Clown jumped out of tank...

Lawrence914

Premium Member
There is a small gap in the egg-crate over my tank to allow cords and the hob heater. Somehow, my small clown jumped out and ended up 5 feet below on the hardwood floor. I think the fact that the floor isn't absorbent carpet may have saved his life.

I found him on the floor in time, but I'm not sure how long he was out. He's swimming around, but not doing really well. He's acting like he's gasping and one fin isn't moving at all. He can swim, and eat, though.

Is there anything I can do for him? I can set up a bucket as a q-tank, if necessary. (My normal q-tank has two pyjama cardinals that still need two weeks of quarantine)

All the other fish in the tank seem fine and the water tested fine. I'm at a loss as to what to do... and he looks sad.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

kind regards,
Rusty
 
i would lower the flow in your tank if its heavy, and feed him more with extra nutrients. (garlic, selcon, hufa, etc.)
 
Hi everyone.

I would say good morning, but it really isn't.

My clown (false perc) has gone downhill a bit. He's still a bit pale. His tailfin is ragged and he refuses to eat. He's not following his buddy clown like he normally does. He might have a small scratch on one side.

On the good side, he's swimming well and eyes are clear and dark. He's stopped the continuous gasping.

I'm considering quarantine with maracyn-2.

Thoughts?
 
Well, he's moved into a 1.5g quarantine tank. Still not eating, even the favorites soaked in garlic.

I treated the tank with maracyn-2 and melafix. We'll just have to hope.

:(
 
Good morning, all.

When I moved him to the q-tank, he mostly hovered above the floor. Now, he seems to be swimming a bit better. Also, he ate a flake this morning. That's a good sign, I guess. There's no flow in the q-tank, just an airstone. I'll need to do daily water changes to keep things pristine for him.

While there's no continuous gasping, he's still moving his mouth more than I'd consider normal. I wonder if his gills were damaged when he was out of the water. I don't know what regenerative capability these little guys have.

More melafix this morning, and he'll get maracyn-2 tomorrow, per instructions on the bottle. I'll continue with a full week of treatment. Hopefully, he'll turn around fully.

I'll keep everyone posted. :)
 
Good morning, everyone.

A quick update on SuperClown: It's day 5 of treatment in the quarantine tank. He seems to have his color back, and he ate a normal amount this morning. While there is no current in the q-tank, he seems to be swimming okay. Both fins are working well and no abormal mouth movement.

His tailfin is still a bit ragged, but I expect that to heal in time. I'll keep him in fish-jail for two more days - then he goes back to the community tank!

I think this is gonna be a success story! :)

kind regards,
Rusty
 
Either way is is invincible.

I have a similar clown, but she has gone carpet surfing twice while I have been trying to catch her and she has been through every possible mistake a reefer could make and she has lived to tell the tale:)

There are some clowns that you just can't kill even if you tried;)

Great success story. That is deffinitly one for the books.
 
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