Dottyback Fins Shredded?

[Cole_Voeller]

Hello all!
So yesterday I purchased a fish I’ve been wanting for a long time, a baby Springeri Dottyback. I also purchased a Firefish (with the assumption that the Dottyback would be too young to be aggressive to the adult Firefish. Anyway, I put the two into a bucket last night after I got them to begin Tank Transfer Method. Checked on the two after getting back from classes just now, and the dottybacks top fin has become absolutely mangled. I find it hard to believe this damage would come from a Firefish, but I have no idea so he is now in a breeder box. All that is in the bucket is the two fish, an air stone, PVC pipe (edges aren’t very sharp), and a heater. I accidentally mixed up my 100W heater with a 50W, so the heater was way stronger than it needed to be, but the water is still only 78 degrees. It almost looks like his fin is just melting. I’ll attach a screenshot as well as a video of what the damage looks like. Can anyone give me any guesses as to what happened, and if there is anything I can do about this? Don’t want my brand new baby to have to look like this.

 

[Sharkbait19]

What are your params? Is the dotty acting off at all?
Are there any pumps it could have gotten caught in?
Hard to imagine a firefish doing that - I’d monitor for now and see if it gets better or worse.

 

[Cole_Voeller]

What are your params? Is the dotty acting off at all?
Are there any pumps it could have gotten caught in?
Hard to imagine a firefish doing that - I’d monitor for now and see if it gets better or worse.

Salinity is 1.025, ph is 8.2, it’s newly mixedsaltwater, so 0 everything. Using a dose of prime each day to detoxify water as well. He seems to be acting fine. He’s eating, plenty active. He did seem hesitant to go near the Firefish at one point, but I’ve never seen a Firefish be aggressive, and the damage doesn’t look like bitemarks anyway. No pumps or anything he could have gotten caught in. The Firefish fins are all completely fine.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Salinity is 1.025, ph is 8.2, it’s newly mixedsaltwater, so 0 everything. Using a dose of prime each day to detoxify water as well. He seems to be acting fine. He’s eating, plenty active. He did seem hesitant to go near the Firefish at one point, but I’ve never seen a Firefish be aggressive, and the damage doesn’t look like bitemarks anyway. No pumps or anything he could have gotten caught in. The Firefish fins are all completely fine.

This is not a parameter issue especially so quickly nor shredding which would have done much more that the tip of tail.
This clearly shows aggression and question is what tankmates you have with it.
In addition to catch the culprit- set your cell phone on video mode for about 45 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a jerk at feeding time.
Review the video and see who it may be

 

[Cole_Voeller]

This is not a parameter issue especially so quickly nor shredding which would have done much more that the tip of tail.
This clearly shows aggression and question is what tankmates you have with it.
In addition to catch the culprit- set your cell phone on video mode for about 45 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a jerk at feeding time.
Review the video and see who it may be

The only fish in the bucket are the Dottyback and the Firefish. I have them separated now so the Dottybacks fin can heal. If aggression is the case, should I just exchange this Firefish for a new one? I’ve never seen a Firefish be aggressive, but I don’t want to risk putting him into a tank after he’s done with quarantine just for him to harass other tankmates. Is there anything I can use to prevent infection so his fin can heal up as best as possible?

 

[vetteguy53081]

The only fish in the bucket are the Dottyback and the Firefish. I have them separated now so the Dottybacks fin can heal. If aggression is the case, should I just exchange this Firefish for a new one? I’ve never seen a Firefish be aggressive, but I don’t want to risk putting him into a tank after he’s done with quarantine just for him to harass other tankmates. Is there anything I can use to prevent infection so his fin can heal up as best as possible?

Before exchanging firefish- do the video trick to confirm its indeed not the firefish.

 

[Cole_Voeller]

Before exchanging firefish- do the video trick to confirm its indeed not the firefish.

Can I leave the Dottyback in the breeder box for that? Or should I let him out once more? I’m sure it would be harder to spot the Firefish attacking at the Dottyback if he was in a breeder box, but I don’t want his fins to get torn up any more.