Damsel missing part of tail fin and acting weird

Hi,

I'm having an issue with my damsel fish. For the two weeks he's been in my tank he's been very active, eating well and seems very happy. However, for the past couple of days he's been acting strange. He has been staying and hiding in his "cave," where he usually sleeps at night. He was also breathing and moving his gills rapidly, but that stopped today. His fins and everything looked normal until tonight.

The status for today is that he started swimming around again and his breathing slowed back to normal. He also ate well. However, I noticed tonight that he is missing part of his tail fin. It looks almost like someone took a bite out of it. Well, the only other fish I have is a clown fish. Would a clown do this?

I'm also thinking they may have been fighting because my damsel will come out of his cave when the clown is swimming far away, but when the clown is close the damsel stays hidden in his cave. Also, when the damsel comes out he has all his fins erect and when he sees the clown he darts back into his cave. Another thing is that the damsel and clown would come to the feeding tube and eat together. But now the damsel stays lower in the tank and away from the clown during feeding.

Sorry for this long post, but I'm trying to get out everything I am thinking... For two weeks the clown and damsel got along fine; they would swim and eat together. They seemed like pals. I've only seen them squabble once, and it ended very quickly. But now I'm wondering if the damsel is/feels he's being harassed by the clown and that's why he's acting strange.

The damage in the damsel's fin does look like a bite mark, but I don't know. There is no visible fungus, rot, color changes, etc.

Any ideas what could be going on? Is there a sickness that can cause a chunk of the tail fin to come off, or could the clown be harassing the damsel?

I'll also add that my clown is acting totally normal and the water test I did turned out fine.

Sorry this is so long and rambling, but I'm really worrying here! Thank you for any help!!

 

kcbrad

it does sound like a battle has taken place with the damsel finishing second best
they often fight when your not watching

these types of skirmishes can either be isolated incidents or they can become a long term problem.

possibly a battle for a certain part of the tank (territory) and if the Damsel accepts its place in the pecking order, normality can be resumed

watch the damaged fin for secondary infection like fungus
other than that monitor their behaviour

serious aggression/ dislike can often lead to seek and destroy missions, where the aggressor is not only content to ward of its competition from a specific area, but actively seeks it out and harrasses it continually

if this becomes the case , one or the other will have to be relocated

Steve

 

Thanks a lot for the reply. They seem like friends, I can't believe my clown would be so mean! ;-) Do you think that it would help if I rearranged the aquarium?

 

Kcbrad

re arranging the tank decor can help reduce territorial issues but IME , that does not always help

if is a minor skirmish, territorial dispute or to establish pecking order, then the chances are it will be one or 2 isolated incidents and eventually harmony will be established

but when one fish decides it does not want another 1 around its more personality than territory

I would just monitor the fish, if they seem to be getting along leave them

Steve

 

Thanks a lot!