Well not really a Hair cut, more like a Fin trim!!
Recently I undertook the Care of several wilds from my friend Francisco as he is moving. This is a temporary assignment , but one that I take very seriously as Francisco has put much time into rehabilitating these fish. The fish in question were very bad off when he got them, and though much much healthier... they bear the scars of their early neglect prior to being rescued by Francisco.
Having done some fin trimming in the past, Francisco and I discussed the potential applications of this radical reconstructive surgery... and it was decided that I would try to Undo The damage that had occurred by fin rot.
I picked one moderately disfigured fish as a test case. If all goes well I will do the others as well. Francisco has given me permission to document the regrowth here, so I will post pictures as the fish heals and we can then see how well the procedure worked.
First I selected the fish.. a heckel with moderate fin damage. Next I set aside a sharp scissors, and set it soaking in rubbing alcohol. Then I layed out some wet paper towels to lay the fish on, and carefully netted the test subject. With the fish layed out on the paper towels , I carefully trimmed the fins below the damaged area. The Tail also was trimmed to remove a bad split. The whole procedure takes only a minute or two, The fish is then replaced in the tank..
Here is a photo of the fish prior to the procedure...
Last edited by brewmaster15; 09-04-2007 at 01:41 PM.
Well, at least you can cut straight ;D I'd hate to see that fish if I tried doing it.
I've thought about trying this procedure with a female veil angelfish I have. Her mate chewed her fins off and they've not regrown like I wanted them to. Based on how the experiment goes, I may do that with her as well.
my little mana i got back had fins like that..from having flags.
i medicated him....or her...and now her fins are all grown back. and her colour is good. its been about 6 weeks now. she also grew.
but i have heard of people doing this..at least they look neat and tidy. ;D
Want a job at the grooming salon?
Al I think you done a great job on the fish. Is the Discus in any type of medicated water, maybe using a little Melafix wouldn't hurt and may speed up the growth process.
George
Maybe a little further clarification here would help. These fish will not heal on their own. Severe fin Rot can permanently disfigure a fish by creating scar tissue. The fish in question here have healed the best they could without any further intervention. The damage that was done occurred months-years ago.
Will it work in all cases?.. its probably better in younger fish. Is it necessary to the health of the fish...probably not, unless the scar tissue opens them up to similar infections in the future. Your Guess is as good as mine here. But if a superficial trimming of the fins can allow the fish to grow to its true potential , it may be well worth it, imo. poor human care created this condition, Proactive human care may reverse it.
as a side note. There is no medication in the water, though salt or melafix may help prevent infection and aid in healing.
also as a side note... This should never be done if there is an active bacterial infection in tank, or on the fish, as you can open the fish to a serious bacterial infection.
take care,
al
Last edited by brewmaster15; 09-04-2007 at 01:45 PM.
I have mentioned before that IMO fins like that are symptomatic of stress & internal parasite damage causing nutritional deficiencies ( untergasser, discus health p163)
IME cut spines will never regrow, tho the other fin tissue probably will.
good luck
DW