tail nipping

Question
I'm kind of new to tropical fish and I have encountered a tail nipping situation.fish looks healthy,his tail has  been nipped. Would it grow back again? and if it does,do I need to do something to help?

Answer
Hi Jose,

Most nipping is minor, and will grow back rapidly if conditions are favorable. Severe nipping (down to the body) needs to be treated with a prophylactic dose of finrot/fungus remedy. If nipping gets too close to the body, septicemia becomes more likely, so putting an antibiotic in the water will help prevent that. Probably Maracyn by Mardel labs will be most readily available.

Here's a picture of relatively minor nipping in a betta:
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/images/tiger3months.jpg

The places where the bottom fin is rot red, that's new fin growth. It looks mostly transparent at first, usually with opaque edges. It may not grow back perfectly (especially in the case of veiltail fish like this betta) but usually it grows back looking quite similar to before.

To ensure rapid regrowth, by far the best thing you can do is to optimize water quality. Ammonia and nitrites must be 0 ppm of course, but nitrates which are usually OK at 20 ppm or lower, need to be *as low as possible* in order to speed recovery. If that means changing 25% of the water every other day, so be it! It depends on your stocking. If your tank is heavily stocked with polluting fish (think 55 gallon tank with two adult oscars) then this might need to be upped to 50% every other day water changes...or you can have the fish moved to a hospital tank altogether. Under ordinary circumstances, 20-30% water changes every other day are all you need to keep the water extra clean and fresh. If the nipping is minor and does not require an antibiotic, then you can try an antibacterial remedy such as Melafix, which helps with scrapes and nips - just what it's designed for!

I hope that helps, take care.
Nicole

P.S. Needless to say, the bully has been separated from the offender, eh? Unless this is temporary aggression (like mating behavior, the sort of thing you see in a pair of convict cichlids) the nipping won't stop unless something is done to address the situation. Tiger barbs, for example, are very nippy when kept alone or in small groups. Keeping them in larger groups of 5 or more helps reduce the nipping. Some fish can get mean when they are feeling crowded - mollies in 10 gallon tanks, for example, have been known to get nippy. The important thing is, research to find out why the nipping has happened. Is the fish a nipper? (Certain tetras fall into this category, tiger barbs are notorious for it.) Is it crowded? Feel free to write back if you need any more advice or help in determining the root cause.