Is this fin rot?

[DaveB]

I wonder if I might have a minor but persistent bacteria issue in one of my tanks. I had a pair of obnoxious Uaru that were pairing off and nipping at everyone, but they've been gone for over a month and the fish still have imperfect fins. They're not rotting off or anything, but they're not what I'd expect given the cleanliness of the water.

I also have always wondered why the one Leucosticta is always looking weak and showing his bars. He eats, sifts, poops, etc all normally, but his tail is always angled up a bit like he's going to clamp and he's always showing the black pattern. Has been that way for a year. Again, makes me think it's just something there that's not putting them in immediate danger but also is keeping them from being 100%.

Am I just being paranoid?

Some pics:

 

[DaveB]

Now that I post these that Abalios's head looks really messed up too.

 

[DaveB]

Bump.

For what it's worth the orangeheads bred in this tank yesterday.

 

[calioutlaw1a]

This looks like fin nipping to me. Are you sure there isn't any fin nipping going on? Assuming all of your water parameters are perfect, and there is no fin nipping, you can try feeding an antibacterial medicated food for a week to see if there's any improvement.

 

[Red Devil]

i look at the fish pics.. and i see some beauties... but they look thin... and tired... instead of robust and healthy..this could be due to the fact they are in a breeding mode and they are not eating.. there could be too many males and the males under great stress with each other because they want to breed.. or it could be theres some kind of parasite.. so next time you feed check it out.. make sure they are eating enough...And If in high breeding mode they could be fin nipping each other..

 

[DaveB]

They eat once a day and everyone eats a lot. The leucosticta have always looked thin though, no matter what.

Maybe I'll bring the one upstairs where I can powerfeed and do daily full WCs, that ought to tell me really quickly if he has any issues.

It definitely WAS fin nipping before. The Uaru pair was getting mean to everyone. Including the Arowana! The Aro's fins have grown almost 100% of the way back but the eartheaters (there are 3 of each of 3 species - the orangeheads are temporary guests from another tank before I add more Abalios) have not. I am not in that room as often, but I have not witnessed any issues with the existing stock nipping at each other. But it could be that the orangeheads started taking over and beating on the other two species. They laid eggs and they're definitely the largest and pushiest. Maybe they're just laying down the law on the other two types.

But when they were up here in the display tank they were never nippers. Lots of chasing, but they all had their trailers intact. Right now none of them are showing trailers either.

 

[Red Devil]

i would say that nipping is going on... and some stress to prevent the fins from growing back.. i think breeders and regulars are having a difficult time together.. remember to a fish getting the evil eye everyday from another say breeding fish will have stress that isn't noticable to us until it shows up in their quality of their health..something needs rearranging... i am just not sure what... i do know as long as the fins are being nipped or there is stress it is going to be difficult to turn the situation around.I have had fish eat very well but if you look at them you would think they never ate... nutrition just flows right through and out of their bodies if there are parasites, stress or disease present...and this fish species in my opinion are on the more delicate scale.. things have to be right for them to stay healthy and live along life. So maybe it is time to separate... major water changes and really clean the tank.. and then keep it pristine...their environment at present is just not ideal...i know it is not your fault.. it is sometimes just the personalities of the fish we own that throws things out of whack...i have this with my africans quite a bit.. in a tank of 50 fish it may only be one fish that makes life miserable for the other 49.But i still have to make the changes needed to correct the situation..

 

[DaveB]

I actually just read your post, but the reason I hadn't been on the site is because I broke down my 220, moved it to a temporary location (it had been blocking my projector in the previous temporary spot), and then filled it back up and moved all these fish into it.

It's weird. It's just 6 inches bigger front to back and 14 inches longer, but it feels like it's 4 times the size. The fish have all kinds of extra space now.

So that'll change things up for them. It's not as if they had a non pristine tank environment before - it never went over 10 nitrates - but now they've got almost twice as much water and basically got a 200% water change. Different aquascape, different lighting, etc, and it's like pressing reset. That'll surely help things out some.

 

[Red Devil]

I actually just read your post, but the reason I hadn't been on the site is because I broke down my 220, moved it to a temporary location (it had been blocking my projector in the previous temporary spot), and then filled it back up and moved all these fish into it.

It's weird. It's just 6 inches bigger front to back and 14 inches longer, but it feels like it's 4 times the size. The fish have all kinds of extra space now.

So that'll change things up for them. It's not as if they had a non pristine tank environment before - it never went over 10 nitrates - but now they've got almost twice as much water and basically got a 200% water change. Different aquascape, different lighting, etc, and it's like pressing reset. That'll surely help things out some.

thats great... keep us posted.. i am sure this will make a for the better change..