# Help, I have a wounded fish



## WeavingFeathers (Feb 28, 2010)

Hey everyone, I'm obviously a beginner here. I've had a fish tank for awhile and there is one large female swordfish that is worrying me. She is very shy and wouldn't eat for awhile when I first got her. She is eating now, but a few days ago I looked at the tank and she had a big wound on the side! Now today I looked in and there is a chunk ripped off of her dorsal fin and one off her tail. I'm not sure if I should put her in the breeder or if that would just stress her out. There are two fish in the tank who could have done this: a male swordfish (he is WAY smaller though) and a longfin tetra (just as large).
Any help I could get would be wonderful!


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Well first things first. You need to separate her. I would not put her in a breeder box unless it is all you have at the moment. Another containers you could use are a Rubbermaid bin filled with water and has a heater in it. I use one of those for a QT tank since it will prevent me from wanting to use it as a permanent aquarium.

I would assume the tetra to be the nippy one. The male swordtails shouldn't hurt the females. Some tetras have been known to be nippy at times too. If the female is sick it is likely that the other fish are trying to kill her. Many times when a fish is sick, it becomes vulnerable and the other fish in a tank will kill it.

Regardless of the cause, you need to separate her. A little Melafix will help regrow the fins and hopefully help heal the wound.


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## WeavingFeathers (Feb 28, 2010)

I have a really nice breeder I could put her in, but she gets REALLY stressed out when I move her...


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

When you say breeder do you mean one of those 6 inch long breeder boxes or are you talking about a breeder aquarium?

Either way, she will be more stressed to have other fish around her while she recovers. It can help to cover the new tank in a blanket or wrap it in newspaper so it stays dark in there until she is used to the water.


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## WeavingFeathers (Feb 28, 2010)

It is a breeder box, but in my defense it is pretty large. :chair: 
What color should the wound be if it is healing?


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## Trillion (Feb 28, 2010)

I would agree that the tetra is the culprit. Tetras are a peaceful fish if they are kept in groups, but a lone tetra can be quite the bully. Is the tank large enough to add a couple of more tetras? If not, then its very likely that this will happen again.


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## WeavingFeathers (Feb 28, 2010)

I have been having problems with this group of fish and I can't figure out why! I kept several goldfish, danios, ect. and they were fine. Then I got the two swordfish, two tetras, and later two mollies, and two emerald green corries (not all at once). I lost one tetra, both mollies, and both corries! (Again, over a period of about three months).
I've been to stores and such, but no one can tell me why! Temp, water levels, all that is fine. I'm going CRAZY!!
:rip::shock:


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

WeavingFeathers said:


> I have been having problems with this group of fish and I can't figure out why! I kept several goldfish, danios, ect. and they were fine. Then I got the two swordfish, two tetras, and later two mollies, and two emerald green corries (not all at once). I lost one tetra, both mollies, and both corries! (Again, over a period of about three months).
> I've been to stores and such, but no one can tell me why! Temp, water levels, all that is fine. I'm going CRAZY!!
> :rip::shock:


Could be that the tank either wasn't cycled, or that you put too many fish into a young tank at once and the tank couldn't handle it. 
Have you gotten the actual chemistry of the water checked? Nitrates, ammonia, nitrites, pH, etc? 
Goldfish and danios are very hardy fish and can survive practically anything, which is probably why they didn't die. But once you added in the more delicate fish, *poof*


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## WeavingFeathers (Feb 28, 2010)

I have gotten the actual levels checked and they were fine. Also, I put in the recommended amount of fish, and slowly.
I think it might be the place I buy them from. All we have around here is Petco and Walmart. My Walmart's tanks are HORRIBLE!! Petco's look fine so I only buy from them, but still...


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

WeavingFeathers said:


> I have gotten the actual levels checked and they were fine. Also, I put in the recommended amount of fish, and slowly.
> I think it might be the place I buy them from. All we have around here is Petco and Walmart. My Walmart's tanks are HORRIBLE!! Petco's look fine so I only buy from them, but still...


Hmm... could be. We've had some fish die for no reason from both Petco and Petsmart. 
On the other hand, we have a "Walmart Rescue Fish" (We call her Wally Molly) and she is very healthy and had a batch of fry a couple days after we bought her. (No way she was giving birth in that nasty tank). We think she's a gold dust or a hybrid of one, since she has a white tummy and a black and gold spotted back.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

There does seem to be a lot of fish disease going around now and none of it is nice. I read a lot of "I got a new fish and 2 weeks (or 2 days) later all my fish were dead" threads lately. For all that adding fish slowly is great for cycling a tank, buying all the fish together might make more sense if you are buying from PetSmart and don't have a QT tank. Then, if they all croak within the guarantee period, you can get new fish after you bleach the tank.


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## Trillion (Feb 28, 2010)

You have goldfish in the tank too? This could be a problem. Mollies can be very senstive to the waste output of goldfish, as can tetras and all tropical fish. Is your ammonia absolutely at zero? When you say the levels were checked, did you check them yourself with a reliable test? If not, it could be that there is an unsafe level that the other fish have gotten used to (not that it wont kill them eventually), and the new fish were thrust into it suddenly and couldn't make it. Unfortunatly, I have seen this a lot. Let me tell you, when I worked at a pet store, I was never trained on how to read a water test and what it meant. Its very likely that if you are relying on a person in the store for your test, they could be completely wrong, and are probably using the lowest grade test possible.


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## WeavingFeathers (Feb 28, 2010)

I guess I forgot to mention that I waited for the goldfish to die and the tank to be normal before getting other fish (like I said, I at least no remotely what I'm doing...)
I bought Melafix and am dosing the tank according to the instructions on the bottle. 
My question now is how long do I keep the injured fish seperated from the others?


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## br00tal_dude (Dec 26, 2009)

I would keep her separate until the woulds look like they are closed up. Just my opinion but i would take the tetra back, but again that's just me i like sword tails better...


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## jrdeitner (Feb 7, 2010)

Some tetras are known to nip a little, but the reason yours is so violent is probably because it is alone. Almost all tetras are schooling fish which prefer to be kept in groups of at least 3, 5 or more is best though. I would suggest getting more tetras if your tank is
Big enough. You only need a couple gallons per tetra.


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