What can be done to help these guys????

[Ghage]

I inherited these guys when I picked up a 215 gallon tank. Their fins are in bad shape and I was wondering what could be done to repair them if anything. The Grammode's fins are in real bad shape, the JD's are a bit better and I have two male Nics that are in between the Grammode and JD in terms of condition. One JD is actually in pretty good shape. Any advise would be helpful, as I really didn't want these guys but again they came with the tank. Any advise would be very appreciated. Thanks

 

[flowerpower]

Whoever has his fins intact needs to go in time out while the others heal. Lots of water changes too. I used a product called vitachem (I think) that helped repair broken fins. It's a vitamin supplement.

 

[Ghage]

Thanks for the advise, but none of the fish I had in the tank already, did any of this damage. The damage was a pre-existing condition, this is how they looked when I picked up the tank they were in. I will look into the treatment you suggested as well, again thanks!!!!

 

[the animal guy]

Sorry for not being hopeful, but it would be denial if I was.
No treatments will help. These are permanent damages. The only one with hope of fixing would be the JD tail split. You can cut off that split and then just hope because it's only "MAYBE". It's either you keep them or give them away if they happen to be so lucky. That's about it.

Or if nobody wants them, you can find them a mate and bond them then give them away as a pair to new hobbyists.

 

[evabug1]

I say water changes and salt. That's what has worked for me. I also upped the temp a tad, but don't know if that contributed.

 

[kdrun76]

Sorry for not being hopeful, but it would be denial if I was.
No treatments will help. These are permanent damages. The only one with hope of fixing would be the JD tail split. You can cut off that split and then just hope because it's only "MAYBE". It's either you keep them or give them away if they happen to be so lucky. That's about it.

Or if nobody wants them, you can find them a mate and bond them then give them away as a pair to new hobbyists.

Ignore that, its simply not true.


Fish fins readily and rapidly self repair.

You will be amazed at how fast they are all back together again.

The fish need super clean water: keep those nitrates under 10ppm. Clean water is far better than any medication could provide.

You need to find out who is tearing their fins. You said they all lived together before, clearly they don't get along. What ever the mix of fish is/ was.... there is a problem with it. Find and remove (from that group) the problem.

 

[the animal guy]

Ignore that, its simply not true.


Fish fins readily and rapidly self repair.

You will be amazed at how fast they are all back together again.

The fish need super clean water: keep those nitrates under 10ppm. Clean water is far better than any medication could provide.

You need to find out who is tearing their fins. You said they all lived together before, clearly they don't get along. What ever the mix of fish is/ was.... there is a problem with it. Find and remove (from that group) the problem.

If they were to heal readily and rapidly like you said, they would be normal long ago. You probably talking about small tiny fishes with thin soft fins. These are not those.
There are damages that can grow back to normal, and there are these kinds of damages that are permanent. Those there are not newly torn fins. They are healed torn fins. That's how they became when healed. The JD's caudal has hope if you cut it, but the its dorsal and the Grammode is forever like that.

 

[Modest_Man]

Those don't look like they're going to heal. Damage to the hard spines of the fins will not grow back.

 

[kdrun76]

The animal Guy: I am not going to publicly argue with you. But I am also not going to let you state that I don't know what I am talking about.

You have made an error, you are repeating your error so clearly you have confidence in your error. Unless the damage is to the flesh of the animal (its not, its only in the fins) it can, does and WILL heal. You are incorrect in stating that it won't. The sheer quantity of people that witness their precious fish with torn fins that heal is nothing short of staggering. If you would like to go into detail to explain the process to you, I can. But that will be for PM as it will detract from this thread.

 

[Modest_Man]

The animal Guy: I am not going to publicly argue with you. But I am also not going to let you state that I don't know what I am talking about.

You have made an error, you are repeating your error so clearly you have confidence in your error. Unless the damage is to the flesh of the animal (its not, its only in the fins) it can, does and WILL heal. You are incorrect in stating that it won't. The sheer quantity of people that witness their precious fish with torn fins that heal is nothing short of staggering. If you would like to go into detail to explain the process to you, I can. But that will be for PM as it will detract from this thread.

Torn fins heal in a matter of days, yes. Fins that have damage to the base of the caudal fin or damage to the hard rays of the fins will not re-grow. I've had several fish with damaged fins for well over a year. How long do I need to keep them to see them grow back?