Help please...fins are being "eaten" away

[StephM33]

Hello there,

I am new to this forum so I apologize in advance if this is a much discussed topic...I did look at the FAQ and didn't see anything that fits.

We have a 96 gallon tank with 10 fish (most of which are new in the last 3 weeks). We lost a Flame Angel yesterday (well that's when I discovered it after looking when she didn't come to feed). Upon removing her from the tank it was clear she had no fins left, though at the time I thought perhaps that was a result of the other fish nibbling on her post mortem. To be cautious we did a 25% water change last night.

I looked carefully and found no other fish exhibiting this, however this morning at least 3 other fish so have the beginning signs of their fins being "eaten" away. If this were a fresh water tank I would think it was fin rot, but I'm not sure if that affects marine fish as well, or what the treatment is, or whether there is another explanation entirely.

Any advice greatly appreciated!
Steph

 

[kevin2000]

A picture would help.

Sounds like a bacterial issue .... fin rot happens in SW similar to FW. In some/many cases fin rot problems are a result of poor water quality and using steps to improve water quality (increased frequency of water changes and perhaps some fresh carbon) may resolve the issue ... however depending on the severity of the condition you may be forced to use antibiotics which normally would require the removal of the fish to a separate quarantine tank. Maracyn 2 is a common antibiotic which should be effective against fin rot ... many would suggest using twice the recommended doseage that the mfg suggests.

Hope this helps.

 

[msman825]

I had a damsel eat the fins off my korea angel. Could it be your other fish???

 

[msman825]

I had a damsel eat the fins off my korea angel. Could it be your other fish???

 

[StephM33]

Thanks for your replies so far. Yes, it is possible that they are nips from other fish, I guess it is the timing of these little holes in the fins that was suspect, since the Angel died yesterday, and the only apparent thing wrong when I fished her out was the complete absence of her fins (but again that could easily be post mortem).

The 3 fish affected are a Copper Banded Butterfly who is most affected, a Yellow Tang which only has one tiny bit of fin missing, and the smallest of 3 Domino Damsels. The tang and butterfly have had a few little skirmishes (some days nothing, and other times the Tang is slightly aggresive with the Butterfly - surprise, surprise the Tang was in the tank first, and they are both almost exactly the same size. A electric blue damsel has also been chasing the Domino Damsels now and then (again obvious territorial thing).

Our difficulty is the timing. It's been a week since the Butterfly and Domino Damsels were introduced to the tank, and there were no signs of fin nipping holes before the death of the Flame Angel, (and I looked very carefully yesteday) and all of a sudden this morning they are there.

I've now been able to speak to the specialist we trust at the store, and he has suggested a "wait and see" attitude (which is of course frustrating!) but MAYBE it's nothing more than some nips. I can only hope so! He seemed suprised when I suggested a likeness to fin rot in FW and led me to believe this wouldn't be the problem. I will continue to watch them all closely and if there is further deterioration, or any other fish affected (particularly those who are not in "conflict" with others) and take a more aggresive antibiotic approach if this is the case.

Regarding the Angel, it was clearly threatened by the new fish, and took on a change in behaviour (hiding much more than usual and not eating properly) as soon as the new fish were introduced. Could he simply of died of stress and nothing else?

Thanks again, I appreciate any words of advice and advance apologize for the long post.

Steph

 

[Rondelet]

What are your water parameters, and in particular ammonia and nitrite? I would agree strongly with Kevin2000 with respect to water quality. High levels of ammonia (which should read zero) will quickly cause fin burn, which in turn leads to "fin burn" or eroded/frayed fins (which in turn is usually caused by opportunistic bacteria). If you've added a lot of fish lately, this may have easily upset your biological filtration. If you're getting any ammonia readings, then you need to aggressively change your water to get it down. If this is the case, it's possible that the fish will heal on their own. If ammonia is not a problem and/or the infection appears to persist you should then consider antibiotics. Best course of action is to move the affected fish to a treatment tank and go from there. However, this is not always practical - so you may also consider treating your fish oral with antibiotic medicated feed. Any of the Seachem (Focus + any of Sulfathiazole/Kanaplex/Neoplex) or Aquarium Products (Gel-Tek Ulta Cure BX) would be a good place to start.

Lastly, one other option which I've had success with in a similar situation (fin burn > bacterial infection) is to try 10 min dips with "Tricide Neo". Tricide Neo, which is a potentiated form of neomycin, can be given via short 10 minute, baths for a series of consecutive days (usually five). In this case a short concentrated bath may be useful for addressing the external lesions/ulcers. This is a particularly useful approach if your fish are not eating. This is done by making a stock solution and then treating you fish at the treatment dose in a small treatment vessel that you can suspend in your tank. The benefits here are that you can better estimate the dose and not worry about exposing your nitrifying bacteria to an antimicrobial (since you discard the water in the treatment container at the end of each treatment). However, unless you move your fish to a treatment tank you will have a next to impossible time catching them for each bath. I should also add that you may find the product hard to find. The company that makes it has a web page, but some of the links don't work (I sourced it from a local koi dealer). Here is link for more information http://www.tricideneo.com/.

Hope this helps.