sparring injuries

Once again I feel bad I hadn't upgraded my filter sooner. Tank looks so much cleaner- the water very clear. Fish seem happier- there has been lots of spawning going on and my kuhlis are very active. Even more significant, this persistent what-looks-like-fungus that some of my cherry barbs always seemed to have, disappeared now. It was never enough I felt motivated to treat the tank with meds- just a few pale patches on some of the fish- but very noticeable that suddenly its all gone. They look great.

There are a few minor injuries from all the sparring going on.

The smallest male barb has lost pieces of his tail and dorsal fins again. However I think it will heal quickly- if you look close can see already new clear tissue is filling in.

It hasn't all all damped his interest in flirting (wisely he keeps to the back of the tank- probably to avoid the bigger males).

And this female has a very tidy piece missing from the center of her tail. It's such a clean piece, right from the center of the tail, I wonder if another fish caused the injury.

Was it possibly a shrimp? They are the same size as the barbs, now.

Best closeup yet.