Fish Fin Problems

[fishieluver]

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My mom just bought a placostomus (I do hope I spelled that right) into my freshwater tank. She also bought me a shark and he was sitting in the plastic bag adjusting to the temperature and he was freaking out because he didn't have enough room. Well my mom let all my new fish out into the tank and the placostomus was still attached to the bag and nothing was in it. She shook him out and he seemed a little scared and went straight to the corner. When he finally moved I noticed that his fin looked like it had been ripped out and is just barely still there. I don't know much about fish but does anyone know what could happen to his poor fin?

 

[Menagerie]

I see you found the correct forum for your Q. I answered in the other forum anyway, and will repeat it here.

First, Welcome to Aquarium Advice!
Are you sure the fin is ripped? I would be surprised that a plastic bag could do such damage. Plecos tend to stay in sheltered areas--they are notorious for hiding, not to be seen for days. If you are worried about the pleco, place him in a QT tank (if you have one) so you can monitor the damaged fin. If you do not have a separate tank, watch the pleco closely. What other fish are in your tank and how big is your tank?

 

[fishieluver]

Sorry about that! I didn't realize there were so many forums lol. Um...I'm not positive exactly how big it is because it was put in without my knowledge. I have three sharks (not positive what type yet...I'm working on it though) and I've got two ghost catfish as well as some bright orange fish that I can't remember what they're called. I'm new at keeping a fish tank and so I honestly have no clue what I'm doing but they all seem to be fine except for my poor pleco. For some reason I'm attracted to the plecos so I begged my mom to let me have him. The fin isn't exactly ripped...it's the first one on his right side and it looks like it was popped straight out of his skin. Pretty gross really.

 

[Menagerie]

If this is fresh, there should be blood and an open wound. Was the pleco bleeding? Is the fin still attached? If the wound happened a few days ago at the LFS, there would be an open would, but no blood visible. This maybe an old wound if you can see skin developing over the area and you do not see any open sores. (FYI--The fin you are describing is the right pectoral fin.)

How large is the tank? Common plecos can grow quite large over time and the "sharks" (depending on species) have the potential to be a foot long. Since you are new to the hobby, I suggest reading what you can on caring for your fish. Get some books out of the library and try to identify all your fish, that way you will know how large they can get and proper diet. The internet is helpful, but can also be VERY unhelpful and contradictory.

 

[Menagerie]

BTW--there are many, many plecos out there. I have a common pleco that is currently 7 inches in an 80 gal tank and a rubber lipped pleco (fully grown) who is maybe 3 inches in the 29 gal.

 

[fishieluver]

my pleco is about 7 inches maybe less and he's a leopard...there is still blood around the wound but I'm thinking it may be older than I originally thought it was. I am working on finding information about caring for my tank and fish but I had no idea that I was even getting fish...and they just keep coming. However I do know that my tank is large enough to hold my larger shark once he is full grown but right now he's probably about 8 inches.

 

[fishieluver]

BTW I asked a friend of mine who has been keeping a freshwater tank that is very successful and she's got two leopard plecos. When I told her about my fish (when I remembered what they were...I have a short term memory problem sometimes) and she told me that my pleco is abnormally large. Second opinions?

 

[fishieluver]

My tank is about 30 gallons and it's a community tank

 

[Menagerie]

I would not worry about the size of your pleco, that species could grow to 10", so he's an older fish. I would tell those around you that you are not interested in getting any more fish until you finish getting more information on the fish you already have. You can quickly overstock your tank that way!
Here is a link that allows you to calculate how many fish your tank can hold based on how large your fish will get: http://www.craigcentral.com/mystuff.asp

I just tried it and it was informative--I already knew my 29 gal was overstocked, but I had no idea by 177%!!! Luckily, I am in the process of obtaining a 50 gal tank for those fish. My 80 gal is 90% full.