Gimpy Coral Beauty

[PufferGuy]

My LFS has a coral beauty that is in perfect condition as far as size, coloring, eating, etc. The only problem is that it has a chunk of one of its pectoral fins missing because it was housed innapropriately. He swims just fine but im kinda hesitant to get it. Do these fins grow back? Can this pose a larger problem in the future? The LFS has had the fish there for like 5 days and i just looked at it yesterday and it was fine. Any advice?

 

[JAG107]

I would pass on it and find a healthier specimen IMO. Coral beauties are easy to come by mostly

 

[Alexander]

Not usually a big deal. Fins always grow back no problem. Prob just got bit by an aggressive fish. Would be back to normal within a month. Make sure its eating fine and you are good to go.

 

[PufferGuy]

they do have a couple of other coral beauties there but they are all washed out in color and not in very good condition. Im just gonna wait and see how he looks tomorrow when i get there. Also, anyone have any good tankmates for it? I like active and colorful fish. 40gal fowlr tank.

 

[Bifferwine]

I also agree that it should be fine. Fins grow back. Red firefish are one of my favorites -- they are colorful, unique looking, inexpensive and active. A sixline wrasse is another good one, although some people have problems with them being aggressive towards other fish (not me, though). Green chromis are a good choice for that color.

 

[Marine88]

Fins normally grow back
But every time i get a coral beaty is fades and dies :sad:

 

[PufferGuy]

Any tips anyone have to keep this fish alive?

 

[yote]

Any tips anyone have to keep this fish alive?

Same as anyother fish.Good,stable water quality and a good diet containing mysis,some sponge and algae.Thats basically it.

 

[Alexander]

Sallys makes an angel and butterfly frozen that contains sponge. I feed it to my tank with my koran at least 2-3 times a week alont with a varied diet of other things.

 

[PufferGuy]

thanks for all the help, ill be picking him up this afternoon and ill try to get some pictures

 

[Keaton]

It's recommended that you add spirulina as a supplement to their diets as well. It's an algae which is high in B12 among other nutrients amino and fatty acids and such. That'll make him better. :)

 

[PufferGuy]

well he's in his new home now, i acclimated him for about an hour and set him free. He circled the tank a couple of times and then found his cave in the rocks. He's been in there for most of the day but he does come out from time to time to see whats up. I also got a pretty sweet looking Rock Crab today which hid in the sand within the first minute of being in the tank... i have a feeling i wont be seeing it much.

 

[PufferGuy]

he seems to be breathing faster than normal... i guess i dont exactly know how fast is normal but he looks like he is breathing pretty fast. What could be a cause of this?? At first i thought the water was not oxygenated enough but i have a maxijet pump at the top of the water making some pretty good sized ripples and my skimmer is also (unfortunately) making a lot of bubbles so i know thats not the problem. Parameters are ammonia, nitrite, nitrate all at 0 and ph at 7.8 - 7.9 ish

edit: Oh and also, ive had 2 peppermint shrimp, an emerald crab, a few snails and a few hermits in there for about a week and a half and they are all doing great.

 

[PufferGuy]

Anyone?? I dont wanna lose this guy... i double checked for ammonia poisening and i still got 0... and i pointed the powerhead more to the surface so now its making much bigger ripples. Anything else?!

 

[Bifferwine]

It's impossible to say. Maybe he's just scared from the move. Don't freak out just yet -- give him a while to adjust. Your water parameters sound fine.

 

[PufferGuy]

Could it be anything to do with calcium/alkalinity? cause i dont have tests for that. I thought shrimp were much harder to keep alive than fish so I assumed my water is fine since my shrimp have been fine for a couple of weeks.

 

[dustin_P74]

calcium and alk dont really affect fish so thats not the problem, whats your temp and salinity

 

[PufferGuy]

temp is right around 76-77 and salinity is 36-37 which im pretty sure is bad.... whats hte best way to reduce that??

 

[dustin_P74]

water changes with a lower SG

 

[PufferGuy]

i just went and bought a 5gal bucket of RO water and im slowly adding it in... this should work right?? About how much water is needed to make a difference in a 40gal? I know adding too much too quick isnt good since quick changes in salinity arent good for livestock.