Injured Pearl Gourami

[David]

Hello all,

I'm hoping someone out there can help me out on this. I just recently
added 2 Pearl Gouramis to my 75G planted tank. At first both were
very skittish and would not come out while I was near the tank. After
a while they seemed to calm down and started to explore their new
home. It was only then that I realized that one of them is completely
missing his/her right pectoral fin. It seems to have been chewed off.
Being as I've only had them over night so far and the other tank mates
(5 Harlequin Rasboras, 3 Otos, 3 SAE's and a handful of ghost shrimp)
don't seem to be the culprits I'm assuming that he/she came that way
from the pet shop. I have couple questions though. Could any of the
other in the tank completely chewed away that fin overnight? The
"feelers" on both fish are perfectly fine and I would think that they
would be the first to go for nippy fish. Is there any chance it will
grow back, or even a portion of it? Do I have to worry about
infection or is this nothing to get really worried about? Am I wrong
to ask for a refund or another fish from the shop? Thanks in advance.




David

[NetMax]

"David" <David underscore J underscore Griffiths at yahoo dot com> wrote
in message ...
> Hello all,
>
> I'm hoping someone out there can help me out on this. I just recently
> added 2 Pearl Gouramis to my 75G planted tank. At first both were
> very skittish and would not come out while I was near the tank. After
> a while they seemed to calm down and started to explore their new
> home. It was only then that I realized that one of them is completely
> missing his/her right pectoral fin. It seems to have been chewed off.
> Being as I've only had them over night so far and the other tank mates
> (5 Harlequin Rasboras, 3 Otos, 3 SAE's and a handful of ghost shrimp)
> don't seem to be the culprits I'm assuming that he/she came that way
> from the pet shop. I have couple questions though. Could any of the
> other in the tank completely chewed away that fin overnight? The
> "feelers" on both fish are perfectly fine and I would think that they
> would be the first to go for nippy fish. Is there any chance it will
> grow back, or even a portion of it? Do I have to worry about
> infection or is this nothing to get really worried about? Am I wrong
> to ask for a refund or another fish from the shop? Thanks in advance.
> David

I don't see anything which could have done the damage, so it's safe to
say that the fish came that way. If it was born that way, then it's
movement might not be compromised at all. It doesn't really overtax them
to make the trip from one end of the aquarium to the other ;~) If it was
due to disease (ie: fin rot), then it would depend on how long ago it was
(in terms of it affecting his manoeuvrability). If there is any fin,
then there is a good chance for re-growth, but if it's just a stub, and
the other fins are fine, then I'd say the chances of regrowth are
significantly weakened.

You could contact the LFS. This does occasionally happen. I don't know
of an LFS who would decline to trade it, if you advised them right away.
After a few days, it's a tougher situation, and there is more discretion.
Consider keeping the fish. Your tank sounds like a non-aggressive
environment which would be suitable for the fish. Call him Lefty. The
next buyer might not provide as good an environment, or the LFS might not
offer him for resale, and it will be dropped into a Piranha tank the
moment you leave the store. I find that the odd defect or feature gives
them special character :o) jmo of course.

NetMax