# Silk versus Plastic Plants~Slit in tailfin



## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

I have had plastic plants from the beginning. I noticed the other day that my Black Moor had slits in the tail fin. Well I thought maybe that is the way it is suppose to be. Well this morning I noticed my fancy goldfish has several fine straight slits in the tail fin that wasnt there before. They are straight smooth slits sort of like someone cut them with scissors. I thought maybe it was my plants....but if so why is the tail fin just now getting slit? Alittle confused... So if it is the plants....should I get silk plants?







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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

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Here is a picture of the plants in the aquarium now.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

First of all, soooo glad you have them in a 55gal and that there are only two!!

Now, how long has the tank been up and running for, and did you let it go through the Nitrogen Cycle before adding the fish?

What are the parameters? (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH.) How did you acclimate the fish. It looks like you have 2 filters on the tank - so I'm guessing you have double filtration, which is what goldies need as they are super messy.

Are you noticing anything else? Loss of appetite, swimming funny, gasping at the top, any other strange marks on the fish? 

It's possible that sharp edges on plastic plants could cause damage to fish, but if you've had the fish and plants for a long time and nothing has happened until now, it's likely something else.

You could add some live plants to your tank if you wanted - they help with water quality. Java Fern and Anubias aren't generally eaten by goldies, and there are many types of each! (Needle Leaf Java, Narrow Leaf Java, Wendelov Java, Java. Then Anubias Nana, Anubias Nana Petite, Anubias Golden.) You could also try some duck weed - it grows fast enough that it should be able to keep up with your fish nibbling on it. Anchor the Java's and Anubias plants to drift wood and rocks, because they don't do well with the rhyzome buried.


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

Its been up and running since Jan. This year. Its a 37 gallon and there are three goldies. They re not adults yet. I plan on getting a 75 gallon. I started out not knowing about the cycle and used cycle when i did find out. Toxic ammonia is .002pm nitrate 5pm nitrite 0pm ph 7.2pm temp 73.


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

Eating good active and fins standing tall.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

simplykayla76 said:


> They are straight smooth slits sort of like someone cut them with scissors.


Are the slits running from the base of the tail to the tip? Because of the bones in the tail it is the natural way they will tend to tear. Have you noticed the fish chasing each other at all? I've seen fish get this through nipping from other fish or they might be catching themselves on sharp edges while running away. If the edges look clean it seems like it is a tear, if there is any sign of white or black edges, fuzziness, etc it is more likely a water quality issue.


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

No from the tip of the tail headed towards the body. the only time i see fancy being chased is during feeding time. as far as i can tell there are no sharp edges anywhere but I could be wrong...


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

The ammonia isn't really high - although it should be at 0ppm - but you could try partial water changes to bring it down. Do you know if the cycle is done? I'm guessing no, since there is still ammonia present.

Sorry, I thought I saw somewhere that it was a 55gal tank. Yeah, definitely upgrade to the 75g as soon as you can. 

What is your water change schedule like? With goldies you should be changing at least 50% of the water once a week. (More often when the tank is overstocked.)


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

I had been doing a pwc of 50% every other week but i have read so many comments of needing to do a pwc weekly. the only time i have ever had 0ppm ammonia was when i first started the tank and when i changed all the gravel out. i am wondering if i have to much gravel and if maybe that is causing me to have ammonia or that i am doing a pwc bi weekly. Or maybe i need to rehome one of the goldfish...


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