# dont know what this is (pics inside)



## PYRO ZOOTS (Aug 23, 2008)

i hope it's not a major thing but on one of my p's is something that looks like a gash on its lower lip. i dont know the water params at this moment but i use stress coat and did a water change a little over two weeks ago. i had the fish for a month and a half and the fish themselves are a little over a yr old. as far as this p's behavior he has a little cave that he always stays.he'll come out when it's time to eat or when i turn on the tank lights and if another p comes in the cave and kinda boots him out. the tank is to small for all three its a 20 high but im working on getting a 55 gal within the next couple of weeks. i included the pics of the little guy. the third to last pic is all 3 of them and a side shot of his lower lip he's the one on top. the last pic is of the left side of the tank and behind the stone is where he stays. thank you in advance for any help.


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## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

Keep up on your water changes.. 2 weeks for a water change in a smaller tank with 3 reds isnt good. Well 2 weeks for a water change period isn't good. Put it this way I have one Elong that is 4 inches and I do 2-3 water changes a week. It looks like just a little cut. Wouldnt worry about it to much. Add some salt they will be fine. Might have got into a fight with the other one in the second pic. Looks like he has a small scrape on his lip also?? IDK.. just a guess. They look pretty healthy though!!!


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## PYRO ZOOTS (Aug 23, 2008)

lo4life said:


> Keep up on your water changes.. 2 weeks for a water change in a smaller tank with 3 reds isnt good. Well 2 weeks for a water change period isn't good. Put it this way I have one Elong that is 4 inches and I do 2-3 water changes a week. It looks like just a little cut. Wouldnt worry about it to much. Add some salt they will be fine. Might have got into a fight with the other one in the second pic. Looks like he has a small scrape on his lip also?? IDK.. just a guess. They look pretty healthy though!!!


thats actually a reflection off the glass. its the same guy. thanks a lot for the quick response. i try to keep them healthy and sometimes i think i take better care of them than myself lol. im gonna start doing more water changes. the reason why i havent been doing many water changes is because its a fairly new tank and i was told to give it atleast a month to let it cycle and than i can do as many water changes as i want. 
as far as salt goes is there a specific salt or any household salt is fine? thanks again!


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## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

I just use Mortons salt. Your supposed to let it cycle then add your fish. It wont hurt to do water chenges even though you are cycling your tank. Here is a link go to it http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=175557 read what Dr Giggles has to say. He is really good with water chemistery. I deff trust what he has to say about anything. Man reflections really play games on ya lol!!! No prob man..


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

Looks like a developing chinple to me. IMO if you keep up with the water changes and meds, he should be fine.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Looks like 2 fish taking a bite at the same food and one got nipped. Dont sweat it.


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

Little salt, some mela/pima. Nothin to stress.


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## ELREYDENJ83 (Jun 25, 2008)

keeping the water clean is a good idea, but dont go loading your water up with meds and salt just for a little cut on his chin. he will be fine. also do not use regular mortans salt, you should use non iodized salt.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

ELREYDENJ83 said:


> keeping the water clean is a good idea, but dont go loading your water up with meds and salt just for a little cut on his chin. he will be fine. *also do not use regular mortans salt, you should use non iodized salt.
> *


Why not.


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## PYRO ZOOTS (Aug 23, 2008)

i did a water change today and im gonna start doing more frequent water changes.
thanks to everybody for the quick replies.


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## ELREYDENJ83 (Jun 25, 2008)

Dr. Giggles said:


> keeping the water clean is a good idea, but dont go loading your water up with meds and salt just for a little cut on his chin. he will be fine. *also do not use regular mortans salt, you should use non iodized salt.
> *


Why not.








[/quote]

that is just what i have heard as a general consensus, however i also have heard that the levels of iodine in mortans salt could not harm a fish. however there are many types of salt that have a lot of addidives or flavors, so i always suggest using a pure non iodized salt that you can buy cheap at lets say walmart. But i know this has been brought up before and yes youre right mortans salt should be ok to use. what i really wanted to say was that just because the P had a little piece of skin ripped off of his chin , does nto mean that he needs to medicate or throw in a ton of salt. Good water conditions and tank upkeep and it will heal nicely.


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## Sanjo Eel (Aug 21, 2008)

I always see people advising others to "throw some salt in there" and I think this is generally bad advice, especially for someone new in the hobby. I'm no aquarium guru but salt is just not necessary IMO. 
That's just a little cut with weekly water changes & food it will heal in no time. Piranha are super fast healers anyway.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Sanjo Eel said:


> I always see people advising others to "throw some salt in there" and I think this is generally bad advice, especially for someone new in the hobby. I'm no aquarium guru but salt is just not necessary IMO.
> That's just a little cut with weekly water changes & food it will heal in no time. Piranha are super fast healers anyway.


Sort of agree with you for nips like in this post or small flesh wounds, but for ich and some other parasites as wll as bacterial or fungal infections salt is alot better than meds unless the salt doesnt do the trick.


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## badkarma2010 (Dec 24, 2007)

piranhas in general are very jumpy and easily startled. that is an injury and will heal over time. I do agree also that it is not always wise to just dump salt or other additives like melafix as a "cure all" for everything. this is an injury because of environment and the nature of the fish. lastly, not sure what you are feeding but i always recommend feeding small pieces vs large. i know that it's cool to watch them tear things up but during feeding is when a lot of injuries especially around the mouth area occur, by using smaller pieces they won't all attack the same piece at the same time and cause injuries.


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

I posted for him to add salt and mela/pima if the cut on the chin hadn't healed up or gone away. As far as salt goes, if used correctly, will not only help with minor wounds SUCH AS THIS it also improves gill function. Nothing wrong with any of those.


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

I think as far as salt is concerned he was saying not to use it b/c a lot of the "Senior" members here a while back said to be careful b/c a lot of table salt has dextrose and other additives.

I dont know what dextrose and the other additives would do?


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

I completely agree. I always avoid table salt because although 9 out of 10 times it is perfectly safe, there is always that one time when you don;t know exactly what is in it. API Aquarium salt is the only stuff I use.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

does one of them fish have his lips cut,,, looks like a white rimed lip piranha


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## PYRO ZOOTS (Aug 23, 2008)

badkarma2010 said:


> does one of them fish have his lips cut,,, looks like a white rimed lip piranha


no i am against lip cutting and wouldnt allow it.


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