Will these fins recover *detailed photo*

[cb1021]

These torn fins started developing in a few of my Stendker Discus when water quality was poor (due to organics, heavily planted tank).

I tore down the tank and now doing simple substrate with a few potted plants to maintain water quality.

Will these fins recover fully to be perfectly robust edge and round? If not, I won't put them in main tank, if yes, I will.

[LizStreithorst]

The fins will recover as long as the hard rays are not involved.

[cb1021]

The fins will recover as long as the hard rays are not involved.

Hi Mama bear

Do you know how long it takes. Assume clean water and feeding light once a day. The top Discus is a sub-adult. The bottom Discus is the size of a CD - adult.

[LizStreithorst]

I don't know. It happens slowly over time. Have patience. I'd feed the Discus normally (3 times daily) and keep the water clean.

[RogueDiscus]

I don't know. It happens slowly over time. Have patience. I'd feed the Discus normally (3 times daily) and keep the water clean.

+1
I bet you're looking at 6 mo to a year, but they should grow back if conditions are good.

[LizStreithorst]

Thanks Steve.

[Second Hand Pat]

Liz is totally correct about the hard ray. Once broke they do not grow back. The damage here appears to be all soft fins and there is a faster way. I am going to ask Ryan to step in this thread and describe how he trims the soft fins.
Pat

[Ryan]

Trimming soft tissue is easy and it almost always grows back well. I have had lots of discus come in with ragged fins on imports and I trim them before selling.

Sterilize a sharp, small pair of scissors with something like rubbing alcohol, hold the fish with one hand in a net, and trim a few millimeters above the splits to remove the damage and the scar tissue.

Place the fish in very clean water and keep them clean during healing. Mine got large water changes every day. New growth should be noticeable in a couple days and most of mine were already healed within a couple weeks and ready for sale. After a month you shouldn’t be able to notice it at all, except for the occasional faint mark where the old and new growth meet. This probably disappears with time as well.

[brewmaster15]

Trimming soft tissue is easy and it almost always grows back well. I have had lots of discus come in with ragged fins on imports and I trim them before selling.

Sterilize a sharp, small pair of scissors with something like rubbing alcohol, hold the fish with one hand in a net, and trim a few millimeters above the splits to remove the damage and the scar tissue.

Place the fish in very clean water and keep them clean during healing. Mine got large water changes every day. New growth should be noticeable in a couple days and most of mine were already healed within a couple weeks and ready for sale. After a month you shouldn’t be able to notice it at all, except for the occasional faint mark where the old and new growth meet. This probably disappears with time as well.

Agree 100% with Ryan here. Somewhere on the forum theres a thread called "heckel haircut" where I documented the cut and regrowth over time.

al

[brewmaster15]

found it..
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...eckel-Hair-Cut!!!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Agree 100% with Ryan here. Somewhere on the forum theres a thread called "heckel haircut" where I documented the cut and regrowth over time.

al

Here's is Al's thread http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...Heckel+haircut.
Pat

[RogueDiscus]

My experience is with a large adult I used to have. I had taken him out to measure him, 7+", and in the process of turning him out of the net back into the tank, I clipped off half his tail fin, like the bottom half, not all of it evenly. I never did anything and over a long time, it grew back without any scars. I'd heard about the trimming technique, but never used it. Great if it helps the fins look better sooner. I kind of think of them like finger nails or hair or something. They grow out continuously and the ends kind of define themselves.

[cb1021]

Wow awesome. Thanks for all the advice.

If I don't trim the fins, will it grow back round or still jagged but larger? I'm not in a rush but do want them to be perfectly round again eventaully. Prefer not to trim.

[Ryan]

Wow awesome. Thanks for all the advice.

If I don't trim the fins, will it grow back round or still jagged but larger? I'm not in a rush but do want them to be perfectly round again eventaully. Prefer not to trim.

They will always look the way they do now unless you trim them. There is scar tissue there which will prevent them from growing out normally.

[RogueDiscus]

So I guess my experience doesn't apply because what was cut off was cut off cleanly. The experts have spoken.