Is this fin rot?

[Fishies4Ever]

I have just been noticing some of the fish in my tank have some crooked fins. It’s mostly just the serpaes so I am thinking they are just going after each other but I figured I would get your guy’s opinion.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

That poor fish looks terrible, super skinny as well

 

[Byron]

It is initially almost certain to be fin nipping. This species, Hyphessobrycon eques, is well known for this. It must have a group of 12 minimum, more if possible. This number is critical with fish that are nippers to start with. How many of this species do you have?

It can also spread to other species. I don't know the size of the tank, or the fish now in it, so it is difficult to advise. And the presence of such a species is in itself a serious cause of stress, even without physical acts. Stress is the underlying cause of more than 90% of all disease in aquaria, so it is important to eliminate any aggression, perceived or actual.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

Some questions to fully understand what's happening:

What size is the tank?
How many serpae tetras are in the tank?
What is the full stocking?
What are the water paremeters? a
Are any of the other fish having this problem?

 

[Fishies4Ever]

That poor fish looks terrible, super skinny as well

I know they do look terrible. There’s about 3 smaller one and a very large fat one.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

It is initially almost certain to be fin nipping. This species, Hyphessobrycon eques, is well known for this. It must have a group of 12 minimum, more if possible. This number is critical with fish that are nippers to start with. How many of this species do you have?

It can also spread to other species. I don't know the size of the tank, or the fish now in it, so it is difficult to advise. And the presence of such a species is in itself a serious cause of stress, even without physical acts. Stress is the underlying cause of more than 90% of all disease in aquaria, so it is important to eliminate any aggression, perceived or actual.

I only have 4 I know they need more but I don’t have enough room. I would like to rehome them but I just don’t know where. There is no local fish store just the big box stores.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Some questions to fully understand what's happening:

What size is the tank?
How many serpae tetras are in the tank?
What is the full stocking?
What are the water paremeters? a
Are any of the other fish having this problem?

The tank is only 10 gallons. I know they need bigger but they used to be in a 29 gallon but we moved and couldn’t take the big tank with us. I lived in a really small town so there wasn’t really many options of rehoming them.
There is only 4 serpae’s. I also have 4 neons, 2 red and yellow flame tetras, and 6 black neons. All the fish seem to look pretty good except for maybe one of the flame tetras. I know the tank is quite overstocked and I don’t have enough room for a bigger tank at the moment so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

Serpae tetras are/will tear the other fish apart. I would say get 5 more to help with the aggression but the tank is too small for that.

I'm not sure how to go about treating that little serpae but I would suggest rehoming the others, once he's treated. It would make the other fish a whole lot safer. If you have a LFS or person with a big tank around you that would be ideal.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Serpae tetras are/will tear the other fish apart. I would say get 5 more to help with the aggression but the tank is too small for that.

I'm not sure how to go about treating that little serpae but I would suggest rehoming the others, once he's treated. It would make the other fish a whole lot safer. If you have a LFS or person with a big tank around you that would be ideal.

Thank you for the advice. How would you recommend I treat him? Unfortunately I don’t have a LFS and I don’t know anyone who has a tank. I am thinking maybe more plant will help the fish hide so they don’t get nipped at or chased.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

Yes that might work, with the plants. It looks like he has fin rot, and is very skinny. Is he eating?? Try to get him to eat something, flakes, frozen food,.live food. I would try aquarium salt to treat the fin rot, as long as you don't have any shrimp or snails you can put it in the main tank. Just make sure it's dissolved when you add it. Have it in the tank for about 2 weeks, but no longer than 3-4 weeks. Gradually wean them off of the salt, so you don't shock them.

You don't have another tank or get another tank for them? Eventually they are going to go after the other fish.

 

[Byron]

I would not treat this, as the cause (fin nipping) is still going to do the damage. You need to solve the stocking problem in this tank. I'm sorry I cannot help with this, other that repeating the others' advice to re-home the fish. This applies to the Serpae especially due to their behaviours. But the other tetra species need larger groups too, and is only a 10g tank. But though I hate advising something that is not in the best interests of the fish, leaving the others as is might be the best option.