[appletango]

Caught a small bass in my local creek the other day, was missing half of it's dorsal fin, the strange thing is there is no scar tissue and no sign of injury.

Could have happened when it was really young, or could be a random mutation.

Would like your input as to what could cause this??

Thanks in advance.

Andy

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[Biradallo]

You're not fishing the Noosa river?

Seriously though, sometimes this sort of thing just happens.

It could be a spontaneous mutation. That's one of the ways evolution occurs.

Fin deformities and absences common with highly inbred fish such as farmed salmon. With the way the bass fishery got flogged and the habitat was reduced, I'd expect that there is a degree of inbreeding in the population.

The fish looks healthy so it doesn't seem to have affected it's foraging.

I don't recognise your name, so if you're new, welcome to Scribbly
There's and introductions sticky if you feel inclined to tell us something about yourself.

[HaremShaih]

I can't shed any light on it either, apart from saying it doesn't appear to be caused by any damage when very small, as the skin and scales look fine. As Teleost say, probably just a mutation which could be "natural" (as opposed to being caused by polution or disease in the parent fish from where this fish was spawned).

And likewise, if you're new to these forums and not a refugee from the old place, welcome.

[appletango]

Thanks for the reply Teleost, I'm a long time lurker of all the ABC Forums.

I will put up an intro soon.

The fish came from the Northern Rivers area, but a common feature with this waterway and that of the Noosa river is there are alot of Macadamia farms along it's catchment.

Coincidence I think not!!

The pictures have been passed on to a Marine biologist , so we will see what he makes of them??

Cheers.

[HaremShaih]

The fish came from the Northern Rivers area, but a common feature with this waterway and that of the Noosa river is there are alot of Macadamia farms along it's catchment.

Coincidence I think not!!

The pictures have been passed on to a Marine biologist , so we will see what he makes of them??

Cheers.

I guess you probably released the fish? Pity, maybe the biologists would have been interested to examine it closely and a do a few tests on tissue samples

I recall there was a lot of debate a few years ago about the cause of deformities in bass of the Noosa, and Macadamia farms were a suspected cause that a lot of people pointed to. Not sure if any firm link was ever made, Teleost would know more.

This story contains a bit of info and there are links to some other good resources at the bottom of the page

http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/...mical-reaction

Nothing about bass in this thread, but since you fish, you may find it of some interest (and I'll pop in a link back to this thread).