Split in lower lobe of caudal fin will not fully heal

[WakinAZ]

I have a large 9" watonai (long-finned wakin) who has a split in his tail fin that has never healed since I acquired him several months ago. It is split about an inch into a three inch long lower lobe. This is a big, active fish in the pink of vibrant health that spends a lot of time aggressively picking through the gravel on the bottom of the tank. I am pretty sure his activity level is contributing to his fin never fully mending itself.

I am now noticing that the upper part of the split is starting to curl inward and upward, further lessening the chances of healing. I have noticed, in general,
1) the longer a fin is the more likely it is to split.
2) the caudal fins of double tailed fish, being half as thick as their single tailed cousins (one ply vs. two ply)??, are more likely to split.

Thoughts, suggestions? Heat and salt - no help.

[johnatoranchu]

Hi Eric
As your fish is obviously otherwise healthy, I would suggest that you leave well alone. Don't treat the split as a health issue; no treatment is required. As you suggest, the fish is both large (old?) and active and therefore splits will normally take longer to heal than in smaller, younger fish but as your fish is so large I suspect that it will have the split permanently particularly as its growth seems to be exaggerating it with curling etc.
John

[WakinAZ]

Thank you for your reply, John. It's really more of an annoyance than anything. He is my current favorite fish and perfect other than the split.

I'm not sure of his age, but I'm thinking under two years. Perhaps Steve (Bekko) can enlighten us - it's one of his.

Cheers

[bekko]

If you're talking about #3811 then it should be just over two years old now - maybe 27 months. I remember refunding your money on for the smaller watonai which badly tore its tail during shipping but cannot remember how they were packed. Was the larger watonai in the same bag, or were they bagged separately? Was the bag lying down with the tied end to the side, or standing up with the tied end on top?

-steve

[WakinAZ]

Yes, #3811. It was not a packing problem at all, sorry if that seemed to be implied. He was bagged separately from the little watonai, but I cannot remember the orientation of the bag. If the split was there when I got him, it was nothing at all out of the ordinary - the kind of thing that happens when fish are bagged, netted or sometimes for no apparent reason and heals up on its own all the time. It has just never has healed.

He really is my favorite, great carriage and attitude. Of the 8 fish I currently have, 7 are from Rain Garden and I could not ask for a better source of good quality, reasonably priced fish. Thanks.