Fish eating other fish fins

[ckaeser]

Why do some fish eat the fins of other fish. I have one that don't have a tail fin anymore and now he just kinda floats around the tank. Is he going to die? or is there something wrong with him and the other fish know that and eventually eat him.

 

[Dangerdoll]

what fish do you have in your tank? How long have the fish been together? To answer your question, some fish are incompatible with other fish, depending on the type which would result in one picking on the other, in your case, nipping.

 

[TheZoo]

Some fish are "nippers" and will pester other fish to death, literally. Especially if they dont have enough space. WHat do you have in your tank? How big is your tank? Likely, you need to remove one or more of the fish...

 

[dorkfish]

I had a fancy gold that lost it's tail in the filter. It was staying on the bottom most of the time but came back. If you leave the fish that lost it's tail in that tank it will most likely die, but it has a chance if you move it to another tank. About your first question, I'm really intrested in what the answer is, I always do research to find out if the fish I want/have(in seperate tanks) will be compatible, but Ive never really found out why some fish nip and others don't.

 

[ckaeser]

I have a female green cobra guppy
1 multicolor male guppy
1 plecostomus and 1 bala shark in a 10 gallon tank. They have been together for about 3 weeks.

Can they grow back?

 

[dorkfish]

The plecaustomus is common pleco right? if so I suggest yoo bring it back to the fish store, as well as the bala shark, as the common pleco will grow to 2' and even the largest standard tank(180) size won't be big enough for a full grown one, and the bala shark(wich grows to 1', and is a schooling fish) needs a 65g min, preferably a 125g. If you continue to keep that tank stocked the way it is, your are just asking for serious problems such as leeches and mysterious fish death. PLEASE, before buying more fish, do some research (the site I linked to is a good one to start looking around) and don't just go off of one persons advice (research what I'm saying as well), and post your planned stocking list(s) here to make sure your not gonna be over stocking your tank, or getting into any giants like your commmon pleco, until you get more advanced into your hobby and can decide for yourself wether or not your gonna be overstocking or not(all the inch per gallon/surface area "rules" tend to not work in practice and you need to know the adult sizes of the fish and thier temperments becuase some fish will just be very aggressive in an overstocked tank but not in a properly stocked tank).

 

[rosita]

good answer, df!

 

[momar]

Originally posted by ckaesar
Why do some fish eat the fins of other fish

there are 2 main reasons why some fish are fin-nippers. The first applies to fish like tiger barbs, which bite small chunks out of other fishes fins as food. The second reason is territoriality (if this is a word). Eg cichlids may nip the fins of other fish which enter their territory to deter them. These cause more damge to long finned species like guppies.
Presumably its the mle guppy that lost its fin? It was probably the bala shark which ate it?

 

[ckaeser]

yes my shark did eat the male guppys fins. Well, my guppy died the next day.

 

[jwddboy]

im sorry to hear it but generally they are not supposed to go together at all. Take the balas and the common plec back (as df put very well i might add) and scold them for selling you them without warning you of the size they grow to.

This is for everyone out there:

Please, as stated, before bying fish always always always take some time to read up on them and see what they like, if you dont have the patence to do that then you shouldnt be considering keeping fish in the first place. If you cant find any info or dont know what they are that you want then ask on the forum! You will get your answer usually within a few mins.

Thanks.