and keep stress levels as low as possible 
Blinky said:If an injury is deep or severe, fish can scar just like people, but if it has just lost a few scales, AFAIK they'll grow back. Fins that are torn / split should also grow back. In any of these cases, it's important to watch out for infection - make sure the fish is in very clean conditions and keep stress levels as low as possible
I agree with Bilnky.
InEssex, what kind of fish is it, and how did it loose the scales? maybe some salt in the water (1 tsp per gallon, possibly less) would help? when my tetras were nipping each other badly and ripping each others fins, the salt that I had in the water already for ich (that was gone from the fish, but the tank still being treated) worked wonders! not one fish got an infection, and injuries cleared up astonishingly fast (one fish had its dorsal fin ripped in HALF right to the bottom, and in 3 days I couldn't tell it apart from the other fish!)