FISH TAIL GONE

[alexandraprice]

Hello everyone. I went away for the weekend I left my fish one of those food blocks. I came back. And my fishes tail has gone? Are they okay? Does anyone know what might of happend? It is a platy fish.

 

[PorshaF]

I would start water changes to prevent any chance of infection, any aggressive tank mates? Almost looks like bites since it's so symmetrical, if it were fin rot I would say the edges are frayed and shredded more sporadic

 

[Colin_T]

If you have to go away for a few days to a week, don't worry about feeding the fish during that time. Have some live plants in the tank and have a light on a timer. Give the fish a feed before you go and they will be happy and healthy when you come back.

Unlike mammals and birds that use most of the food they eat to stay warm, most fish take their body temperature from the surrounding water. This means any food they eat is used for growth and movement, and this allows fish to go for weeks or even months without food and not die from starvation.

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Feeding blocks can release all the food very quickly if the pH is below 7.0. This can cause ammonia and nitrite levels to spike and cause fin rot.

The fish is a bit unusual in shape and has some excess mucous, that would suggest a water quality issue.

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Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

-------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres 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 at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

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.

When 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.

 

[alexandraprice]

If you have to go away for a few days to a week, don't worry about feeding the fish during that time. Have some live plants in the tank and have a light on a timer. Give the fish a feed before you go and they will be happy and healthy when you come back.

Unlike mammals and birds that use most of the food they eat to stay warm, most fish take their body temperature from the surrounding water. This means any food they eat is used for growth and movement, and this allows fish to go for weeks or even months without food and not die from starvation.

-------------------
Feeding blocks can release all the food very quickly if the pH is below 7.0. This can cause ammonia and nitrite levels to spike and cause fin rot.

The fish is a bit unusual in shape and has some excess mucous, that would suggest a water quality issue.

-------------------
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

-------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres 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 at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

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.

When 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.

Wow. Thank you so much for your help. I have ordered the salt. This helped a lot. Thanks

 

[alexandraprice]

I would start water changes to prevent any chance of infection, any aggressive tank mates? Almost looks like bites since it's so symmetrical, if it were fin rot I would say the edges are frayed and shredded more sporadic

I am torn whether it was water quality or a fish attacking it. They are not usually ever aggressive. I’m assuming they were hungry. I think they may have attacked some of my fish, they are a pair of platy who swim round together. They have damaged one of my other okayy and another one has gone completely missing from the tank. I assume they ate it! It is awful.

 

[Astronomiii]

Wow. Thank you so much for your help. I have ordered the salt. This helped a lot. Thanks

colin is just pro

 

[carligraceee]

I am torn whether it was water quality or a fish attacking it. They are not usually ever aggressive. I’m assuming they were hungry. I think they may have attacked some of my fish, they are a pair of platy who swim round together. They have damaged one of my other okayy and another one has gone completely missing from the tank. I assume they ate it! It is awful.

Colin is correct on this one.

I would guess that your fish had a weaker immune system and is struggling with something in your tank. I would guess ammonia or nitrite. Is your tank cycled? What is the stock? How big is your tank?

This happened to a lot of my platy fry until I tested my water and saw an ammonia spike.