Fin Rot/torn Fins Treatment

Hi,
I have a serpae tetra that I just bought from the pet store a few days ago.  I noticed that its fins are looking ragged, and it seems to have gotten worse over the past day or two.  Do you think this is fin rot?  Or aggression from a tankmate?  I haven't noticed any aggression, but of course it could have escaped my notice.  The tankmates are in my signature.
Attached is a pic.  I think I will probably isolate the fish and put it on a course of aquarium salt & stress coat X before I try medications.
Thanks for your input!
-CL95

i would say it would be the long fin red minor tetra's doing. i find that they will attack non-long fin tetras, return him and get a long fin.

He is actually a long fin...not sure if sepae applies to both long fin & non-long fin.

I cant really see the pic but to me, its definitaly one of those.

I have a 10 gallon tank cycling with some bottled bacteria right now--it should be ready in a day or two.  Even if it isn't fin rot, I'd like to give the fish a chance to heal on its own.  I added some Stress Coat X and Aquarium Salt, along with an airstone, filter, heater, & hiding cave (taken from the main tank).  No gravel right now as I want to be able to moniter the poo.

OK - I tested the water this morning and it reads: 
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 0
I put in some fish food last night for the bacteria to process, which means that it can process ammonia in a few hours.  Should I add the fish now, or wait for nitrate levels to climb?

I went ahead and put the fish in.  Doing well...up on AQ salt & Stress Coat.  He's pretty active and I gave him his morning feeding.  He hasn't eaten anything yet, but he should figure it out soon.
Let's hope he pulls through!!

Hi,
I recently purchased a Long Fin Red Minor Tetra from PetSmart and it looks like his fins are ragged.  I'm not sure if it is fin rot or if he has been bullied by tankmates.  Since I've only had him for a few days, the bullying I presume would have been done in the pet store tank.  You can see his fins in the attached pic.
So I have isolated him in a 10 gallon tank with warm (80-degree F) water, AQ salt, and Stress Coat X.  There's an airstone, filter, & heater in the isolation aquarium.  I put in some bottled bacteria and fish flakes to generate ammonia in the tank last night and left it overnight with no fish.  This morning, the stats were:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
The 0 nitrate is a little concerning, but I think that the ammonia would be higher if the bacteria hadn't done its job.  I also brought a cave from the main tank that probably had some bacteria on it to the isolation tank.
I put the fish in the tank a few minutes ago, and he is swimming around and acting very normal.  Let's hope he pulls through!
What are your recommendations for water changes?  I know that they need very warm, clean water to recover from fin rot, and I would presume that the same goes for torn fins.  I was planning on a 10-25% change every two days - what do you think about that schedule?  I have some Melafix, Mardel Maracyn, and Maracyn II in case the AQ salt alone doesn't work well enough.
I'll be monitering his progression and will attach a daily pic.  Suggestions welcome!
-CL95

Can't be sure from the pic, but I think it just might be torn fins. With fin rot, his fins would have white, slimy edges. It also tends to move pretty fast, so if you're not seeing a difference from day to day, then I would say that it's def. not fin rot.  I wouldn't use any meds unless you see the fins start to get infected, just lots of clean water. Not sure about the water changes, as long as the stats stay good, maybe small every other day changes to help the healing? GL!

If it is finrot you can try out Melafix and see if it works out for you.

Yes, I've tried that on other fish before.  But this time I'm going to try a more holistic approach with only AQ salt.  He is doing really well, swimming more than he was when I first put him in - the fins are no worse, but no better.  Hopefully they will soon regrow and I can put him back in the big tank.

Thanks so much!  I am inclined to agree with you, as I just bought him from a pet store tank that had dozens of other same-type fish in like a 10 gallon tank, so they could tend to get a little crabby he is doing well today, swimming more than yesterday, but the fins have gotten no better.  Hopefully they will soon regrow and I can put him back in the main tank.

If they aren't any worse, than I would have to say that it's def. not fin rot, which is great.  Just keep watching him for signs of infection


ps. i love cories too you should check out my thread about my c. aeneus fry!

All right, thanks for the replies!
He's doing well - no obvious regrowth yet but it's only been 3 days.  I plan to continue the treatment for another week or so and then gradually reduce the AQ Salt until it's purely fresh water.  (I read that AQ Salt for more than 10 days was bad.)  He is swimming around, not eating as far as I can see, but he might be sneaking behind my back .  I'll continue to monitor his progress and post updates on here.