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Post by fishfever on Mar 17, 2010 19:30:05 GMT -5
I know fish sometimes try to squeeze through tight places but this is the first time one got stuck on me. I have seen mollies swim through loops (like the handles in the pot decoration). As they grow bigger they do a little twist while swimming if the loop is tilted so they can fit. And when they think they are too big to fit, they stop and turn away. This platy wasn't so smart. This happened in my 10g fry tank where I have about 20+ platys (all male) and 2 mollies (both male) left from my slow growing group or with slight deformities. All the normal and faster growing ones (around 200) were given away and a few females were kept in the main tank. I always look to see who is eating (in case anyone is sick) and that's when I noticed him. Here he is stuck half way in a hole in the cave: i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss25/fishfever/Platystuckindecoration.jpgI believe the little cave thing came from a 2.5g hex tank which is only used for a hospital tank or isolation now. The edges on the holes are actually quite sharp and I hadn't noticed this before. I gently lifted the piece up and tried to give him a gentle nudge both directions but he was really stuck tight. After several tries by giving his tail a gentle twist (he's less than 1" long) I was able to get him freed by pulling him back inside the cave. I immediately removed the cave and won't be using it anymore. He went to the bottom and has been spending most of his time there (probably in shock, he was probably stuck in there all day and possibly some of yesterday as well). Here he is with his skin stripped off in the middle where he was stuck: i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss25/fishfever/Freedplatywithdamagedskin.jpgI added Melafix to the tank and hopefully he will recover or at least suffer less if he doesn't make it.
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Post by Carl on Mar 18, 2010 9:44:04 GMT -5
Sorry this happened fishfever.
I have also seen this happen with a variety of fish, sometimes the fish is being harassed/chased when this occurs.
I think the Melafix was a good idea.
Maybe direct application of Methylene Blue (or bath with MB/salt), but I would wait for a day or two to see how he does with just the Melafix and time to "de-stress"
Good luck
Carl
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Post by goldenpuon on Mar 18, 2010 15:25:24 GMT -5
I had a similar experience with a female betta. She was in a 4 gallon with a few other females. I found her stuck in a plant decoration and she was missing skin. She had cottony growth all over her.
When I got her out, I recall her laying on the bottom on the 1 gallon I put her in to seperate her out. She seemed to be more active and doing better in time. However, despite treatment, the cottony growth (saprolegnia or cotton wool) ended up killing her.
I would recommend a bath in MB for your fish. Also, WATCH out for cottony growth such ad saprolegnia, cotton wool, and fungus. These will be quick to infect open wounds.
Last, the level your fish is injured and stressed will be GREATLY affected by the amount of time the fish was stuck as well as if the fish was hurt while you were pulling it out. The less time it was stuck, the greater chances of survival.
Hope my experience and advice helped. Best of luck Fishfever!
Renee
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Post by fishfever on Mar 18, 2010 19:01:35 GMT -5
Thanks for the input guys. Today I took a closer look at him and the skin is stripped away in kind of a circle around his body covering maybe 270 degrees or so. It is pretty wide also, probably from his struggling and possibly some from me having to tug and twist him a bit to get him unstuck. He did come up to eat today (didn't yesterday) but when he isn't eating he's staying away from the others on the bottom. Probably a good idea since the males like to play house with each other as if there were still females in the tank.
I think I will try the bath this weekend or even sooner if he stops eating. Main concern is any kind of infection with no slime coat to protect the area. I think there are some things that can help promote a better slime coat; I'm not sure if Prime is one of them but will check the bottle.
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Post by babygeige on Mar 18, 2010 20:08:50 GMT -5
Oh that poor little guy! At least you were able to find him and help him! I've had a few of my fish scrape skin off, probably swimming too close to the lava rock I have in the 30. Melafix and some Stress Coat had them healed up pretty quickly, although their damage wasn't as extensive as your poor platy. Good luck! Keep us posted!
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Post by Carl on Mar 19, 2010 9:25:47 GMT -5
I'm not sure if Prime is one of them but will check the bottle. Yes, Prime stimulates natural slime coat production, as does Start Right ad some other products. As BG noted Stress Coat helps add an artificial aloe slime "bandage" on fish Increased salt levels can also stimulate slime coat production. Carl
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Post by fishfever on Mar 20, 2010 15:40:56 GMT -5
Yes I saw on the Prime bottle that it promotes the slime coat and I also have a bottle of Start Right (that has been rarely used). I noticed that second on the Start Right ingredients list is Aloe Vera so I put a little bit of Prime and a little bit of Start Right in the tank together with some extra salt plus the Melafix. Today the poor little guy seems to be doing better, swimming with the others and not spending so much time on the bottom. I still may try a MB/salt bath over the weekend just as a precaution.
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Post by Carl on Mar 20, 2010 17:28:58 GMT -5
It seems as though he may make it Start Right's main active ingredient for slime coat generation is Allantoin which has been demonstrated in non fish studies to promote healing including wounds and abrasions. My personal experience has been very good with Start Right, actually better than Prime or Stress Coat for this type of use (I still prefer Prime for other uses). This admittedly is an observation with no controlled tests to back this up. Carl
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Post by babygeige on Apr 7, 2010 21:07:48 GMT -5
Hey, fishfever! I read sammiesam's update on her yoyo loach and it reminded me of your little platy.
Was he able to recover from his shock and injury?
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Post by fishfever on Apr 9, 2010 17:14:54 GMT -5
BG, he is doing fine and the tissue seems to be nearly repaired (although it is still somewhat light in color). But he no longer stays at the bottom of the tank so it's harder to pick him out. The only thing I did was use Melafix, Prime and Start Right for a few days and that seems to have been enough to make him recover.
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Post by Suzie Q (Lori) on Apr 12, 2010 11:10:43 GMT -5
hmmm thought I posted on here... Sorry to hear your Platy got stuck but GLAD he is doing better!!!
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Post by goldenpuon on Apr 12, 2010 15:21:06 GMT -5
That is great that your platy is doing better! Hope his/her color fully returns to normal.
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Post by fishfever on Apr 12, 2010 17:06:34 GMT -5
Thanks everyone, the funny thing is today I noticed another one with similar markings so I believe he also had gotten stuck in that cave before (but freed himself). But he is also doing fine other than the light colored stripe that goes around his middle.
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Post by goldenpuon on Apr 14, 2010 16:22:27 GMT -5
That is very interesting. I have a goldfish with a dark orange/almost red line that appeared one day out of no where(the fish itself is also gold). The fish was not caught in anything that I knew of and didn't seem to be stressed at the tim it appeared
However the mark seems permanent. You have a valid point about the mark on your platy being from it being caught in something. I never thought it might be from an injury. On the contrary, that particular fish is very healthy but has a few genetic defects to who knows...
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Post by babygeige on Apr 16, 2010 19:00:55 GMT -5
I'm glad the platy is doing so well. That was a nasty scrape!
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