My Lemonpeel Angel got trapped!

[karang]

Hey Guys,

On Friday morning i woke up and did everything i normally do before going to work and just as i was about to leave i noticed i couldn't see my Lemonpeel Angel swimming around like he normally does...

Sorry about pic, its a little old...

I also heard my overflow making a slightly different sound to what it normally does... As i looked into the bulkhead all i could was a little yellow tail sticking out... I immediately shut off all the pumps and started dismantling the plumbing down to the sump (i can do this coz i didn't glue the joins)... After several attempts to loosen the nut which holds the bulkhead in place i got my Dremel tool out and cut the nut off... I was then able to get the bulkhead out and have a good look at what was going on...

I placed the bulkhead with my Lemonpeel into a small bucket with some water from the tank... Thankfully he was still breathing...

I made every effort to try and get him out, but it was causing more stress, so i made the decision to cut him out... Using the Dremel tool, i made some cuts, but it was slow going coz the plastic was quite thick and the cutting tool i was using was melting the plastic back together... All this time he was out of the water because i can't cut under the water...

After about 10mins of cutting i was able to free him, but when he got back in the water, his gills weren't moving... My heart sank... I put my hand in the water and swished it around, but it didn't look promising...

I need to get a new bulkhead and some pvc so i went to my local hardware store and bought a few things... When i returned home, i checked on my Lemonpeel and his gills were moving, but he was laying on his side... I swished some water around and he immediately corrected himself and swam around a little, but then sank to the bottom... With some more swishing of the water he was up and about...

I setup my quaratine tank and put him in with an airstone and he looked happier... He was still very dopey and slow, but he was moving and breathing...

I went to my LFS and bought some antibiotics and put that into the tank to stop any infections (unforunately he lost quite a few scales on one side and im sure the near death experience and stressful too) and it has turned the water a nice pinky colour...

Pic of antibiotic used

After the this whole ordeal, i'm happy to report that he is swimming around and seems to be back to normal...

My main concerns are:

1. How long do i leave him in the antibiotic water?
2. Should i be performing water changes on the quarantine tank?
2. How do i re-introduce him back into the main tank safely?

Thanks...

 

[maroun.c]

I think you should be running checks and doing water changes on Qt tank water quality. unfortunatly your tests will not be really accurate becasue of the existing colour cast in the water but it could give you and indication if anything starts to go wrong. I would do water changes from display tank evrery 1-2 days.
I used to put the fish in Q tank and then take it out to a small bucket with AB mixed in or take it out to feed it some food that was mixed with AB Solution (crsuh the SB pill and mix it with little water then let the food stay in this solution for a while before feeeding.) that is if the fish is still eating. Make sure no medicated water is returned to the tank with the fish. Still many people do medicate inside the Q tank to lessen the stress of taking th fish out 2-3 times every day. Some AB are known to be less harsh on the filter bed.
I would leave him for few days till the wounds recover and he's swimming and eating normally.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[karang]

Awesome, thanks for that... I was thinking that i might start doing water changes to start slowly removing the antibiotic and then when its time to move him back to the main tank to transfer him to a bucket for a few hours... Hopefully when i move him into the main tank, there should be very little if not no antibiotic being transferred to the main tank...

So far he is doing really well, hes eating and is basically back to his old self...