Broken Fin

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
Starting to think I post too much lol

I just have to ask. Yesterday I noticed my corkscrew blenny had white on it's side as it swam by. It's hard to get a close look because it sticks its tail in rocks and just pokes his head out. Well he was sitting on a rock right now so I checked the white and it was his fin upside down... I snapped a pic then it swam around not moving that fin. The rest of it looks beat up too. I only have clowns and a cardinal in there so I'm not sure what beat him up so bad. Do bristleworms attack if he sticks his tail inside a hole with one inside? What can I do for the fin?

I added stresscoat with aloe for his other damage but not sure what else I can do. He didn't come out to feed the last 3 feedings now I know why. He's hard to fond so not sure if I can spot feed.

View attachment 2106
 

Zooid

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
bristleworms won't do that. Have you heard clicking in your tank? Wonder if you have a mantis shrimp hitchhiker.
 

sugaree

Cleaner Shrimp
#3
Denvercherub;91209 said:
Do bristleworms attack if he sticks his tail inside a hole with one inside?
lol. Dude your determined to find a way to call the worms evil. You should see the two 8"+ in my tank. I find them pretty cool. Excess food dosen't even make it to the bottom before they're out and ready to clean it up.
 

djkms

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#4
Problems with your fish's fins could be a number of different things (and no its not a bristle worm).

We need a lot more info

What size tank?
How long has it been set up?
How many other fish?
Where is the Blenny in the pecking order?
Water parameters? (PH, Nitrite, Ammonia, Nitrate, salinity, temp)
What do you feed your fish?
How often do you feed?
Any recent changes?
Any recent swings in parameters?
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#5
sugaree;91288 said:
lol. Dude your determined to find a way to call the worms evil. You should see the two 8"+ in my tank. I find them pretty cool. Excess food dosen't even make it to the bottom before they're out and ready to clean it up.
LOL no that's not it at all it's just the only thing I can think of that could damage a fish that is always inside a hole. All my fish are not aggressive by nature and no rocks have been moved. It's just randomly beat up looking.
 

Cake_Boss

Blue Whale
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
Denvercherub;91310 said:
All my fish are not aggressive by nature
But there are exceptions to the rule, some of the "peaceful" fish are sometimes aggressive. Be it territory or overstocking, whatever causes them to act out. Maybe a hungry hermit at night?



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djkms

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#7
^^Agreed^^

Every fish in my tank is listed as "peaceful" except 1 as semi aggressive yet I have seen just about every fish in my tank "squabble" at one point or another. Territory and pecking order play a role in just about every system. To help narrow it down it would help to answer the previous questions listed :)
 

little_fish

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
You know, rocks are quite abrasive and if all he does is go in and out of his little hole in the rock, its not out of the question that he has been scraping himself up.
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#9
broken fin

djkms;91297 said:
Problems with your fish's fins could be a number of different things (and no its not a bristle worm).

We need a lot more info

What size tank? 30 Gallon cube
How long has it been set up? 4-5 weeks
How many other fish? 5
Where is the Blenny in the pecking order? Hard to say somedays he's front and center others he just sits aside
Water parameters? (PH, Nitrite, Ammonia, Nitrate, salinity, temp) 8.3PH, Nitrate 1.0, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Salinity 1.026, Temp 79F
What do you feed your fish? alternate mysis, brine, bloodworms and also toss in some cylopeeze for the coral every other day
How often do you feed? 1-2 times a day
Any recent changes? I did change to a wet/dry over the weekend but he was like that before. I started adding 1mml of vodka every 2 days a week ago
Any recent swings in parameters? none, it's been pretty stable. Used instant cycle live sand and things have been great the whole time, I do weekly water changes also.
Hope that's enough info
 

djkms

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#10
First off I would say slow down. If you have any reading above 0 on your nitrite test then your tank is not cycled regardless what your live sand says. There is no such thing as a instant cycle IMO. I would attribute your fin issue to water quality whether it be the primary cause or secondary cause.

5 fish in 4-5 weeks is way too many fish too fast especially with your tank not being cycled. You need to give your tank time to adjust to the bioload and adding animals that contribute to that load should be added slowly, especially with such a small system.

I would also say your overfeeding (haha this coming from the overfeeding king!) but 1-2 times a day with such a new system is a disaster waiting to happen.

Another thing I am wondering is why you are carbon dosing with such a new system?

I really think you are moving way too fast. You should not have any animals in your system if you have any readings above 0 with ammonia or nitrite. Now if you meant 1 on nitrate that changes things a little bit but I still think you are moving way too fast.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news :(
 

djkms

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#13
Sorry, not trying to discourage you in any way. We all know how awesome it is to get your tank stocked with life, heck even I impulse buy and move too fast on certain things but patience will reward you with the hobby and moving too fast can cause you some serious problems.
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#14
Yeah no I'm not discouraged lol most of what's in my tank including water came out of a smaller set up I had so its not exactley as new as it seems lol I just don't see how 1 nitrate would cause a broken fin lol
 

Cake_Boss

Blue Whale
M.A.S.C Club Member
#15
It shouldn't, think he was emphasizing the newness (refudiate that word) of the tank. Little fish is correct, he may just be scraping himself up on some of your rocks. Try and make the hole bigger if possible. If you plug up his cave and make one for him he might not even go in it. KIM, I don't have a blenny

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djkms

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#17
Sorry, I wasnt meaning to imply 1 nitrate broke the fin. Water quality however could relate to the deterioration of the fin due to the fish being stressed thus lowering its immune system.
 

Off The Deep End

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#18
djkms;91343 said:
Sorry, I wasnt meaning to imply 1 nitrate broke the fin. Water quality however could relate to the deterioration of the fin due to the fish being stressed thus lowering its immune system.
+1 I agree slow down, 6 fish in a month old 30g is a little much. Although you used established water and such from your old tank think about what got stirred up in that water in the process. You might have had high nitrates in this new tank to begin with and associated it as a cycle when in all reality it was all the stirring of the old tank, thus creating lower immune systems in your fish. Then one scratch is enough to do what you are talking about. He would just be more prone to a scratch because he is in and out of the holes all day. HTH
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#19
Off The Deep End;91359 said:
+1 I agree slow down, 6 fish in a month old 30g is a little much. Although you used established water and such from your old tank think about what got stirred up in that water in the process. You might have had high nitrates in this new tank to begin with and associated it as a cycle when in all reality it was all the stirring of the old tank, thus creating lower immune systems in your fish. Then one scratch is enough to do what you are talking about. He would just be more prone to a scratch because he is in and out of the holes all day. HTH
I guess you guys aren't understanding it. I never had high nitrates or bad water levels. Day one I used instant cycle sand, 40 pounds. Maybe you don't trust it and that's cool but it does work. There's tons of reviews about it online. I did use a bacteria supplement as well to help it along also. I really don't think my water is the issue. It's awesome water with great test results. I can agree I may have stirred up something in the old water but that was a third of the water I used. The rest was R/O I had bought and still waited 2 weeks before putting my clowns in. I had the clowns prior to the 30 gallon. I am leaning more toward it's scraped on a rock at this point.
 
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