Goby Fin damage

[Reef_Sea]

Hello all, today I woke up and notice one of my fish has huge damage to the tail fin. I have not noticed any aggression from other inhabitants (a bicolour blenny and two skunk clown fish) however I know the Goby’s mate has by accident in the past grabbed the tail fin when trying to eat sand.

Will they recover? Is there anything special I need to do? Thanks all

Sorry for the poor images trying to catch them was a nightmare

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello all, today I woke up and notice one of my fish has huge damage to the tail fin. I have not noticed any aggression from other inhabitants (a bicolour blenny and two skunk clown fish) however I know the Goby’s mate has by accident in the past grabbed the tail fin when trying to eat sand.

Will they recover? Is there anything special I need to do? Thanks all

Sorry for the poor images trying to catch them was a nightmare

There is mechanical damage seen here from likely aggression and may have developed into a fin ray issue. Should heal on it own with provided good water quality and diet however the aggressor needs to be identified,
What other fish are in tank with it?
If it gets infected, treatment in a separate tank would be Seachem Neoplex

 

[Reef_Sea]

There is mechanical damage seen here from likely aggression and may have developed into a fin ray issue. Should heal on it own with provided good water quality and diet however the aggressor needs to be identified,
What other fish are in tank with it?
If it gets infected, treatment in a separate tank would be Seachem Neoplex

Hey thanks for taking a look so other inhabitants are another yellow headed sleeper goby (the injured ones mate) that has in the past accidentally grabbed the tail in its mouth when grabbing sand (the injured one likes to swim right in front of the mouth) a pair of skunk clownfish that seem to be chill (the yellow headed goby’s sometime chase them away from the burrow) and a bi-colour blenny. Iv never noticed any amount of aggression bar the goby chasing away the clown from the den. Could it be from its pair accidentally grabbing its tail when scoffing sand?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey thanks for taking a look so other inhabitants are another yellow headed sleeper goby (the injured ones mate) that has in the past accidentally grabbed the tail in its mouth when grabbing sand (the injured one likes to swim right in front of the mouth) a pair of skunk clownfish that seem to be chill (the yellow headed goby’s sometime chase them away from the burrow) and a bi-colour blenny. Iv never noticed any amount of aggression bar the goby chasing away the clown from the den. Could it be from its pair accidentally grabbing its tail when scoffing sand?

Clowns and blenny would be my suspects

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes - it isn’t clear to me who could have made a bite this large, but it does seem to be a bite injury.
If the bones of the tail are unaffected, it will heal properly, but will take some time. If the bone has been damaged, the tail may heal with a notch in it.
The issue is - if this happens again, additional damage to the fin could become serious.