My 2 corys have nipped fins.

[myfrint]

I have 10 gallon tank with 3 peppered corys, 2 ottos, 2 black neons, and 6 neons.

It's been like several months running that tank, and everybody seems doing fine.

But, recently I noticed 2 of my cories have nipped fins.

The other one that doesn't have nipeed fin is perfectly fine.

The ones with nipped fins are also doing fine, but I don't know why thieir fins got nipped.

Since one of them is fine, I don't think that it's because of fin-rotting.

So, what can be the cause?

Is there any way to faster the regrowing of their fins? (How long doest it take to fully regrow their fins in general?)

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Oh, also I have a question about my 2 ottos that I have in that 10 gal tank.

They are doing fine, but they always hide in the back of the tank, staying down, and not doing much everytime I see them.

Is it normal? or should I try putting one more otto to make them feel more comfortable?

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Hope I can help. I have 3 Oto's and 3 Peppered Corydora's. Albeit in seperate tanks.

Your 10G is over-crowded. If you are able to get a bigger tank, then you'd need one. Even though you didn't see it, I suspect some fin-nipping has occurred. This is because there is an increased level of competition for space, food, hide-outs etc in the 10G. This is bad because fish deaths can occur from stress, as well as disease.

I've heard that Melafix is good for growing damaged fins. Though I have never had the need to go down this route myself.

Otos are naturally shy, but have been known to fight back, especially to each other. My Otos love perching on leaves. Do you have any plants in which for them to do this?

You don't have room for any more fishes.

 

[TorPeteO]

Otos do like to be in schools of more than two, but (as kribsinvcrib said) you haven't got room for a larger group of them. If you do manage to get a larger tank, however, I would highly recommend a larger colony of them.
Another reason why they're so placid is because (I think) Otos are nocturnal. Mine usually hide in the back of the tank until the light's turned off.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi myfrint

Nipped fins are nothing to worry about. If your water is clean and fresh, they will grow back without any medicine. But, who would be doing the nipping? They do not nip each other or bite their own tails. Have you ever seen your tetras or otos chasing them? I'm not a tetra expert, but it would surprise me if it was them.

If you can put the blame on one of the fish in the tank, you will have to remove it or the situation will continue. If not, then the problem isn't nipped fins. Are they torn? Is there anything in the tank they could be snagging them on? If so, just take it out and the problem will resolve itself.

A third possibility for fin damage is bacterial infection. Sometimes this problem moves quickly, sweeping through a tank, but other times it moves more slowly and can be stopped easily. If this is the problem, the other symptoms might develop slowly or not at all.

How big are the corys and the other fish? If they are still young, you might not be all that overcrowded, but will probably be in the future. How often do you clean the bottom and change some of the water? When was the last time you did it? What is the temperature? These things might give us further clues to the cause of the problem.

MelaFix is a mild bacterial and used as directed will probably cause no harm unless your fish are coming down with something that will need another medication. Then it could be a problem.

 

[myfrint]

Thx for replies.

First, my cories are not fully grown. They are only like 1 inch long.

As I said before, I don't think that it was caused by bacteria because one of the 3 cories is perfectly fine. (Its fin is not nipped.)

I change 10~20% of water every week, and I also use gravel vacuum to clean out the bottom.

Then, I think it is caused by overstocking, I guess.

But, I think my tank is not THAT overstocked.

All of my fish are around 1 inch, and some of my neon are small.