Fish_Face

My hatchetfish has run into a bit of trouble... I was away for a couple days and when I came back, one of my fish's "wings" was drooping perpendicular to its body. It looks a little swollen, and I thought I saw a small, white stick-like thing poking from the bump. That's gone now, though. He can still swim just as before, but it looks painful... I think my golden killifish bit him or something. I saw him nip at one of my ottos today. Unfortunately I don't have a quarantine tank yet, but even if I did have one I wouldn't know what to do. Is there anything I can do to fix his fin?

iloveengl

Poor thing. Give him pristine water and maybe soak some treats for him in garlic juice to help boost his immune system and fight infection.

Can you put the hatchet in a separation/breeder net or box or something for the time being, so it doesn't continue to get picked on by the naughty killifish?

aquarist48

Hello FishFace. Sorry to hear that your fish isn't feeling too well. Here is a link on quarantine set ups you may find helpful:
Quick and dirty quarantine setup
Best of luck!
Ken

Tigerlily

Thanks for another excellent link, Ken!

FF, I hope your hatchet gets well soon. I think those little fellas are so cool.

Fish_Face

I do have a breeder net... Will he be too stressed in there for a long time, though?

That IS a great link!! I hope I can do something like that soon. Thanks again!!

Thanks, Tigerlily!!

harpua2002

I've kept a golden wonder killifish before and mine was quite aggressive. I had to quickly rehome some cardinal tetras after adding the killi- he went in for a bite right away! I'm afraid you might have more problems like this if you don't move your killi or find another home for it.

Sorry you're having problems.

Fish_Face

Aww... I was afraid of that... I'll have to see what happens, but thanks for the heads up!

Je55*e

The same thing happened to my Hatchet! Only there was no white thing sticking out, and I have no aggressive fish, so I'm not sure how it happened. He did fine for years with it that way, though, and I'm still not sure what happened.

Fish_Face

Hmm... Well, it's been a while now, and his fin is still down. I've noticed he's been in the corner and away from the other fish a lot, too. I have a ten gallon tank coming soon, so I might put him in that for a while.

Is your hatchet's fin still down too, Je55*e?

Je55*e

I think it would be a good idea to separate him so he can rest up.

Unfortunately, my dear Hatchet passed on last week, but I believe it was from old age, not the fin. He was at least three years old, and his fin was like that for about two of the years I had him.

Fish_Face

I'm sorry about your fish!!!

Is it possible that it's a disease of some sort?

Je55*e

I don't think the wing effected him; again, he had it that way for at least a couple of years and did just fine.
I posted about his fin when I first noticed it and no one recognized it as a disease. I bet with some TLC your guy will be fine as well, so long as you don't notice any redness or other types of damage to his skin.