Delhezi bichir tail getting worse please help

Tanks had fish in it for about a week after it cycled of course. I have a Senegal , delhezi , and just had a surprise shipped ansorgii. I’m waiting to upgrade too a 120gal till they are all a little bigger , also gives me time to save to do it exactly how I want it. Everything’s been fine with water , them transferring into the tank was great they love it. Every Sunday I goto the fish store with my wife and son to test our 3 tanks water and for fun of course. All tests were great (ammonia a little high in my breeder tank but nothing a 25% wc wouldn’t fix and is to be expected with everything in there) but the other 2 were great.

When I got my Senegal almost a month ago it had chlorine burn on her dorsal fins. Stayed about the same in her holding tank till her main one was finished cycling. After being in her main tank after the week her chlorine burn has almost 100% cleared up. Also in that week both the delhezi and the Senegal have thickened and gotten a little bit longer. So I know they are liking the new home. This morning I woke up did my normal morning routine with the fish (dim lights 30 min//then full tank light) as I was checking them out I noticed my delhezi has a split tail along with a tiny red sore type thing with a little bit of white on the webbing of her tail. I tried to get a decent picture. She’s acting completely normal, just wonder if I accidentally moved her rock when I was getting out the uneaten food (which I do a few minutes after I put it in there , usually not much to remove) and hit her tail a little , but that wouldn’t explain the white which looks like an infection ? I do have a tank I can use as a QT if needs be. Just need to know the direction to go in. (The other 2 are great no white no fins deteriorating happy as can be) that pictures makes her tail look shredded but it isn’t. It’s just one split down the middle of her tail.
Thank you in advance.

are they close enough in size, that the other didn't try to eat it... it may have gotten bitten by the other... I find mine can't see all that well, & will try to put anything into its mouth, that will fit...

Magnum Man said:

are they close enough in size, that the other didn't try to eat it... it may have gotten bitten by the other... I find mine can't see all that well, & will try to put anything into its mouth, that will fit...

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The Senegal is the queen about 4” she is little thicker then the delhezi who is about 3.5” . But the ansorgii is 2” and looks like a little noodle in there so I would figure she would try to eat her.

But I’ve never seen any aggression

New update on her tail. Looking worse. It looks more like blood than ammonia burn right ?

I can't see anything on the first 2 pictures but the third picture appears to show excess mucous on the damage tail fin rays, which is normal if the fish has been injured. they produce extra mucous over the wound to stop it getting infected.

If the area goes white and fluffy, that is Saprolegnia fungus and salt or any type of antifungal treatment should help.

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The red area is blood from a fresh wound. Clean water and salt should let it heal without any issues.

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If you are getting any ammonia or nitrite readings in the water, you need to make sure the filter is ok and possibly reduce feeding. Big (75%) water changes also help dilute things like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Colin_T said:

I can't see anything on the first 2 pictures but the third picture appears to show excess mucous on the damage tail fin rays, which is normal if the fish has been injured. they produce extra mucous over the wound to stop it getting infected.

If the area goes white and fluffy, that is Saprolegnia fungus and salt or any type of antifungal treatment should help.

---------------

The red area is blood from a fresh wound. Clean water and salt should let it heal without any issues.

---------------

If you are getting any ammonia or nitrite readings in the water, you need to make sure the filter is ok and possibly reduce feeding. Big (75%) water changes also help dilute things like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Click to expand...

Thank you! Should I put her in a qt? For salt and all that?

If you have a quarantine tank to move the fish into then go for it. Otherwise just treat the main tank that it is in.

Don't give the fish salt baths. Just add the salt to the tank (either quarantine or main display tank) and leave the salt in there for a week and see how it goes.

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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for 1 to 2 weeks. If there's no improvement after a week, stop using salt and look for a broad spectrum medication that treats bacteria and fungus (not an antibiotic though).

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.