lisamommy

We started up a new 22gallon tank a couple weeks ago with Cycle. Last Tuesday we put in 3 serpae tetra's on advice of the fish store. And now today one has a chewed tail fin and wouldn't eat and isn't swimming much - looks to be struggling. Is there anything I can do to save him/her? Is this common behaviour for these fish - I wanted a peaceful aquarium where everyone gets along. Should I replace him/her with the same species or just wait a couple weeks until I was going to add in more fish anyway.

Also - anyone have any advice on what fish I should add next?

sirdarksol

Yes, there is something you can do. Buy three more serpae tetras. They nip fins if they aren't kept in a real school (6 or more). This was probably the weakest of the group.
I would isolate the sick one. If you can't set up a separate tank, a breeder's net or a way to separate the tank a bit might help.
Vitachem, if you can get your hands on it (Petsmart and Petco usually don't carry it), will help, as will increased partial water changes. Among those of us around here, Cycle is generally considered to be a waste of time and money.
If you don't have a test kit (API master test kit, or any other liquid one, is better than the little strips), it would be good to get one so you can check to see if there is any ammonia, nitrites, or an excess of nitrates.

Good luck and Welcome to Fishlore.
Please ask if you need any help, have followup questions, etc... We were all in the same boat you're in (or a similar one) at one point or another, and love sharing our collective knowledge.

susitna-flower

Hi Lisamommy, WELCOME to FISHLORE !

Your tank probably is NOT cycled, which will add lots of stress. The product cycle, as sirdarksol pointed out, does not work to instantly cycle your tank. Cycling a tank is a process it goes through where different bacteria work on different stages of the nitrogen cycle.

Fish produce waste (ammonia), bacteria break it down to nitrite. Both ammonia and nitrite are highly toxic to fish. ANY time either of those are present you need to do daily water changes of 25-50% to keep your fish healthy. A different bacteria then turns the nitrite to nitrate, which is less toxic, but should still be kept to below 20 with water changes. This is an on going process, that will require testing water every week even after your tank is cycled, to determine how much and how often you need to do water changes. THIS is the way we recommend your getting an API Master test kit.

Your cycle will be finished when the ammonia and nitrite have both spiked, then returned to 0 and the nitrate goes up to between 5-10.

Water changes also help reduce stress on a fish that is injured, and will help it heal. If you need to separate this one fish to apply medication, it needs to go into a quarantine tank. You shouldn't routinely add medications to the whole tank. Meds are also stressful, and should just be used with specific fish that are sick.....Good Luck

lisamommy

Thanks for the welcome and the advice!!

The nipped fin fish seems a little happier and more active today and he/she did participate in eating. Will his/her fin grow back or will he/she eventually die from the injury or carry on with the disability? (As you can tell I'm a complete newbie at this!)

Since my tank is still cycling - do you think that I should wait to add the additional 3 serpaes or add them how to help out with the fin nipping?

Thinking further in advance - do you think a single male dwarf gourami would be a good addition? How about molly's? Thanks everyone - what a great board you have here!

Blub

MissMTS

Many times a fish with fins that have been ripped off or nipped will recover fine. I would keep a close eye on him. Yeah, I would definetly wait for your tank to cycle before buying the other serpaes. Otherwise, your fish could suffer from new tank syndrom as a result of adding to many at once. If your tetra is still being harassed, you could put in a tank divider and seperate him temporarily from the other two. Good luck and welcome to fishlore!

sirdarksol

Sorry, I didn't think about cycling the tank. Not sure why.
Yes, I agree with newbeefishlover and Susitna, wait until the tank is cycled. No reason to go overboard on the serpaes if you want other fish in the tank. Once it's cycled, 3 more will round out the school.
Otherwise, if you want a serpae-only tank, filling it the rest of the way would be fine.

Blub