Hey guys I'm somewhat new to cichlids. About a year now. I've got a red shoulder severum that has a what appears to be a melted dorsal fin. It appears happy & healthy. I haven't seen any pics online that look anything like it. I'll try to post pics later. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Melted looking dorsal fin
- Thread starter GeoLover
- Start date
If it’s damaged and a year. Probably not gonna recover. Just don’t let ur water get too out of control since ur tap has high nitrates.
Did it come to you that way? Looks likely to be a minor genetic or developmental imperfection, or it can happen when netting very small fry that they're fins get damaged. You may not see it often in internet photos showing off high quality fish, but it happens. Caudal and anal fins don't look quite perfect, either.
Yeah as long as I can remember. I've got some green severum in another tank & theirs aren't like that why I was wondering if something was wrong with it
Its a defect, Ive had a severum born this way and it got worse as she got bigger. Not noticeable at 1”
OK thanks for the replies everyone! Much appreciated. I'll chalk it up as Biggie Smalls is unique lol
This is a deformity that is usually caused by either poor water quality or water that is too soft when the fish are developing as fry/small juveniles. I see this a lot in severums, discus, and angelfish. Notice that your fish has a “pinched” look to its tail, and both anal and dorsal fin soft rays that bend/twist at the ends. The pectoral fins on each side of its body may also be pinched or turn up or down at a 45 - 90 degree angle.
When fish are raised in poor water or soft water, their fin and bone development is often hindered by a lack of calcium and magnesium in the water. If you raise a lot of fry in cramped spaces with infrequent water changes, they will deplete the water of these minerals and develop deficiencies. I have had this problem in the past when I had 400 rapidly growing fry crammed into a 40 breeder. Even with 100% water changes daily, the fins were malformed. I remedied this by adding liquid calcium and epsom salt (magnesium) at each water change to boost the amount of minerals in the tank.
Recently I acquired a group of Heros sp. rotkeil that were all raised in RO water and every single one of them had these pinched fins. I knew the soft water had been the cause. I trimmed all their fins with sharp, sterilized scissors and after a couple months in clean, correct water they have all grown back normally. You can’t tell there was ever a problem.
It’s purely aesthetic and in most cases this deformity is environmental rather than genetic. The fish will live and breed without any issues.
When fish are raised in poor water or soft water, their fin and bone development is often hindered by a lack of calcium and magnesium in the water. If you raise a lot of fry in cramped spaces with infrequent water changes, they will deplete the water of these minerals and develop deficiencies. I have had this problem in the past when I had 400 rapidly growing fry crammed into a 40 breeder. Even with 100% water changes daily, the fins were malformed. I remedied this by adding liquid calcium and epsom salt (magnesium) at each water change to boost the amount of minerals in the tank.
Recently I acquired a group of Heros sp. rotkeil that were all raised in RO water and every single one of them had these pinched fins. I knew the soft water had been the cause. I trimmed all their fins with sharp, sterilized scissors and after a couple months in clean, correct water they have all grown back normally. You can’t tell there was ever a problem.
It’s purely aesthetic and in most cases this deformity is environmental rather than genetic. The fish will live and breed without any issues.