Fish with missing fins....

Question
Hi there, I was just randomly cruising the net and found the
site with this on it- thanks for doing this service!  I just
went to my established 29 gallon freshwater tank which has
3 neon tetras and 2 black skirt tetras and discovered that
one of the black skirts (hopefully that's the right name) is
missing about 75% of its tail, i had the water tested an it's
ok according to the pet store, and the temp in the tank is
about 75 degrees. there are no signs of disease as far as i
can see. I know i'm obviously going to lose this fish, but i
was curious if this sounds like a disease or if maybe the
other fish decided to try and eat this guy.

thanks for your opinion!
karen

Answer
Hi Karen,

Off-hand it sounds like your tetra was attacked, probably  by his buddy.  As long as there are plenty of hiding places, it shouldn't be serious problem.  I recommend that you buy a small bottle of Melafix and treat the tank, just in case.  It will also prevent fungus from growing in the tail wound.  while you're there, buy a cheap test kit for Ammonia and Nitrites, and test your own water.  You don't need to test for pH or any of those other things, so why waste your money having the pet shop do it, unless they do it for free.  Have fun !

Michael J