Fish injured in pump intake--please advise

[kelp47]

The short story: The smaller of my two clown fish got stuck in the intake of the HOB filter last night. I am really surprised he even made it through the night, but he's swimming around fine this morning. But... he does have the scales scraped off a good section of one side, and his fins are a bit tattered (but seem to work okay). What type of treatment is best for helping to heal these injuries?

The two clown fish have been in a 10 gal QT for about a week and a half. They are doing well and have bonded, though I might need to treat for internal parasites since I've spotted occasional white feces. But I don't think that's the urgent situation here.

(I know this is completely my fault, and I feel terrible for it. After I had cleaned and dried all of my QT supplies, I forgot to put the cap back on the intake of the HOB filter.)

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[kelp47]

By the way, I have on hand MelaFix and KanaPlex. Will either of these be a good treatment option? Any others?

 

[kelp47]

Top photo is his bad side. Bottom photo is his good side.

 

[tidus10]

i would just keep an eye on him.. or do a simple iodine dip for him to ward off any infections.. but he really doesnt look all that bad..

 

[Newsmyrna80]

How is the fish breathing, acting, swimming and eating before and after the incident? IME a fish doesn't get pulled into a power head unless it is in a weakened state of health. Watch him closely for signs of infection and be prepared to treat immediately. Also keep the water pristine as infections can easily occur, do not do anything to cause him stress and feed him vitamin enriched food.

 

[kelp47]

Thanks for the feedback. I gave a 50% dose of MelaFix before I left for work because I wasn't sure what to do. But I'll hold off after that if you don't think I need to do any preventative treatment. I'd rather only give medicine when necessary.

He really was acting fine before the incident. He and the other clown had really started to bond and he was acting, swimming and eating fine. I know it sounds like he must have been weak, but I really believe he just swam into the tube. The QT tank has privacy tint all on the back and sides, and the input is a small, black, horizontally-oriented pipe on the side of the HOB filter pump. I think he just had an unfortunate curiosity.

But... I haven't seen him eat today. I tried to feed them this morning, and he darted toward the food like he was excited, and swam around, but never ate. One of his eyes looks a little marred, so I wonder if he is having a hard time seeing the small pellets. He's not bumping into anything in the tank, so it can't be too bad. But I wonder if the small items are a problem for him. I have been at work since I posted the photos, but I'll be headed home soon to see how he eats this afternoon.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Could be a depth perception problem. If you can't get him to eat add something like Selcon to the water. Let us know how he's doing.

 

[kelp47]

Good news! The injured fish just ate well! No problems there. Thanks for checking in.

I also have noticed today that he is doing a lot of the "submissive male quiver" that happens during the bonding process. The female has charged at him several time, but doesn't seems to be nipping at his fins like she did before. It could be my imagination, but it almost seems as if they have a good understanding that he's injured, so she won't nip if he'll just give in.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I had already been soaking their food in garlic once a day, so hopefully his immune system is up.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

All good to hear!

 

[ThRoewer]

Maybe add some slime coat restorer like Seachem StressGuard as a preventive measure.

 

[kelp47]

That sounds like a good idea, and not too chemically. I'm glad you found me over here!

 

[kelp47]

My fish seems to be healing well except for one spot on his bad side. (See photo below.) I think it may be infected. The one spot looks redder than it was, and it appears to have a white spot in the middle, which I'm not sure is healed scales or a puss pocket. But what worries me is that it looks indented.

I have been dosing Seachem Stressguard daily since Saturday, which I think has helped speed some areas along, and I've soaked their food in garlic once a day. Also, since I saw more white feces, I've been giving them metronidazole. (I gave one dose Monday night and another tonight.) According to the website, metronidazole also treats bacterial infections.

I also have Kanaplex on hand, but I'm not sure if I can give the two together, or if it would even be beneficial.

Any advice?

 

[ThRoewer]

I don't know if it's infected. The white of the bands heals slower and sometimes doesn't come back completely white . At least that's my experience so far.

 

[kelp47]

Thanks for the information, ThRoewer. Also, he is still acting fine and eating really well, so I won't flip out just yet I am amazed at how quickly his dorsal fin is healing back up. I figured that would take quite a while. But it's been one week and it's nearly full again.

 

[tylersarah]

Metro is kind of harsh on fish, I'd suspend treatment and if the redness spreads use kanamycin in food to treat for infection.

 

[kelp47]

Tylersarah, what would you recommend to treat internal parasites? That's what I'm treating with the metro right now.

 

[tylersarah]

In other words as long as the fish is eating, take care of the infection first then tackle internal worms.

My preference for internal worms is Levamisole, sold online as pigeon dewormer, always dosed in a QT.

 

[nuxx]

I think he'll be fine. Just keep the diet up and watch out of infections

 

[kelp47]

I think he might look slightly better today, certainly no worse. So I'm going to keep on with stress guard and garlic-soaked food, and just keep an eye on him. Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[nuxx]

I think he might look slightly better today, certainly no worse. So I'm going to keep on with stress guard and garlic-soaked food, and just keep an eye on him. Thanks again for the feedback!

:thumbsup: