Injured Fin

[NeuroDoc]

I have a powder blue tang in my tank for the past two weeks. By every sign it is healthy, eating well, no funny swimming, etc. However, two days ago I noticed that its left fin was shredded. Doesn't look biten, but nearly completely gone. I think that the fin was in my tunze when it kicked on.

Is there any chance the fin will grow back? Right now the upper 1/5 of the fin is intact, but the lower part is gone to about 1/4 inch from the body.

Thanks.

 

[james734]

The fin should grow back if the Tunze is the cause. Might aslo want to research Bacterial Fin Rot though.

Here's a link to a description. I couldn't find any good pictures though.
http://www.versaquatics.com/saltwaterdiseasecharts.htm

 

[NeuroDoc]

Thanks for the reply. No evidence of fin rot. No discoloration. The edge looks torn, and the other fins are all open and working well. No other signs of stress in this or other fish. All are eating well. This fish comes right over when I put seaweed in to feed. Water parameters are excellent, 0 for all nitrogen compounds, 0 for phosphate. Ca and dkH are fine.

 

[james734]

Then it's probably not fin rot. Just had to throw it out there though.

It should grow back without any issues, just keep a eye and make sure it doesn't get a secondary infection from it.

My little clown had it's fins all shreaded up from a more agressive partner. I removed the agressive fish and the fins slowly grew back over period of time.

 

[ronj]

my yellow tang got stuck to the intake of one of my powerheads before..i don't even know how long it was stuck like that, i just happened to walk by and see it laying there sideways on the powerhead..it healed in a couple weeks..you might want to make sure you are giving the tang his vitamins daily though....it needs them and it will help!!

 

[steve-s]

How close to the body is the damage?

Cartilage/soft tissue will grow back for the most part (may be smaller than before ) but bone will not. The older/larger the fish is the less likley it will look the same as before depending on the severity of the damage. Watch carefully for signs of infection. White cottony appearance, redness etc...

Cheers
Steve

 

[NeuroDoc]

It's about 1/4 of an inch from the body. How far out do the bones go before it is just cartilage? Don't know about age. Its body size is about 2 inches vertically and about 3-3 1/2 inches mouth to base of tail. What do you think about the prognosis?

 

[steve-s]

The fish will be fine as long as infection does not set in. You can ensure that by increasing the rate/volume of water changes and foods are fortified. As for the fin, if it's below 50% of it's normal size don't expect it to grow back properly. It sounds like it's come quite close to hard bone. If so, it will look the same, just be a wee bit smaller.

Cheers
Steve

 

[NeuroDoc]

Well,

My powder-blue gave up the ghost. He had been swimming and eating with what appeared complete normality. I arrived home from work to find him upside down between some rocks, not moving. After I removed him from the tank I closely inspected his body for tell-tale signs. His fin was white at the edges it had been torn but no other disoloration of the fin. On both sides of his body there were areas where his color was pale, but nothing else. My guess is the injured fin allowed a systemic infection or just general stress he couldn't handle.

 

[shallowreef]

Sorry to hear that. This has been a bad month for fish and just marine life in general.

 

[ronj]

i hate to hear that!!!! how long did you have the PB for???? maybe you can get another..i always like to see tanks with regals or powder blue's!!!

 

[steve-s]

His fin was white at the edges it had been torn but no other disoloration of the fin. On both sides of his body there were areas where his color was pale, but nothing else. My guess is the injured fin allowed a systemic infection or just general stress he couldn't handle.

Could be infection or stress. Your previous post did not indicate this as a severe wound so this may or may not be relevant. Fish will have a very hard time with osmoregulation and fluid loss with deep or large wounds. Where the wound is "fleshy", the fish should be QT'd and the salinity lowered towards 16-18 ppt to help with fluid loss and osmoregulation. Adding Kents Pro Tech Marine or Seachems Stressguard would also help. Both contain a polymer that will help close the wound faster.

Cheers
Steve