Black Skirt Lost it's Tail!

[Fishfriend1]

Yep. My newly gotten 1in black skirt tetra lost most/all of it's tail sometime overnight. WTF! :swear:

The other fish in the tank: 4 Bronze Corys, 1 Gourami

No filter it could have gotten stuck in, no betta that would have attacked it. Besides bing way to small, the Corys aren't even slightly aggressive... which leaves only the Gourami. But how would the Gourami have been able to take off the entire tail! And I mean entire, there's only a few tiny threads of bone/fin left, it's been eaten right down to the nub... poor fella, I thought he was doing so well... by tomorrow he will probably be dead, due to the injury. I can only hope that he survives to grow back his tail. Can't even take him out of the tank though, I don't have any other tanks to put him in (except the 30gal which will be his final destination if he lives).

So, how could my "peaceful" and "slow" and "surface dwelling" 2in Pearl Gourami have done that to my 1in, fast, midwater dwelling black skirt tetra? And will it be a problem when faced with 4 long finned black skirts that are 2.5in long and 1 albino skirt that is 1.5in long?

 

[Lab_Rat]

You sure it's not some severe fin rot?

 

[oo7genie]

That's what I would suspect as well. I've had cherry barbs that lost their tails overnight due to severe fin rot. Luckily, I was able to save the lives of 2 out of 3 of them.

I also have a 3 1/2" Pearl Gourami who has shared tanks with dozens of species of fish, and has never never once showed the slightest inkling of aggression towards tankmates.

Based on my experience, I would think that fin rot seems like a much more likely culprit.

Good luck with your tetra, I hope it makes a speedy full recovery!

 

[Fishfriend1]

You sure it's not some severe fin rot?

The tail was completely gone, and the rest of it's fins were fine. It may have been fin rot, but the tanks pamrs are all fine (I checked before I left) and the fish seemed healthy... would fin rot leave behind a sort of white nub where the fin had once been?

That's what I would suspect as well. I've had cherry barbs that lost their tails overnight due to severe fin rot. Luckily, I was able to save the lives of 2 out of 3 of them.

I also have a 3 1/2" Pearl Gourami who has shared tanks with dozens of species of fish, and has never never once showed the slightest inkling of aggression towards tankmates.

Based on my experience, I would think that fin rot seems like a much more likely culprit.

Good luck with your tetra, I hope it makes a speedy full recovery!

I hope it wasn't the Gourami, that would just be sad... as strange as this sounds, I do hope it was fin rot. Is fin rot contagious? As in, could the tetra spread it to others in it's tank, either the Gourami or the Corys? Or, when I move it into the 30gal, could it contaminate the 5 Skirt Tetras already there?

 

[Lab_Rat]

The tail was completely gone, and the rest of it's fins were fine. It may have been fin rot, but the tanks pamrs are all fine (I checked before I left) and the fish seemed healthy... would fin rot leave behind a sort of white nub where the fin had once been?


I hope it wasn't the Gourami, that would just be sad... as strange as this sounds, I do hope it was fin rot. Is fin rot contagious? As in, could the tetra spread it to others in it's tank, either the Gourami or the Corys? Or, when I move it into the 30gal, could it contaminate the 5 Skirt Tetras already there?

Yes, I can just leave a white nub. Aggression would leave behind ragged edges of the tail, not a white nub. Fin rot is contagious and is generally due to poor water quality. Can you post a pic of the damage?

 

[TheFishBoss97]

It is most likely the gourami. My angel did this to 2 of my harlequin rasboras a while back. Eventually, they get used to the smaller schooling fish or the schooling fish get too big for the gourami to attack.

It might have been hungry or something too.
If there was no evidence of fin rot, then this is probably what happened.

 

[oo7genie]

My cherry barbs didn't have white nubs, just missing tails, though they had suffered injuries that led to the fin rot.

As far as being contagious, there are differing opinions about it. The best information I've been able to gather, that match my experiences with it, is that it is contagious, but is not likely to infect fish that don't already have weakened immune systems due to other causes, usually related to water quality.

 

[silentcircuit]

Agreed that it's more likely fin rot than aggression. Maracyn I and II in a QT, go go.

EDIT: or not according to Boss up there, who knows. My gourami can't catch neons and doesn't really try, and Three Spots are supposedly a lot more aggressive. I'd still say more likely fin rot.

 

[Fishfriend1]

Yes, I can just leave a white nub. Aggression would leave behind ragged edges of the tail, not a white nub. Fin rot is contagious and is generally due to poor water quality. Can you post a pic of the damage?

But the water was/is fine... I can't post a pic, I'm at my dads house now. I'll put one up tomorrow, if the fish is still alive. And if it will stay still. The fish was still active and looked healthy, except for the completely missing tail. Remember, not a single one of the other fins even had the slightest signs of damage, just the tail.

It is most likely the gourami. My angel did this to 2 of my harlequin rasboras a while back. Eventually, they get used to the smaller schooling fish or the schooling fish get too big for the gourami to attack.

It might have been hungry or something too.
If there was no evidence of fin rot, then this is probably what happened.

Well, there is evidence of fin rot (the tail fin being gone...), but I do plan to keep an eye on the Gourami just in case...

My cherry barbs didn't have white nubs, just missing tails, though they had suffered injuries that led to the fin rot.

As far as being contagious, there are differing opinions about it. The best information I've been able to gather, that match my experiences with it, is that it is contagious, but is not likely to infect fish that don't already have weakened immune systems due to other causes, usually related to water quality.

The nub looks to be a pale white color, smooth (without any ragged edges) and has a single spine coming out from the top of the tail (this is going off of memory, I may be off a little).

Agreed that it's more likely fin rot than aggression. Maracyn I and II in a QT, go go.

EDIT: or not according to Boss up there, who knows. My gourami can't catch neons and doesn't really try, and Three Spots are supposedly a lot more aggressive. I'd still say more likely fin rot.

Silentcircut, that "edit" was unnecessary. You seem to have a knack for being rude on purpose... I am still unsure of it being fine rot, the facts just don't add up. All the parms were fine, the fish was fine as well, still active and ate food when I fed them (before I noticed the missing tail fin) and it certainly darted around like the ones in my 30gal tank... it doesn't have the look of fin rot, just a white sort of scab over the nub...

 

[user_name]

Silentcircut, that "edit" was unnecessary. You seem to have a knack for being rude on purpose... I am still unsure of it being fine rot, the facts just don't add up. All the parms were fine, the fish was fine as well, still active and ate food when I fed them (before I noticed the missing tail fin) and it certainly darted around like the ones in my 30gal tank... it doesn't have the look of fin rot, just a white sort of scab over the nub...

calm down.

Why not keep him with your other black skirts? Mine have been fine with much smaller ones, although they are in a 55 with plenty of hides. I haven't seen any serious nipping out of them.