Torn fin

[saltwaternoob]

I tried a search for several related words but nothing relevent appeared. My tomato has a torn fin on the right side. Is there a way to help him or will it eventually heal on it's own?

p.s. My blue legged hermits r killing my new Astrea snails for their shells. I just got 20 new shells of appropriate sizes. grrrrrrr
p.s.s. My green BTA is still shriveled and gross looking after 2 days, no idea if he is ok. grrrr
p.s.s.s. This tank stresses me out. I should have taken up sleeping as a hobby.

 

[blackjacktang]

It is the blue leg hermits. in my old tank they killed my clown.

 

[scsinet]

Crabs will kill snails for the shells. Do you have empty shells around? This sometimes helps.
If you just added the crabs, this happens a bunch at first. Once they are in nice roomy shells it will only happen periodically as they grow. I just add another 10 banger of snails every 6 months or so and all is well. The benefit the crabs provide for your tank is worth it.
Blueleg hermits are generally considered the most peaceful crabs around. I've personally never heard of them killing fish, but I certainly don't intend to claim it never happens.
Fins can get torn from anything... perhaps a hermit crab, but also rocks, a little scuffle with another fish, cleaner shrimp can get over zealous and do it accidentally too. Take no action; it'll heal in no time.
Unless a BTA starts to disintegrate, it's not dead. Give it time.
Stress? This is supposed to be a hobby. If you are fretting over the loss of livestock and/or associated costs, you better come to terms right now with the fact that saltwater fishkeeping is expensive and time consuming, but incredibly rewarding. Things do die. If you are doing the best you can then you have nothing to be stressed about. There is nothing quite like watching your fish thrive in the piece of ocean you've created.

 

[saltwaternoob]

the tomatos and the blue legs have been together now for over 3 months. The 10 snails I just added are new. I am not stressed at all about the cost, I have already put $2k into this tank. I have over 20 empty shells in their for the crabs. The stress is from wondering what will live within the first few days and what won't.