Fin Rot or Old Age?

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Dalfrey86

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 8, 2020
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Have you tested your water?
Yes
If yes, what is your ammonia?
0
If yes, what is your nitrite?
.25
If yes, what is your nitrate?
20
If I did not test my water...
  1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.
Do you do water changes?
Yes
What percentage of water do you change?
31-40%
How frequently do you change your water?
Every week
If I do not change my water...
  1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.
All parameters are within normal range, 30% water change every 5 days.

I have one African Cichlid in a tank of 3 other African Cichlids that get along perfectly fine, no fighting, mouthing, or food fights.

I just noticed this morning that the majority of his fins are frayed. Some are almost down to the base of the fin. My gut is telling me this is fin rot but I am also wondering if it could be old age. I've had him for about 6 months and never had an issue with the fins until now.

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Looks like fin rot.
 
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Do you have a reason to think it's an old fish? Fish near the end of their lives can break down that way...

Otherwise, in an African cichlid tank, when damaged fins showed up suddenly it's usually aggression. Doesn't matter if they were (or appeared to be) peaceful for a while, a male Malawi cichlid can get aggressive very quickly (usually it's a male, but doesn't have to be), often singling out another fish in the tank. You don't always see it, sometimes the real action is after you turn off the lights, early morning light, etc.

Many cases of spontaneous 'fin rot' when water is fine and a fish was healthy are actually misinterpreted cases of aggression. The fins may go on to fungus and/or the fish continues to be stressed or beat on and may die as a result, appearing to confirm the misdiagnosis, but the real cause of it all was the aggression itself or stress from aggression. If he's hanging near a filter or staying in a corner or some other spot, and/or breathing fast, with damaged fins but no other initial signs of illness, that's another sign of aggression.

Another cause of 'fin rot' can be a fish breaking down due to bloat, but in those photos it doesn't look like that fish is bloated. Bloat can also be caused by aggression-- and that's another common misdiagnosis, people think parasites or infection is causing the bloat when in reality it's the other way around. Stress from aggression (or a fish that's overeating) led to bloat or infection.

In an African cichlid tank when one fish decides to punish another, sometimes you can disperse aggression by adding fish or by some other tricks, but often the only real cure is to separate them.
 
Last edited:
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neutrino said:
Do you have a reason to think it's an old fish? Fish near the end of their lives can break down that way...

Otherwise, in an African cichlid tank, when damaged fins showed up suddenly it's usually aggression. Doesn't matter if they were (or appeared to be) peaceful for a while, a male Malawi cichlid can get aggressive very quickly (usually it's a male, but doesn't have to be), often singling out another fish in the tank. You don't always see it, sometimes the real action is after you turn off the lights, early morning light, etc.

Many cases of spontaneous 'fin rot' when water is fine and a fish was healthy are actually misinterpreted cases of aggression. The fins may go on to fungus and/or the fish continues to be stressed or beat on and may die as a result, appearing to confirm the misdiagnosis, but the real cause of it all was the aggression itself or stress from aggression. If he's hanging near a filter or staying in a corner or some other spot, and/or breathing fast, with damaged fins but no other initial signs of illness, that's another sign of aggression.

Another cause of 'fin rot' can be a fish breaking down due to bloat, but in those photos it doesn't look like that fish is bloated. Bloat can also be caused by aggression-- and that's another common misdiagnosis, people think parasites or infection is causing the bloat when in reality it's the other way around. Stress from aggression (or a fish that's overeating) led to bloat or infection.

In an African cichlid tank when one fish decides to punish another, sometimes you can disperse aggression by adding fish or by some other tricks, but often the only real cure is to separate them.
Click to expand...
I am unsure of the age of the fish because I bought him from the LFS at this size. Odds are it was a return or buy back.

This was the same fish that I had with a BP for maybe a week. They were mouthing, with the Cichlid doing all of the mouthing because of the BP's mouth deformity. What made me think it wasn't aggression is that I have not see the 4 cichlids ever make a move on one another. I have a 1:1 m:f ratio, well had until I removed this guy.

I completely get your point that I only see a small portion of their interactions so maybe the other male is the alpha of the tank.

I'll let this guy heal up in the QT and figure out a plan B.

Now on to tank mates for the other 3 Cichlids.
 
Dalfrey86 said:
Salt treatment or a more aggressive approach?

Do I need to be concerned that the other tank mates will face a similar issue? So far it's just this one fish.
Click to expand...
Salt and water changes first. If not better then try triple sulfa.
 
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Dalfrey86 said:
I am unsure of the age of the fish because I bought him from the LFS at this size. Odds are it was a return or buy back.

This was the same fish that I had with a BP for maybe a week. They were mouthing, with the Cichlid doing all of the mouthing because of the BP's mouth deformity.
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This suggests another possibility, sometimes a fish can bring aggression on itself, thinks he's tough, displays at or pesters another fish but gets whooped. Don't intend to sound dogmatic, but things I learned when I bred African cichlids. Not always just African cichlid tanks, but it's not unusual to have to do some tinkering with African cichlids, moving fish around, etc, to keep the peace. :-)
 
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neutrino said:
Good point, and should be done anyway-- potentially a cycling or simply a 'mini' cycling issue-- I'd have jumped on that if it was more than a single fish.
Click to expand...
The tank has been up and running with load for 6 to 7 months. I'm doing water changes every 5 days, so the exact day of the week changes all the time but it gets done.

One issue I have with the API tests is that I'm colorblind so accuracy in test results is a best guess for me. I've brought the misses in most times to get a second pair of eyes on it.

And yes I shake the living tar out of the solution bottles.
 
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