Fish first aid

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Seacon

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Aug 18, 2003
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I have an albino cory cat that is virtually finless! Something has nipped every fin, dorsal, pectoral, anal, you name the fin, it's gone. I just noticed this tonight, because I have 4 and they all zip around so much and I've never seen any of my fish agressive, so I really didn't give the cats a close look. This cory is the 3rd largest in size. No other fish has any sign of fin nipping. The residents of my 20 g are 4 corys, 4 MM platies, 5 zebra danios, and a bristlenose pleco. I'm watching the tank to see if I can find the culprit, but my immediate concern is the wellness of the cory. I don't have another tank (I had a 2 g for quantinee/etc but could never keep it cycled), the only idea I had was to use the breeding net to seperate the cory out until he re-grows the fins. I don't like that idea much do to the netting and his barbels/fins possible sticking. Any suggestions for care?
Thanks,
Eddie
 
My guess is that it isn't fin-nipping at all, and rather fin rot of some sort. What are your water parameters? Fin rot/fungus is generally indicative of "dirty" water or something amiss in the water parameters. It has the exact symptoms that you mention - it can affect all of the fins and doesn't necessarily have the nipped, tattered look. Instead, the fins just "melt" away until there is nothing left.

Sometimes it seems to happen for no real "apparent" reason, ie. water parameters are all perfect, no new tankmates, etc.

Because you don't have another tank, and because if it is a water quality issue, all of the fish are at risk, I'd medicate the entire tank. I'd suggest something like Maracyn Plus.

I've had the same thing happen before with one of my albino cories. Its fins were virtually non-existant (when you've got 3 of them in a 55g heavily planted tank, it can be difficult to determine if they are sick!). I quarantined him and treated it with Maracyn Plus and all fins regenerated perfectly. Don't lose hope.
 
Any more suggestions?

I treated the aquarium as recommened, however, the one cory cat has shown no improvement. No other fish have any symptoms either. Anyone else have ideas/suggestions?

Thanks,
Eddie
 
Poor you, and poor little cory!
I agree it sounds like fin rot, which can be an indicator of water problems, but, in my recent experience can also just happen, willy nilly, within a very well maintained tank, to one or a few fish for no apparant reason.

If the fish seems otherwise okay, I'd leave him with his buddies and do as suggested earlier, medicate the entire tank if you don't have a hospital tank available. I suggest you clean it thoroughly first (mulm binds medications, and your fish will heal better in a cleaner tank anyway) by vacumming the gravel and changing at least 25% of the water.

I would stay away from most antibiotics/antifungals if you're medicating your display tank and try to find Kanacyn (Kanamycin); it's much more gentle on your bio filter and extremely effective against many bacterial and fungal infections.

Salt can also help with bacterial/fungal conditions, it increases the slime coat that your fish produce. Cory cats don't tolerate salt well, but if you introduce it gradually (start with 1/2 tsp / 10g, then add a similar dose the next day so you're up to 1tsp / 10g but I wouldn't add more than that) they can take a low dose for a short length of time.

Good luck!
 
Am I reading those dates right? Did this start in May, and he's still not better, but hanging on?
Sorry for not reading closer the first time...
I've heard that it's possible for fish to recover from trauma (fin rot/nipping) to their fins without regrowing them if the damage went beyond the base of the fin; in other words if the ENTIRE fin was destroyed I guess the wound can heal over but the fin won't grow back.
Is the fish otherwise fine? eating, swimming with his buds? If so, I guess you might just have a finless wonder on your hands!
 
Yup, you read it write, it has been going on for quite a while. I treated him close to the original post with Melafix, with no result. I also use a small amount of salt in my aquarium due to the MM platies. However, he's never gotten better fin-wise, he's never acted ill, he swims and eats and plays with the other cories, and I've looked at all the fish in the aquarium and they show no signs of distress what so ever. So, yes I may have a bizzare fish, I was expecting all the other cories to follow suit, but like I said, no one else is harmed in the slightest, and one of my cories is getting Huge, so at least one is thriving in the aquarium. Anywho, thanks for the help, if there are any ideas out there, let me know.
Thanks,
Eddie
 
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