I have a fancy tailed comet who is 5 years old. He has had a black place on his dorsal fin that looks like it was torn. It's been there for quite a while but I've noticed tonite that another one has appeared in the middle of his dorsal fin. Can someone tell me what it is and how to treat it?
He lives by himself in a 35 gallon tank with a Penguin Bio filter. Lately, the bio wheel has not been turning. His chemicals are in great shape. I feed him mostly dry flakes with occasional peas and shrimp. I just did a good cleaning in the tank because it was overrun with green algae and it worked for a day. Can anyone advise me on that situation as well?

Let me know if we can download pictures and I will post one of Oscar.

Thanks bunches! :)

After a fin is damaged or torn, the dead tissues usually turns black. That can be a good sign meaning that the fins are healing. I suggest using aquarium salt (a tablespoon per 5 gallons) and MelaFix by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals to aid with healing. If the fins seem to become infected, then antibiotics may be needed.

Torn fins can result from physical damage (other fish, not in your case; sucked into filter intake; spawning, not in your case) or bacterial problems (fin and tail rot). With the fin and tail rot, the fins will look kind of white, a little fuzzy, and raggety. Physical damage doesn't look infected, at least not initially but bacteria or fungus can take advantage of the damage.

You should try to get your biowheel moving again. Sometimes it won't turn if it's hitting against the lid, algae, snail shells, pleats that have come off the spokes, etc.

You can post a photo here that is already on a web site somewhere. There are many sites that let you put up photos. Once the photo is on a web site, while typing a reply, click on "IMG" and enter the URL (web site address) of the photo. Then, once you "Add Reply," the photo will appear in your post.

As for the algae, my page on aquarium algae is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/algae.htm
For a lot of algae to grow, they need nutrients (such as fish waste) and light. Does natural light hit the tank at all? How often do you clean the tank? I suggest weekly 30-50% water changes with gravel vacuumings. That will help if you clean less often.

Good luck!