External parasite? Or just accident?

[jeremywadejunior]

Hello all,
I was changing Junior's water today, and I noticed something on the front tip of his dorsal fin. I immediately freaked out, as it looks kind of like a worm. So I put him in a smaller tank to get a better look at him. He also appears to have a new brown/red patch on his back right before his dorsal fin begins. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a tare in his fin right where the "worm-like" strand is. So it could just be a small tare and not a parasite at all.

He lives in a filtered 5 gallon conditioned tank with plenty of plants and a few rocks (so it is possible that he ran into something that tore his fin and gave him a little sore on his back maybe...?). His water parameters look fine and he has been acting normal. Last night, though, I noticed his gill movement/breathing had gotten a little more dramatic, but not very noticably different.

I have posted some images, and I would appreciate opinions. Thank you very much!!!

[jeremywadejunior]

In the first image, you can see the torn-looking area on his fin. This was the image that makes me think it's just an injury to the fin.

In the second image, you can see the brown spot on his back right before his dorsal. It is not raised.

Last photo: look along the right side of his top fin and you can see the strand-like object.

Again, thank you for your knowledge and help!!!

[Sakura8]

How has Junior's behavior been? If he did have flukes on his fins, chances are he would be darting and rubbing and clamping. If he isn't doing that, then my guess is what you are seeing on the tip of his fin is possibly just a shred of fin. Fin splits happen all the time and sometimes the fin comes off, kind of like a human hangnail. As long as you keep the water clean, it shouldn't be anything to worry about.

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by Sakura8

How has Junior's behavior been? If he did have flukes on his fins, chances are he would be darting and rubbing and clamping. If he isn't doing that, then my guess is what you are seeing on the tip of his fin is possibly just a shred of fin. Fin splits happen all the time and sometimes the fin comes off, kind of like a human hangnail. As long as you keep the water clean, it shouldn't be anything to worry about.

I haven't noticed anything different in his behavior. Swimming and resting time are equally balanced, so I wouldn't say he's been darting or rubbing. What does clamping look like?
I keep his water really clean (at least a 50% change a week, in addition to filter), so I'm kinda leaning toward it just being a split fin...
What does it look like to you in the photos?
Thanks so much for your advice!!

[Sakura8]

If he clamps up, then his fins get really tight instead of nice and full. He'll hold them close to his body.

To me, judging from the photos, it's just a split fin. He looks very healthy to me, no signs of external parasites as far as I can see.

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by Sakura8

If he clamps up, then his fins get really tight instead of nice and full. He'll hold them close to his body.

To me, judging from the photos, it's just a split fin. He looks very healthy to me, no signs of external parasites as far as I can see.

Hmmm, his fins are full (not as full as when he's flaring), but sometimes they look more relaxed..

[Sakura8]

Here's a betta with clamped fins.



For a plakat, when they clamp up, their tail fin looks like a point.

[jeremywadejunior]

Oh, thanks! Since he is a plakat, it was confusing to tell whether or not he was clamping. But is tail isn't at a point so I think he's okay.

[Sakura8]

He looks okay in the pics. :)