Broken bones

[Guppy Mama]

Can a fish break the delicate bones in the tail or fins?

I bought a lovely butterfly koi, abd he is healthy and grand, but it looks as though he sustained some injury in the past.

His tail has many calcified little bumps at the juncture of the bones and it has a kink in it that goes downward. These are definitely INTERNAL, but the size of ich or salt. They do not appear to hurt, spread, or hinder him, but he tail is crooked and I am curious if he could have broken parts at some point in the past!

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

I believe fish have cartilage, not bones. Cartilage is a lot more flexible than bone, and heals quicker. You koi could have broken it's tail, but it most likely just was born a little deformed, this happens to a lot of fish.
If your koi doesn't appear to be hindered by it's problem, then I probably wouldn't worry, but if it seems to be struggling, I would take it back.

 

[Nikb]

Cartilage is a lot more flexible than bone, and heals quicker

Actually cartilage doesn't heal all that well. Once it's lost it's hard to replace (certainly in a dog's joints anyway) and that's why we get arthritis.

 

[Guppy Mama]

Interesting, indeed. I thought hey were bones like in our fingers! Whatever it is, he's doing AOk, so he staying right here where he can be spoiled. I really apprecitae the fast information, thank you!

 

[pendragon]

Maybe I ought to go back to Fish Anatomy 101, but I'm pretty certain that fish (at least, generally speaking) do indeed have bones. There are certain species of fish with specialized physiologies who do not, and some "fish" actually do have skeletons made of cartilage (true sharks, for instance). These, however, are special cases. Most fish do have bones, just like you and I.

Never heard of a fish breaking a bone, but I've no doubt it's possible.

pendragon!

 

[diVer]

Most fish have bones, its only sharks and rays that have cartilage, so I would assume they could break them.

 

[amazingbioloboydp]

Fish have bones and they can break..pretty easily...Sharks,Rays,and other fish related to those like the saw fish have cartilage...if youve ever eaten flounder or tolapia you obviously can see thier bone structure.

 

[petitericeball]

no offence to anyone but i eat fish like the salmon stuff and im pretty sure they are bones... maybe certain types of fish have bones??

 

[diVer]

no offence to anyone but i eat fish like the salmon stuff and im pretty sure they are bones... maybe certain types of fish have bones??

Yes, the majority of fish have bones.

 

[Opcn]

Bones first evolved in fish and they made it posible for freshwater colonization and later terestriaal colonizaton. Our muscles need calcium to operate and our bones serve as storage banks for it. the "Rays" in your kois tail might have been broken or the tail could have been bitten off and regrown but he will be fine It happens all the time in nature and its a relatively small and easy to fix problem.

Opcn