i need help

[Dan Steveo]

i have recently checked my fish and my 1" bristlenose pleco has no fin. his front right fin is gone but there is the bone and thats all. there is however another small bonelike stick and thats it. he also has a damaged area where the fin meets the body. it has only just occurred today and i have no idea why.

does anyone have any suggestions on how it happened? will it heal fully? will he die?

his other tank mates are 1 2-3" common pleco 1 bristlenose pleco(not the injured one) 5 neon tetras 1 male indian dwarf gourami 2 swordtails.

i would be greatfull for any help or advice thanks very much.

dan.

 

[Dan Steveo]

i have just read an article about finrot and it sounds like it. how can i cure it? does it do it itself? i really do need anyones help

 

[homebunnyj]

You can put Melafix in right away to aid the healing. It has antiseptic properties, soI think of it as kind of like applying triple antibiotic ointment to a cut on a human. However, you may need to treat with some sort of antibiotic as well. I don't know about treating plecos, so hopefully someone else will chime in with some useful advice soon.
Have you tested your water today since you discovered the problem? Something had to bring this condition on.
How big is the bottom of the tank? by which I mean, do you have enough territory for all the plecs? Could this have started with an injury due to a territory dispute? I would have no idea, but hopefully you can get to the bottom of what is going on with your fish.
Good luck with your bristlenose. I hope he heals up well.

 

[Dan Steveo]

thank you very much i shall research the chemicals and treatments. i think it could of been the bigger pleco fighting over food. theres plenty of space in the tank.

if anyone else has any ideas or cures i would like it if you could help.
any help would be appreciated thanks very much.

ps.thanks for the help homebunnyj

 

[Pure]

That is not fin rot. This is a common injury from plecos fighting. And for this injury to be this severe I doubt it happened from fighting over food. Those tiffs are too short to cause this damage. This is normally the result of a fight over a territory/cave. Ugh I've seen this kind of injury too man times.

Melafix is still the best thing you can do, on top of that also add more places for them to hide. 3 plecs with 3 caves doesn't a happy tank make.

At only 1 inch your going to be very lucky if he makes it. Sorry. Keep us posted on his condition.