# Risk from tail nipping?



## Shrimpette (Feb 17, 2015)

I recently got a new female kribensis to keep my lonely male company as his original mate had to be removed due to hole in the head.

This new krib is *much* smaller than my male, and I thought if there would be any trouble, it would be from him picking on her.

But the new girl is feisty as heck. Sometimes they hang out together just fine, but other times she's been chasing him and nipping at his tail. This afternoon I could see visible damage and decided to separate them. She is temporarily in a breeder box while we give the male a chance to recover and catch his breath!

My question - how much of a risk is he at? She has just nipped the point off and he doesn't appear to be suffering or affected by it. So should it just repair itself and grow back on it's own, or is he at risk for infection of some sort? I don't want to medicate unless necessary, but if he's likely to get infection then I'd do what needs to be done.

He's always spent most his time poking his head out from within a flower pot cave, so I can't really judge how he's doing based on activity level. Even getting a glimpse of his tail is difficult - it was easier to see when they were together cause he'd come out more (sometimes as friends and sometimes as victim of her nipping).

Also, do I keep them separated or is this just a case of kribs being kribs and I should give them a chance to work it out? She's occasionally chasing and nipping but doesn't seem to want to murder him - sometimes they appear content to hang out together.


----------

