Fish tail is shredding

My tiger barb's tail and top fin look like they are shredding apart. I have no clue why. I went to the store and they told me to use these tabs that cure a ton of fungal and bacteria infections, and I looked them up oon the internet and people have said they are good, but the tail keeps disappearing. So far no one else has got it so I'm guessing he may have something else besides a bacteria or fungal infection?

 

It may be fin rot, BUT I'm not sure. Before you start any treatment, you have to MAKE SURE what disease the fish has. You can go to the Freshwater Diseases board and there, you'll find a "Diseases Chart" on the top. Read it and compare the symptoms your fish has to the symptoms of various diseases on the chart. Once you've decided what disease it is, there should be information on how to treat the disease.

 

It could be a bunch of those things, and all but one were a fungus. So I bought fungus treatment and salts and will try that. But, I do have a cory catfish, will it kill him if I put the recommended amount in for a 20 gal tank?

 

Sounds like your fish probably has finrot. Salt is generally used in treating ich, not finrot, although it can be beneficial in any case. However, do not use salt if you have catfish in the tank. I have had really good success using Jungle Fungus Clear tank buddies to treat severe cases of finrot, and also a lot of people recommend Melafix, which is great because it is all-natural.
Turning the temp up to around 82 F also helps in fin repair.
It is important to figure out the root cause of the problem. More often than not, finrot is caused by poor water quality, such as overly high Nitrates. Be sure to test your water, and before treating do a nice big water change just to make sure it is nice and clean. If you find problems with your water quality, you want to correct them before you try to cure the disease. I hope your fish gets better, and be sure to ask if you have any questions, and keep us updated on your progress.

 

I watched them more closely and I realized the bigger tiger barb was eating his fin, it was too late for the one, and I gave another one away so the big one would not do the same to him. O well one left. He seems to be doing fine though.

 

Oh, I don't know why I didn't think of that. Tiger Barbs are really nippy. Do you have 6 of them, and if not do you have room for more fish? Keeping them in beg enough groups helps cut down on nipping. If you have a bully watch him carefully; if he is terrorizing all your fish you may need to get rid of him.