Two questions about fins

[bigyankfan]

I have the following in a 58 gallon tank: yellow tang, true perc clown, bullet goby, neon dottyback, six-line wrasse, blue-green chromi, foxface and pygmy cherub angel. Two questions: the tang and angel are getting their fins shredded. No fish additions in the last two months - the shredding has been going on for about a week now - who is the most likely suspect? I will QT that fish and see if the shredding stops. The other question is this - do shredded fins grow back and, if they do, is there anything I can do to expedite the process? Thx in advance for any and all advice.

Temp 80
Ammonia <5 ppm
pH 8.4
Nitrates 0 ppm
Nitrites 0 ppm
SG 1.025

 

[crox99]

IME fins grow very slowly and the dotty might be the culprit.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I would say Dotty too. They are mean.

 

[ellebelle]

I believe Scott Michael says that dottybacks "may disembowel tankmates".

 

[thepudge]

Not to be "that guy" but I'd take care of that ammonia problem ASAP. Getting your water quality under control will go a long way towards letting the tang heal.

 

[Bob 1000]

Yeah I saw the ammonia and said the same thing...When I switch tanks a while back,my tangs all had shreaded fins and they didn't fight it was the small cycle I was going through and them itching on the rocks doing it to themselves...

 

[bigyankfan]

Educate me - I thought (was told) that any Ammonia level below 10PPM was OK.

 

[bigyankfan]

As a further point, the fins are shredded in the back as they would be if the were being chased. If it was on the top and bottom, I would say it was from scratching. No?

 

[Bob 1000]

Possibly, But if it doesn't straighten itself out in 3 days...The ammonia is probably from cycling...Did you just set up this tank or take the rock out of water???

 

[thepudge]

Any ammonia whatsoever is too much. Ideally you should have some nitrates (<20), and no nitrites or ammonia. Basically, if you have ammonia, any at all, something is seriously amiss in your tank. You have a lot of fish in a 58 gallon, and your tank may not be established enough to handle the bioload. How long has your tank been set up? How much live rock do you have?

Do water changes to get that ammonia down. Its poison to your tank.

 

[basiab]

Where in the world did you see anything about ammonia being Ok over zero.
By the way, what test kit are you using and check the expiration date on it. I once had a test kit that always showed a little ammonia even if it was zero. It turned out that the expiration date on it was passed and the results of testing are useless. They do not tell you it expires at a certain date. I found out by calling them and they told me how to read the batch code on each bottle.

 

[Paul B]

Fins can grow back incredably fast but only if the fish is in breeding condition which they should be anyway. They can only be in that condition by eating either fresh, live or frozen food. I fed Live California Blackworms almost every day with other foods. The fins can grow back in a couple of days. If the fish is fed a diet of just flakes it may take a couple of weeks.
I would watch the foxface as well as the Dottyback

 

[bigyankfan]

Danger Will Robinson! Idiot Alert! Danger!

What I meant to write was that my nitrates are < 10 PPM and my ammonia is 0. Please forgive me - I misspoke (or more accurately, mistyped). DOH!