bangaii cardinalfish got stuck to a powerhead, now most of his fins are gone!

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Hi, my bangaii cardinalfish got stuck to the bpowerhead overnight, now he's not looking too good. His fins are pretty much completely ripped up. He was healthy and it happened overnight so maybe at night when he was resting he got caught. What should I do?
 

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Hi, my bangaii cardinalfish got stuck to the bpowerhead overnight, now he's not looking too good. His fins are pretty much completely ripped up. He was healthy and it happened overnight so maybe at night when he was resting he got caught. What should I do?
Can you isolate it to a hanging basket or a second tank?
Fish rarely if ever get stuck to a powerhead intake without having some other predisposing issue - a healthy fish can generally get themselves free. One issue could be that another fish first damaged its fins, and then it couldn’t get free. In other cases, the fish could be weakened by disease and floats against the screen and then the fins get chewed up.

Jay
 

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What are the tankmates? Generally a healthy fish won’t get sucked into the powerhead, so it’s possible there was an underlying issue, such as an aggressor chewing off the fins.
I agree that isolating it is a must right now. Fish have amazing regenerative properties, and as long as it is able to continue to get food, there is a good chance for survival.
 
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What are the tankmates? Generally a healthy fish won’t get sucked into the powerhead, so it’s possible there was an underlying issue, such as an aggressor chewing off the fins.
I agree that isolating it is a must right now. Fish have amazing regenerative properties, and as long as it is able to continue to get food, there is a good chance for survival.
Can you isolate it to a hanging basket or a second tank?
Fish rarely if ever get stuck to a powerhead intake without having some other predisposing issue - a healthy fish can generally get themselves free. One issue could be that another fish first damaged its fins, and then it couldn’t get free. In other cases, the fish could be weakened by disease and floats against the screen and then the fins get chewed up.

Jay
Yeah, its a goner. It's at the bottom of the sandbed rn and breathing heavily. Its not swimming. From what I saw the day before, it had all of its fins intact, nothing was being aggressive to it. It was hanging out with its mate (I got a mated pair) and the next morning it was stuck to the powerhead. The tanks mates are 1 clownfish, 1 other bangaii, 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 ywg, and a springeri damsel (super peaceful damsel btw)
 
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Can you isolate it to a hanging basket or a second tank?
Fish rarely if ever get stuck to a powerhead intake without having some other predisposing issue - a healthy fish can generally get themselves free. One issue could be that another fish first damaged its fins, and then it couldn’t get free. In other cases, the fish could be weakened by disease and floats against the screen and then the fins get chewed up.

Jay
Also I have another question - will a cardinalfish be ok on its own? Does it really care?
 

Jay Hemdal

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Also I have another question - will a cardinalfish be ok on its own? Does it really care?

Bangaiis are fine on their own - in fact they sometimes do better alone (no fighting).

Jay
 

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plus one, fish was too weak to swim against the current, and was dying beforehand.
Cardinal males are intolerant of each other. Females will form mixed schools with juvenile males and mouth brooding males. Adult males are very territorial. A 75 gallon, may have enough volume to house 2 male territories if the rock work is divided onto each side, with an open area in between, though I have not tried to house 2 males together.
 
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plus one, fish was too weak to swim against the current, and was dying beforehand.
Cardinal males are intolerant of each other. Females will form mixed schools with juvenile males and mouth brooding males. Adult males are very territorial. A 75 gallon, may have enough volume to house 2 male territories if the rock work is divided onto each side, with an open area in between, though I have not tried to house 2 males together.
From what I read, bangaiis have different jaw structures depending on the sex. Females have weaker jaws because they don’t carry eggs. From what I observed ai had a male and a female but that was my first time having bangaiis so yknow
 

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From what I read, bangaiis have different jaw structures depending on the sex. Females have weaker jaws because they don’t carry eggs. From what I observed ai had a male and a female but that was my first time having bangaiis so yknow
Yes, you're correct, I have looked at multiple pictures of males and females, and even with my own pairs, I still couldn't tell them apart. The male is suppose to have a "bull dog" jaw, but a thin male looked like a fat female to me. I have a log of my breeding, which can help you select your own breeders.
 
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Yes, you're correct, I have looked at multiple pictures of males and females, and even with my own pairs, I still couldn't tell them apart. The male is suppose to have a "bull dog" jaw, but a thin male looked like a fat female to me. I have a log of my breeding, which can help you select your own breeders.
I really have no idea how he died. I was feeding everyday with things like hikari squid, premium flakes and brine shrimp and it was definitley eating.
 

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