New salvini broken tail??

[cambrew]

One of the 3 salvinis that I received recently arrived with what seems to be a broken tail. Is there anything else it could be? Also is there anything I can do to help it as it is one of 4 Salvinis in the tank now which I am attempting to end up with a breeding pair but am unsure with the trouble it has swimming as to whether it will be able to defend itself.

 

[duanes]

As you suspect a couple fin rays could have snapped, or it could be a defect the shipper didn't notice and could have culled. A closer shot of the caudal area would help.
There is nothing you can do to help, and probably no way to be sure.
And just in case it is a birth defect, allowing it to spawn, and pass that mutation on to its fry, would not be a good idea

 

[cambrew]

As you suspect a couple fin rays could have snapped, or it could be a defect the shipper didn't notice and could have culled. A closer shot of the caudal area would help.
There is nothing you can do to help, and probably no way to be sure.
And just in case it is a birth defect, allowing it to spawn, and pass that mutation on to its fry, would not be a good idea

Maybe a defect then. It seems to be unable to use its tail fin at all. It only uses its dorsal and anal fin to propel itself forward.

 

[Frank Castle]

As you suspect a couple fin rays could have snapped, or it could be a defect the shipper didn't notice and could have culled. A closer shot of the caudal area would help.
There is nothing you can do to help, and probably no way to be sure.
And just in case it is a birth defect, allowing it to spawn, and pass that mutation on to its fry, would not be a good idea

I agree w/ duanes , this is fairly common in fish that are inbred - tail, pectoral, dorsal fin deformations all occur in this instance. Definitely not something i would breed

 

[cambrew]

The salvini gene pool in australia is very small and I assume that may be to blame.Out of the 3 salsalvinis I purchased the other 2 males seem good. The female I originally had is about 3 years old do you think that they should produce healthy fry as even if they are related they should be many generations apart.

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

Some of my coolest fish were culls. I had no intention of breeding them but they ended up developing interesting habits and their life spans were kind of impressive. I had a lemon tetra with no eyes named pinwheel who couldn't swim without spinning he actually bullied his tetra tankmates and always managed to eat first. I still have my EBA pair a lfs was going to cull 5 years ago (they're in w plecos)
My paradise fish lived for close to 7 years with a huge tumor. He defeated it twice but it grew back. I still have my Corydoras with a gimpy fin we got him when finding nemo came out...
All of these fish were visually unpleasant or down right painful to look at I probably should've culled pinwheel but I just couldn't do it. He got to stuff is gross face for an extra year or two

 

[cambrew]

It is funny you say that because the one with the bent tail seems to be the more dominant, better coloured and has a larger appetite than the rest. It is very inspiring to see something defy the odds and thrive despite a significant disability.

 

[Imsobored152]

My JD is missing a fin completely. He gets around just fine. First one to food and zips around everywhere.

 

[duanes]

The problem with breeding a fish that should havre been culled, is that a higher % of the fry may have those same deformities. Many of these deformities may not show up ,be(or be noticed) until the fry are 2" or more. If you do not mind holding on to fry until that time before getting rid of them , then that is fine. But you now know how it feels to end up with a deformed fish, so you know how the next person will feel if they end up with a similar deformity if you don't aggressively cull, before getting rid of fry.

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

In some places it's really hard to find decent JD's and such because so many have been bred in basement operations with tiny tanks. They end up hunch backed and stunted. You really shouldn't breed unless you have superb specimens and conditions.