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my silver arowana was being attacked and i noticed his was becoming more shy, so i sat near the tank for 4 hours, and i was thinking that since he was in the set-up with the other fishes for over 4months and no problems occured it had to be the new fish i added, which was my small white devil.(wasan't aware of his aggressiveness as this was the first time i added him into a tank with fish) and sure enough he took a swipe at him, so i took him out, and now he is in an empty 30 gallon.

anyway, my silver arowana looks as if he had some ripped scales, but since the trouble fish was moved, he has became"regular" again, how long will it take for him to regrow his scales?

diet- blood worms/crickets/color bits
tankmates-parrots,small bgk, oranged tail loaches.
ph- 8.1(alittle high for a S.A)
and he is the only top fish.

If my memory serves me correct scales have a growth patern like tree growth rings and each ring represents one year of growth. Now to answer your question using those facts the answer would be they never stop growing at all and to be fully replaced it would take a full life time. I have seen many fish in the wild where scales have been removed and they have never been replaced there is a scar where the scale was.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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*approx* 15 years ago or so, I healed up a piranha-wounded oscar in 3 months, using 100% pure aloe vera liquid, bought at the pharmacy. Melafix wasn't available then. It looked to me like the scales grew back also, no scars either, even the stump left of a tail completely grew back. This fish healed so fast and so well I couldn't believe my eyes.

To quarantine your wounded fish would be best.
Use Melafix to disinfect your fishes wounds. Follow treatment as directed on the bottle. Feed a good variety of foods, keep the water quality as clean as possible.

In 2 months the scales should at least be partially regenerated and the damaged area protected by a slime coat.
If so no worries. If not, pm me for how to treat using aloe vera. This is not a common approach but it definately worked for my fish.




The Amazon Nut...

Hi Bettachris
On 26th February I did a thread under The Hospital titled Stuck Fish. This is what happened. I have a Silver Shark that decided it would go into a log I have containing two holes at the front. Unfortunately he went in thru the big hole and tried to get out thru the smaller one, hence he wedged himself in.
I have to admit I felt awful as I knew he would die if I left him there. With tears in my eyes I knew I had to try and help him out. I gently gripped his head and put my other hand in the log and as I wiggled his head and pulled on his body I finally got him free. My silver shark now has a mark on top where he was wedged in and his scales came off his sides as I pulled him free. He was wedged in up to his dorsal fin.
Since that happened he has completely healed and I didn't have to use any antifungal medication.
zman gave me this advice:
"Scales Falling Off -- Loss of scales is usually due to a mechanical injury. Keep the water good and the fish healthy and they will grow back."

This info was found at
http://www.practical-pet-care.com/article_view.php?ver=33

Well it's been only 18 days and my silver shark is back to normal. This is what he looks like, I'm so happy he survived.
/:'

Attached Image:

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My Fish like swimming all day long,
They love my bubbles 'pop' on their bum!
http://photos.yahoo.com/shedevil_90