# Will a fish with nipped fins still live?



## fishn00b

Basically the title says it all. I have a Gold Gourami that had his rear fin totally bitten off by another gourami that just seemed to not like him. After removing the other gourami, I am left with the poor gourami with strands of his old fin left. I wanted to know if he will live and grow a new tail... and if there is anything I can do to help him out. I was thinking about getting Melafix to put in the tank to help him with the regrowing process if at all possible. Any ideas and imput are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.


----------



## maxpayne_lhp

YEs, I think so, with good care. My gourami was onced nipped by the nasty tigers but after a while, all was good ( well, after the tigers schooled up)


----------



## TheOldSalt

If it doesn't bleed to death or get infected, then yes, it'll live, and the fin will grow back a little bit.


----------



## fishn00b

My gourami isn't bleeding, and it doesn't seem to be infected yet, so all seems to be well. I shouldn't use any melafix or anything, just let it go it's own path?


----------



## fishfreaks

you can use melafix if you want thats fine.it will help with fin regrowth. is there any open wounds? if so your best bet is to use the melafix.


----------



## Cichlid Man

Some of the fin has been bitten off my the other gourami, but for all of it to sounds doubtful, stress has caused the fin to rot, and iscolation is the only way of repairing it.


----------



## Pareeeee

my serpae tetras, this past...oh...week i guess, have gone kinda strange in the head. they are nipping everyone, and now the same thing has happened to one of my neon tetras, except the neon's caudal fin is _completely_ gone. I have had this happen once before about a year ago with my flame tetra, and after a while his tail grew back and he was fine. Now, I'm not saying that you should just sit and wait to see if he is going to get better, I would ere on the side of caution and put in a med that fixes fin-rot - those meds most often will also _prevent_ the fin-rot from starting. And it's not a nice death for your fish if gone untreated - fin rot can get so bad that it can cause an infection right up to the body of the fish (kinda like gangrene i guess) and will sometimes cause the tissue to die right up to half the fish's body.

So, I would recommend that you use some type of Fin-rot medication.


----------



## judya

If it is bitten off, but no open wounds, I wouldn't add anything to the water. Sometimes the treatment itself just adds to the fish's stress level.
If it is fraying out and others are too, then I'd check the pH of the water, and make sure the water quality is good.


----------



## fishn00b

The water quality and everything was fine... but unfortunately he didn't make it...


----------



## mlefev

I'm sorry to hear that. It's always hard to lose one.


----------



## fishn00b

Tell me about it... I was really hoping he would pull through. He was really passive for a Gold Gourami, and I liked him a lot. But he's in a better place now.


----------

