help me...dottyback without a pectoral fin!!!

[Stuginski]

Hi fellows reefers...

I´m in trouble...my orchid dottyback lost one of his pectoral fin!!! Probably my hawkfish is the guilty.

The orchid looses 2/3 of his pectoral fin....and he is having some difficults to swim...

What can I do for the fish??? The pectoral fin could regenerate??? The fish will adapt to swim with just one pectoral fin???

Thank you so much...and sorry for my terrible english..

Stu.

 

[Sk8r]

First thing, get that hawkfish into a bucket and headed back to the lfs, before he gets another fin. Give him back if you can't persuade them to give you credit.

Your dottyback's fin should regrow. A fin will generally regenerate if a) it doesn't get infected (keep your water balance like mine in my signature line) and b) if it didn't destroy the cartilage/bones at the origin of the fin.

Be sure too that you don't have a crab or other hitchhiker: dottybacks like to get into rocky holes, and so do crabs, and they can nip a fin off very easily.

 

[Stuginski]

Thanks SK8r....

I will try to explain a little better what happened:

The dottyback came to my hands yesterday...the fish came from other state...and the trip lasted more than 24 hours.

After a carefull aclimatization..I put the fish into my tank (i don´t have a qt) BUT...the fish don´t swim...and remains over the substrate....

In my enormous ignorance...I didn´t pay attention to the fin at this moment...

After more than a hour with the fish static..I call the LFS...and they told me that this is normal because they use some king of "natural drug" to depress the fish metabolism during the trip.

The fish remains unresponsable for many hours....and I think this ushered some killer instinct in my hawk...that hit the fish one or two times...without any reaction of the poor dottyback...

After I saw the agression I´ve isolated the dottyback...and I saw the fin wound .

The dottyback remains "narcotized" for more than 24 hours..he couldn´t swim...terrible sight...and at this moment I was thinking that this was the end of a beautifull fish...BUT

Today the fish is alert...the fish eat some flakes...and is absolutly normal despite the fact that he don´t have a intact right pectoral fin.

This is the true story...


So...i don´t know if the halk will hit the fish ....if the dotty stay "awake"...BUT...I don´t know if...with a missing fin...the dotty could handle with the "problems" of the life in a aquarium.



Best regards

D.

 

[Sk8r]

Good. I hope it works out. Turn out the lights on any fight or attack; fish will usually go to sleep, or go to hiding. If all else fails have a piece of lighting grid you can use as a barrier for a few hours. Probably the dottyback will recover, once he's eating. A fin will grow back.