Royal Gramma Fins Tattered

[Wrecktangle]

Hello there! Sorry for the slightly blurry/blue images, they were the best I could get with this little guy constantly trying to hide. I have a system that’s about 4 months old and a royal gramma that was added a little more than a week ago. Since addition, I’ve noticed his fins beginning to look tattered, along with a small white dot on his tail. I have a few hermits, so I didn’t know if it was possibly an opportunistic hermit, or something else. There are no signs of aggression from tank mates, with a relatively peaceful fish collection (aside from the chromis my boyfriend so desperately wanted).

Any ideas?

Water parameters:
1.025
NH3: 0
NO3: 0
NO4: <1 (Carbon dosing & Chaeto refugium)
dKH: 9.5
Calcium: 460
pH: 8

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello there! Sorry for the slightly blurry/blue images, they were the best I could get with this little guy constantly trying to hide. I have a system that’s about 4 months old and a royal gramma that was added a little more than a week ago. Since addition, I’ve noticed his fins beginning to look tattered, along with a small white dot on his tail. I have a few hermits, so I didn’t know if it was possibly an opportunistic hermit, or something else. There are no signs of aggression from tank mates, with a relatively peaceful fish collection (aside from the chromis my boyfriend so desperately wanted).

Any ideas?

Water parameters:
1.025
NH3: 0
NO3: 0
NO4: <1 (Carbon dosing & Chaeto refugium)
dKH: 9.5
Calcium: 460
pH: 8

Not seeing any abnormalities but again, light is very blue to clearly see.
Can you post a couple of pics under white lighting ?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

What other fish are in the tank with it?
Jay

 

[Wrecktangle]

Not seeing any abnormalities but again, light is very blue to clearly see.
Can you post a couple of pics under white lighting ?

Alright, sorry about that. Here’s a better photo. He’s in the tank with a Christmas Wrasse, Clown, 2 Blue Chromis, Carpenters Flasher Wrasse, Longnose Hawk Fish, Yellowhead Jawfish, and a Diamond Goby.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Alright, sorry about that. Here’s a better photo. He’s in the tank with a Christmas Wrasse, Clown, 2 Blue Chromis, Carpenters Flasher Wrasse, Longnose Hawk Fish, Yellowhead Jawfish, and a Diamond Goby.

That does look like tankmate aggression, at least on the anal fin. The spot in the center of the dorsal fin is an odd area to get bitten - the attacker would have had to come down on the fish and bite it right there. Most bites are on the trailing edges of the fins. Just off the cuff, if the Christmas wrasse has any size to it, that might be the culprit. You'll likely never see it happen. This fin damaged could have been caused by just three separate bites, each taking a split second. In addition, this most often happens when people are not in the room watching the fish.

Jay