Repairing Fin Damage

[debbers]

Hi, any information would be appreciated...
My juvenile ocellaris clowns are settling who will wear the pants in my tank, LOL... I think they've got it figured out now!
However, yesterday they were bickering non-stop and this resulted in fin and tail damage. Will this heal on its own? Can I use something like Stress Coat that I use in my FW tanks? I did a search and found that Stress Coat isn't recommended for use with protein skimmers, but I'm skimmerless.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
~D~

 

[beth]

I wouldn't use anything like that in a reef tank. If they stop bickering, the fins should repair. Use a good supplement, like Zoe or Zoecon, on their food [soaking the food for an hr before offering it to fish.]

 

[j21kickster]

i have had very good results using Mela Fix in my reef- most minor fin wounds are gone in 1 week

 

[beth]

But, most minor fin damage is gone in one wk anyway wo treatment....

 

[j21kickster]

true- to degree of the wound- occasionally i have a fis or two devlop an infection on the wound- while treating w/ mela fix never a problem- i 4wheel drive goby had almost its whole dorsal fin ripped off by a cbs- after 9 days of melafix treatment it was fully restored- did i mention that is smells wonderful- eucalyptus scent to it-

 

[debbers]

Thanks for the replies!
The biggest damage is to the tail of the "female" (I guess you could call "it" a "her" now). Her tail has a little mouth-sized chunk taken right out of it. The male has slight rips on the bottom fins (I get confused... dorsal? anal? pectoral? whatever!).
I don't normally suplement the tank, but I soak their food in garlic about 1x week.
Should I just keep an eye on the wounds? And if I need to use this "mela fix", can it be used in the tank or do I have to remove the fish to a HT?
Thanks,
~D~

 

[j21kickster]

caudal?? mabye

 

[j21kickster]

it should get better if it isnt too bad- if it is taking a long time , you can use it in the tank or in a qt- i've done both

 

[debbers]

LOL, caudal... I need to go back and study my fish anatomy!! I swear I knew this stuff back when I was just a young pup in school!!
Thanks for the info... I'll sit tight and keep an eye on the little buggars!
~D~

 

[debbers]

Thanks Terry.
They've settled down now. I bought them young (about 1" in length) so that they would pair up. I did it this way after researching how clowns form pairs.
I think they are just to the stage where they're sorting out their sexuality, LOL.
The "female" still picks at the male a bit, but no further damage to the fins. The "male" has become very submissive and doesn't pick back... just kind of curls away, or to its side when the other fish comes at it quickly. Other than that, they seem to be calming down now.