Fantail Goldfish has a Rip in its Tail

Question
My husband and I just got a fantail and a comet. The comet was aggressive and would chase the fantail, so we gave him away to one of my husband's coworkers who had goldfish and koi. Before we gave the comet away we noticed a circle of flesh missing in the tail of the fantail, which we assumed was because the comet nipped at the fantail. It ripped into a big tear. Our pH is at 8 and our temperature is 78 F. I know the temperature is high for a goldfish, but our apartment doesn't have air conditioning. We put some Stress Coat in when we got the fish and a little more in after we noticed the tear. The fantail is still swimming around, very happy and hungry. But we are unsure if this is just physical damage or if this is a disease. Oh, we also have 3 corydoras and they aren't showing any signs of disease.

Answer
Hi Sierra,
Sounds just like physical damage from the comet. As long as there is no discoloration at the edge of the damaged site then all should be OK. Just keep the water really clean with plenty of water changes and it'll heal.


Best of luck!
Karen~