Ap. Cacatuoides Missing Tail Fins

[apistonewbie]

I’ve had someone taking care of my fish the past few months as I’ve been in school and couldn’t have them there. This person is very knowledgeable around fish but just got busy and we both noticed yesterday that my males tail is essentially gone. He knows more about fin rot than I do and we don’t see much of an indication of it in our opinions. The only other fish in there are Cory’s, one is quite large to be fair, so doubt in came from aggression. The filter was quite dirty and water a little hard but no signs of other issues in water quality. Anyone have any insights?

 

[MacZ]

Template for disease/parasite/death cases

This template contains the most important questions to be answered when dealing with sick or dead fish to find causes and advise on treatments. Please copy and paste into a new thread and answer the questions as precise as possible. Water parameters should be given in numbers. "Fine" or "good"...

apistogramma.com

Try filling out the template, provide some more good pictures (tank and fish) and maybe we find something you missed.

 

[MacZ]

The filter was quite dirty and water a little hard but no signs of other issues in water quality.

Btw: Usually you only touch the filter when the waterflow is starting to lack and even then it's a rough job, never a deep clean. You want the muck and bacteria colonies in there. It only gets problematic when there are anaerobic pockets due to lack of flow.
So for anyone reading here: Cleaning the filter is one of the last things to do when the fish have health problems.

 

[apistonewbie]

Btw: Usually you only touch the filter when the waterflow is starting to lack and even then it's a rough job, never a deep clean. You want the muck and bacteria colonies in there. It only gets problematic when there are anaerobic pockets due to lack of flow.
So for anyone reading here: Cleaning the filter is one of the last things to do when the fish have health problems.

I didn’t do a deep clean of the filter, just changed the pad as the flow was slowing way down, is that alright?

 

[KenL]

I didn’t do a deep clean of the filter, just changed the pad as the flow was slowing way down, is that alright?

I just squeeze out the sponges in tank water every couple of water changes. I never replace the sponges.

 

[MacZ]

Yeah, that's fine. Still, it doesn't have anything to do with you fish. It was just a side comment.