Newbie needing some help

[frenjen]

Hi there. New to the wonderful world of Aquaria!

We have a 10g tank with just two yellow labs. We've had them since April 2006. All had been going well (granted, I've been pretty bad with 'regular' water changes - call me whimp but I just hate the thought of putting my hands in 'fish' water!). However, we just discovered one of the little fellas (not sure if they're male or female) seems to have tailrot (or tail rot depending on who you are!). My fiancé just left the pet store with treatment for him, so we're hoping he'll make it cause we caught it soon enough. However, my question is, will the tail come back or is that it, it's gone for good?

Thanks all!

 

[webcricket]

Fins can grow back. The growth may be normal or scarred, it depends on how bad the fin was damaged. If it rotted right down to the body, re-growth is iffy.

Now to the cause of the fin rot - your yellow labs are not appropriate fish for a 10 gallon tank. Most folks recommend somewhere around 50 gallons for this type of fish. If you're not keeping up on water changes (and with the overstocking in the 10 gallon you should be doing multiple 50% water changes a week), this combined with the inappropriate tank size are the cause of the fin rot.

If you want to save the fins, you're going to need pristine water conditions and I'd recommend daily water changes until they grow back to prevent further damage.

 

[BloodThirsty28]

Not trying to be rude here but if you can't handle getting "fish water" on your hands then this isn't the hobby for you.

 

[codeline]

Rot or Niping

10 gallons is pretty small for yellow labs. Are nipping at each other? You can try some Maracyn medication or a small amount of sea salt. In any case there are very few cichlids that would be happy in a 10 gallon, only a few types of west Africans, or South Americans cichlids that you can get a way with, but not Malawians.

 

[danzig]

Not trying to be rude here but if you can't handle getting "fish water" on your hands then this isn't the hobby for you.

Agreed.

 

[frenjen]

wow. Seems you folks have a different opinion then the folks at various fish stores. Before setting up the tank, we asked and were told that the two yellow labs in a 10g tank were fine - just not to add anyone else.

Thanks webcricket for your helpful information.

And for the others, that's where rubber gloves come in mighty handy folks! :joke:

 

[BloodThirsty28]

wow. Seems you folks have a different opinion then the folks at various fish stores. Before setting up the tank, we asked and were told that the two yellow labs in a 10g tank were fine - just not to add anyone else.

Thanks webcricket for your helpful information.

And for the others, that's where rubber gloves come in mighty handy folks! :joke:

In time you will learn that 90% of employees at fish stores have no idea what they are talking about. I'm no expert one Africans but I too would say they do not belong in a 10. Good luck and welcome to the hobby.

 

[balton777]

wow. Seems you folks have a different opinion then the folks at various fish stores. Before setting up the tank, we asked and were told that the two yellow labs in a 10g tank were fine - just not to add anyone else.

In time you will learn that 90% of employees at fish stores have no idea what they are talking about. I'm no expert one Africans but I too would say they do not belong in a 10. Good luck and welcome to the hobby.

True that BloodThirsty. Another thing is that even if they do know it's wrong, moving product and making a profit is more important than the suffering of the fish. And when the fish die, you'll come back for more!! Listen to the people here, there's a LOT of knowledge in these forums.

 

[frenjen]

Sad to say, but the sick fella did pass along. We have since thoroughly cleaned the tank, so now we have one lonely yellow lab all alone in the 10g. We'll see how long he lasts.

Interesting...as I thought the folks at Big Als fish seemed knowlegeable... oh well.

Here's crossing my fingers to try and be sure things work out for this fella! well, I think it may be female as it has just a little hint of black on the top fin. And right now, we're under 2inches long and seem to be happily enjoying the new found freedom of a tank all to itself!

 

[5xevy]

Before setting up the tank, we asked and were told that the two yellow labs in a 10g tank were fine - just not to add anyone else.

Thanks webcricket for your helpful information.

And for the others, that's where rubber gloves come in mighty handy folks! :joke:

The people here are just trying to help. Not all, but many workers at fish stores or large pet supply chains do not know things such as compatibility, tank sizes, fishless cycling, etc. People who run these businesses are there for exactly that: business/money/profit.

A simple online search would reveal this:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=839&N=0

Many online sites will tell you the recommended minimum tank sizes for the fish you want to get. All you need is the desire to research- research reliable sites or come to forums such as this one.