Is this a disease or an accident?

[dory36]

I just now noticed my maroon clown has a piece of its tail missing. I know it wasn't there last night. Has anyone seen anything like this before?

 

[lefty]

I have a firefish in QT right now that has a piece of fin missing that looks very much like the piece missing from your clown's tail. My fish had that even before I got him, but I'm pretty sure it's not caused by any sort of disease. Do you have any other fish in the tank that might act aggressively towards your clown? It looks like either someone took a piece of it or it was injured on a rock. I wouldn't worry about it. It'll grow back.
-lefty

 

[andretti]

It could be the beginning of tail rot. The same thing happend to my Percula clowns, both of them! But it could also be from another fish nippin' at him. Hey Dory, last week you asked when my spring break began. Well guess what?? I have to go back to work tomorrow. I love teaching and I love my kids (most of them,) but I hate going back to work after summer, spring, and winter breaks...do you feel my pain??

 

[dory36]

I hope you're right, Lefty! This is my favorite fish and I will probably have to take a day off of work to recover if something happens to him!

I'm really hoping it was just a snag on a rock. My tank is pretty peaceful and I haven't seen any signs of aggression. He hangs out a lot near the rocks, so maybe one of them got him.
Hey, guess what Andretti? I have the day off tomorrow! I had Friday off, too!

I'll think about you tomorrow while I'm on my wild birthday shopping spree!

 

[lefty]

Fin rot is described as more of a fraying of the fins...not a clean, missing piece like in this clown's case. It's better to be safe than sorry though, so I'd keep an eye on him/her just in case.
-lefty

 

[marktg]

This has happened to my coral beauty 2 or 3 times...it always heals up fine. When it happened the first time, I improved the nutrition of the food I was feeding. I'm wondering if my CBS sneaks around at night and pinches my fish? Good luck.

 

[dory36]

Okay...this is really weird. His tail has completely healed! :notsure:

 

[lefty]

That's not weird, that's GOOD. Glad to hear it, Dory.
-lefty

 

[dory36]

You're right, Lefty! That IS good! I was just amazed at how quickly the tail repaired itself. If I lost a chunk out of one of my arms or legs, I'm sure it would take forever to grow back!