red tailed shark tore some scales on first day

[Jaymz_Eric]

Hello, i'm new to the forum as of tonight. Today i purchased a red tailed shark and added him to my 10 gallon with 3 tiger barbs i already had, they got along great, no fighting or anything. But i havea ceramic root/ cave thing that unknown to me has a tiny tunnell for realyl small fish to swim through. At first i thought my shark jumped out of the tank when i didn't see him for a few minutes then he came wiggling out of the tiny hole and started floating weird. I first noticed his tail was not read anymore, almost a clear color, then i saw that on his underbelly and sides were a white ish color, like his beautiful black scales had been scratched off. He's acting normal now as if nothing happened, but i'm worried about my lil buddy. I'm loosing the ceramic thing in the morning, but is there anything i should do to treat his wounds? Thanks for any help

 

[TCTFish]

If the water quality of the tank is in good shape (no ammonia or nitrites and low nitrates), the fish should heal fine. You can add a little dose of Stress Coat. Any decorations with sharp edges should be taken out. Keep an eye on the scrapes to watch for signs of infection which would include swelling, redness and/or red streaks, and/or fuzzy like growth.

The fading of the tail's color is a sign the fish is stressed.

BTW...how long has the tank been up and running with fish in it?

Also...it will end up being too small when those fish grow. Tiger barbs get 3" and that red tail shark can reach about 4" to 6". They are also active fish so they should be given ample room to swim. They do get along just fine until the territory starts to become smaller because they're getting bigger. You'll either need to change the type of fish you keep to smaller species or prepare a larger tank in the near future.

 

[Jaymz_Eric]

i took the rock thing out and smashed it with a hammer outside lol and i just bought a new bottle of stress coat, i appreciuate the help, do you think he will go back to being all black?

 

[TCTFish]

Once he heals up and feels more at home...the color will return. Don't forget...he's still the newbie of the tank so being in a new environment can also be stressing. Give it time How long has the tank been up and running with fish in it?

 

[lyquidphyre]

You might want to turn the lights out for the night to help him "calm down"

 

[Jaymz_Eric]

the tank was ran for two weeks without fish in it, and the barbs were in there for about 2 weeks when i added the red tailed shark, the people at www.thatfishplace.com suggested it might be his "fright" pattern and that everything was ok, wish i wouldn't have smashed the rock thing now, it was so cool lol Heres something intresting for you guys to think about though, the pet shop i bought them at, claims they have no idea what the PH levels for the barbs and red tailed should be, but yet they suggested i bring my water in weekly for testing, like i trust them now lol