Badly bitten Mandarin

[Motish]

Hi All

Need some help here.

My mandarin's back fin (caudal fin) is totally eaten, the fish is alive and even was swimming around the tank! I just got the poor fish and I was sure that he wont be attacked by other fish as I read on many threads.

did anyone see anything like that before? will he recover? I have transfered him to the refuge.
do you think he may grow his fin back???


Here are some more details:

My tank is a approximately 16 months old. around 70 gal (250 liters) with sump+refuge of 120 liters total (~30 gal). Rockscape is arrange in "bonzy" stile so not very many places to hide.

I thought that my tank is ready for a mandarin, I see copopods very often around the tank without really trying to look for them.

My stock is low (I took that advise of slow stocking too seriously), I have two clown fish (percula), one algae eating blenny, one magnifica (firefish), one blood red fire (debelius) shrimp, and various snails.

I got him last wednesday and quarantined him for one day, I noticed his back fin (caudal fin) was a little bit bitten at the edge, hard to notice (did see that at the store)

this friday my wife saw the blood red fire shrimp grabbing the mandarin's fin... when we got back this saturday evening I saw that his fin was so injured.
does anyone know if I should get rid of that shrimp I want to keep a mandarin?

help please...

 

[India]

The shrimp is a cleaner - he is dressing the wound, not causing it. If a raw spot is spreading, check for disease...

 

[Motish]

Do you think the fin was infected? and that was the reason the shrimp ate it?

 

[sucker_fish]

I think thats what he was getting at..its likely that if you noticed the fin damaged in the store that it could have spread, the shrimp is likely cleaning the wounded fin, not causing the wound. I would do as advised and check closely for disease/infection.

 

[Motish]

I will, but the whole fin is gone! I didn't see any infection while examine it so I don't believe that it was entirely infected.