Tiger Barb de-Tailed.

[420Loach]

one of my larger tiger barbs(about 1 1/2") is missing his tail!!

it looks like it was chewed off, because all he has left is an uneven stump...he seems to be swimming around alright despite the fact, what should i do? as bad as his tail is i dont think it will grow back.

also what do you think is the cause? could it be another tiger barb? the yoyos seem to chase the tigers around, but idk if theyre biting them or not, and the clowns only school with the tigers.

thank you

- Loach

 

[garyroland]

I hesitate to answer this question because most hobbyists would realize when their fish is having its tail chewed off...

I would think observing the tank would show the reason.

The other possible scenario is tail (fin) rot which leaves just a stump at an advanced stage.

--garyroland.

 

[420Loach]

thank you for insulting my hobbyist intelligence, but when i wake up one day and see that one of my tiger barbs is missing a tail, im supposed to automatically know what to do?

i have 14 tigers in my tank, this is the only one to show this type damage. none of my other fish are affected. i doubt its fin rot because, as i said, this happend overnight.

now i know that you MAY have been an aquarist longer then i have even been on this earth, but the next time you try to offer help, try to come off as nice and helpful, and not a pompous a**hole know-it-all....if you can manage.

 

[Leopardess]

Uncalled for response gary. Perhaps if you took more time getting to know us, rather than insulting our intelligence, you'd realize loach has been in the hobby for awhile and is far from a beginner. If you "hesitate to answer" - DON'T.

Loach - I bet a tiger barb just snapped and went postal on him. Or is there any way it could have gotten caught on something? BEtween rocks or whatnot? I had an oto who did that to himself. If its veyr abd, perhaps it should be euthanized? I'd only do that if it seems greatly affected by it. As you said, it is swimming around fine? I have seen many fish (mostly in the petstores) who have had that happen to them....and they were all alive and well. They just had to adjust

Maybe you could take him out and treat him with some antibiotics/salt/melafix and take it from there?

Sorry to hear that loach

 

[420Loach]

the barb seems to be doing fine, hes working a little harder then the others to get around, but hes makin it. i dont think he got caught in the rocks, but it is possible. ill pick up some melafix today and try it out, hopefully his tail will come back.

thank you Leo.

 

[Lotus]

If he still has fin rays, it should grow back. If it was taken off and there is only muscle, it won't. If he's swimming and eating, it sounds like he will be OK.

I found Melafix works well on minor injuries and minor fungus.

 

[Leopardess]

I'd add the melafix to help ward of secondary infections, such AS minor fungus/bacterial infections. It also helps boost fin re-growth.

 

[420Loach]

...he doesnt have any fin rays left at all...just a jagged stump. hes swimming around with a little more trouble now. i dont want any infection to spread to other fish though, so ill still isolate him for a little while in my spare 10gal.

i dont want to, but should i euthanize him?

 

[Leopardess]

Hm...I was thinking about this. If he has no rays left, lotus is right, the tail won't grow back. It will heal, but just as a stump. If he's already having trouble, it is probably because he is getting very tired from trying to swim and may only get weaker with time.

What I was really thinking, though, is that as an injured barb - he won't stand much of a chance the next time there is a little tiff - as there is bound to be with the tigers. He will turn into one easy target

I mean, its hard to say without seeing him....but I lean towards perhaps euthazing him and giving him some rest If not for how he is now, but the damage that could end up happening to him.

 

[bobrob]

I got a harelquin rasbora from the lfs once, I noticed he only had a stump (Im not sure what rays are) but His tail grew back strong and he is a healthy fish and angs it out with all my barbs. His tail is still growing back its about 3/4ers of the way there now.

 

[garyroland]

Take note that until I answered your post it remained unanswered...

Strange, isn't it??

And, you never stated that the tail disappeared sometime over night.

It would help if you revealed all the facts to base a diagnosis on. My mind-reading skills are not what they used to be.

Also take note that the Aqua-Rank Rating is going up since I started posting on this Site.

Another strange occurrance??

--garyroland.

 

[Leopardess]

I'm done.

 

[garyroland]

Hang in there Leopard...

You'll know when I'm insulting somebody, you won't have to guess.

And as a bonus, I bet you'll learn a whole lot more than you know now.

--garyroland.

 

[Leopardess]

I'm done.

 

[catfishmike]

please take it of the forum.if there is a disagrement,use the pm system or aim etc...
depending on the dmage done to the tissue,the fins may or may not grow back.if the fish doesn't show much signs of improvement ,put it down.the extra stress will consume too much of the nessicary energy to develop new growth.as bobrob has stated fish can regrow their fins and live healthy lives.either way it's your call,you know your fish better than us.

 

[FroggyFox]

I would think that no matter what you do I would seperate him from the other fish. If he's doing alright then maybe wait a few days and see if he recovers? If you have a small tank with a UGF or another filter that doesn't create much current, I'd think that would be best (like someone else said, I'm sure he's tired)

Keep us posted. I hope it doesn't happen with any of the other barbs. There is a 2nd form of finrot that acutally moves so fast that it could happen overnight, and turns into bodyrot. (I dont remember where I was reading that...it might have been on one of the betta sites...sorry)

 

[420Loach]

my barbs lookin worse, if he doesnt get better by the morning ill put him under.

hey gary. grow up.

 

[dbacksrat]

good luck 420 loach
did u ever figure out who "removed" the tiger's tail?

 

[420Loach]

i think it was my biggest yoyo, but i cant be sure. the barb was still swiming with the school of barbs, so i dont think it was them. and the clowns only swim with the barbs. my biggest yoyo bothers every other type of fish ive had in the tank except for other loaches, so id put my money on him.

 

[Fruitbat]

420Loach....

Keep in mind that loaches don't have any teeth at all in their jaws so it is unlikely that your Yo-Yo Loach removed a Tiger Barb's tail down to the nub.

If it was my fish I would dose with MelaFix and give the fish a chance to recover before I gave up on it. Of course...I can't see the fish. Use your best judgement.