RTBS Fin Troubles

Rocketman

Rocketman

Detroit; proud of it.
Oct 24, 2002
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Detroit, MI
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Reid
Hey. My Red-Tailed Black Shark isn't lookin' to swift lately. I looked him over a it, and discovered the problem: his right 'fin' (starting from the head, the second fin on the right side,) seems to have been rendered immobile by a small white spot where the fin meets the body. 'Fin Rot' seems to me the best diagnosis, but since I have never seen anything about it, (and don't have time to look, have geometry homework tonight...) I need your help.

What is it, and what should it be treated with. Also, if it helps, he has not been very active at all, almost looks like he has Nitrite poisining. But, this is a well-established tank, no one else is displaying symptoms, and I don't know my fish diseases.
 
Hey, I do need some help here...
I've looked more carefully at the shark lately, and have noticed that the rest of his fins aren't looking to good either, a little 'tatered' if you will, like someone took some thinning shears to them. They don't look 'nipped.' So, I assume it's fin rot. Should I get him into another tank and add melafix? I have no experience with treating sick fish, or using meds, i've just never needed 'em.

I have no quarentine tanks set up now, but there are two other tanks. A 15 gallon guppy breeder tank, with maybe 20 some guppies of all sizes, yet I don't know if he will eat them. The other option is a 60 Gallon tank going through the Nitrite part of the cycle, (but nearing the end, I believe, as it has been here for some time.) This is populated with 5 Giant Danios, 7 Scissor Tail Tetras, 4 Cories, 2 bala's, and 2 guppies, including one fry (I think it's actually giving birth as I speak.) All are of relativly small size, and the RTBS is about 3-4 inches.
 
Poor water conditions or persistent fin-nipping can lead to tattered fins such as you describe. The white spot at the base of the pectoral fin would not be fin rot, however. Of the fish you list on your website, the needlefish (from what I could see in the picture, it would appear to be Xenentodon cancila) would be the most likely culprit. That fish, by the way, is not recommended at all for community setups, and should probably be returned to your LFS as soon as possible.

Isolating the Redtailed Black Shark would certainly help, although dumping him into a tank undergoing a nitrite spike would not be a good idea at this point. If you can switch a filter cartridge from the old tank to the new, that will speed the process along and let you relocate the shark safely.

At that point I would wait to see if it recovers on its own, before adding Melafix or anything else, unless you see white fuzz starting to grow on the fins in a secondary infection. If it is simple fin-nipping, you will not need it, and if it is fin rot it will get worse and you will need a quarantine tank and antibiotics.
 
Thanks. My setup has changed some, (I haven't been able to update the site lately,) and the tank is no longer a community setup. The tattered fins, though, don't look like the gar's work. There are no patterns of fin loss. They just look to have thined. He is typically just lying around on the bottom of the tank, relativly motionless.

It has been like this for about a week now.

Anyway, I cleared out the 15 Gallon. There are now only about 15 guppy fry in the tank. Would this be a good setup to transfer to? The 60 Gallon is using a canister, the other two tanks are using power HOB's.
 
If your 15 gallon is fully cycled, and if the water is clean (a couple of recent good % water changes would help), you should put the RTBS there for recuperation. If he doesn't perk up quickly, then that will be a good hospital tank, much less expensive to dose with antibiotics than a larger tank.
 
The 15 is fully cycled, been up for... 5 months I'd say. The only problem is that it's full of about 20 guppy fry. I think that my Bala Shark, (in the 45 Gallon, same as RTBS,) is in trouble too. He has a red 'shading' around his dorsel, almost like blood, but nothing else. Also, the RTBS's fins are looking worse, now all of them look frozen.

Time to get some Marcyn 2
 
Can someone please help me out, or at least give me a reason as to why no one else is?
 
Originally posted by Rocketman
He has a red 'shading' around his dorsel, almost like blood, but nothing else.

Time to get some Marcyn 2
Click to expand...


Rocketman - I can't be of help, but I'll await others' replies on the "red shading". I just finished an excellent 4-week fishless cycle on my 125 freshwater and added a few fish. I put in 5 bala sharks yesterday, and today, one looked like it had blood around its anal fin. It also was swimming listlessly, while the others schooled and where doing fine.

Here's the weird part: I called my LFS to get their opinion, then when I went back to the tank, I couldn't find the "sick" bala!!! I have many hiding spots in the tank, and checked them all. My filter inlet is very small, and there is nowhere else it could have gone. I only have the sharks, a small pleco, some zebra danios, and a couple golden chinese algae eaters, so nothing could have eaten it. I'm absolutely dumbfounded on where this thing could have gone. I plan to look more tomorrow, but to come full circle, it all started with the reddish area on the fin.

Anyone have any clues?
thanks
:confused:
 
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