Damaged Fins and cloudy water

[cats&fish]

Hello all, in my large tank I have a green tiger barb whose back fin looks pitiful. The fin is disappearing, but none of the other fish have any fin problems. I don't know if it's just a fin nipper in the tank, or if something more sinister is going on. My water is a little cloudy too, but my nitrates and nitrite levels are normal. I had a catastrophic gold fish loss a few weeks ago in a different tank, so I just want to stay on top of this so I don't have a similar experience.
Does anyone have any ideas of how to help?

Thanks!

 

[achase]

What are your exact readings for ammonia, nitrate and nitrites? What is your water change schedule like? How long has the tank been setup?

Fin nipping is probably the most likely case because from what I understand barbs are pretty notorious for that. You could treat with Melafix to prevent infection and help regrowth. I'm not sure about the cloudy water...what is the color tint (grey, green)?

 

[cats&fish]

Tank has been set up for about 3 months. I change 10% almost weekly. I live in New Orleans so the water here is very hard. I haven't had this cloudy problem in my other tank though so I don't think that's the main cause. My Nitrates are at about 20 ppm, nitrites, 0 ppm, hardness, 75-100 ppm, chlorine, 0, moderate alkalinity and neutral ph.

Thank you. I will get some melafix today.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; If you have an extra tank, it could be used as a place to isolate the fish for treatment and recovery. If a fin nipper has caused the damage the fin will have a chance to heal. If it is a disease or infection the other fish are less likely to pick it up.

If you do not have a spare tank or want to isolate the fish quickly, a large net can be used. I try to keep a couple of large nets for catching bigger fish. They can be positioned in the community tank so the injured fish is protected and has room to move and feed.

 

[pateceramics]

I'd try changing more than 10% of the water. If you change 10% weekly, the oldest water in the tank is well over 2 months old. (Ew). Maybe more like 25% once a week. Clean water = happy fishies! Also, if you aren't too overstocked, you could try adding a few more green tigers to spread the aggression around a bit. That way the dominant one will have a whole school to pick on instead of one poor little guy.

 

[pateceramics]

Just checked the fish profiles. They do recommend green tigers be kept in schools.

 

[Kiara1125]

When you say that its back looks pitiful, is it just the fins or the actual back?? Pictures would be nice, but for now, decribe everything in the best detail possible so we can help you quickly on this.

 

[cats&fish]

Yep, I had three of them and one was too stressed from the transition and died within a day of moving into the tank. But I will add a few more, that's a good idea. Kiara, I'm talking about the tail fin. The back of the fish is fine. I think he's just being picked on.

I added an extra filter today too, to see if I could help with the cloudiness.

We shall see.

Thanks everyone!

 

[achase]

Sounds like a plan. Although I would agree that maybe you should boost your water changes up to 25% weekly or even do two 10% water changes a week. Your water can really never be too clean!

Keep us posted on the recovery of your fish!

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Check out the banded Lepornius post where it is cited to be a nipper.