Will fish regrow tails?

Question
My prawn ate the tail off of my almost fully grown black skirt tetra.  Will he recover or is he a goner?

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Rachel;

They usually grow back, but not always looking as nice as the original. If the base of the tail was injured, it may not grow back at all or may not look normal, but the fish will compensate.

Keep him alone in a hospital tank while he recovers. Watch for infection and keep the water very clean. If the edges of the injured places become reddish, whitish or fuzzy-looking this means it is infected. You could add 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon of water to the tank to help him heal and to help ward off possible infection. At this dose it will not hurt the other fish or the prawn.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Come on over and join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://forums.about.com/ab-freshaquaria/start

My member name is ChrisR62. See You There!