Fish jumped out of tank

[Todd2]

Today my tank finished cycling, so i got a Zebra danio. I acclimated him to my tank and he looked healthy and was swimming around. Then I went out to dinner for about an hour and when i came back i noticed one of my fish was missing. I looked in the tank and couldn't find him so i started looking on the floor, then i found him behind my dresser. I have a hood on my tank so the only thing i can think of is that he jumped out of the space where the heater is. Hes currently in a bowl of water and is swimming around gasping at the surface. It also looks like hes got some carpet fibers on him. What should i do? euthanize him or try to save him? Any help would be appreiated.

 

[Tigerlily]

Any reason he can't go back in the tank? The water in the bowl might not be as healthy for his recuperation as the already cycled tank water is. Besides, water that has some movement (filtered in your tank) to it will have more oxygen than still water (in the bowl), if he is having trouble breathing...

I've heard stories of people who thought their fish were dead, but then put them back in the tank, and although a little worse for wear, they lived a long time after their carpet surfing incident. Me? I would give him some time to see if he can reacclimate himself.

Hope he makes it!

P.S. I have the holes in the back of my hood for my pipes and hoses covered with cut-out pieces of old tupperware lids, held in place with packing tape... Gotta cover those holes! Fish can be sneaky buggers :?

 

[An t-iasg]

I saw another topic where a fish jumped on the carpet. What they did was coat their hand with Stress Coat and very carefully and gently pull the fibers away. If you have a slime coat enhancer/dechlorinator, that will work. Stress Coat is one brand, Novaqua is another. Net the fish out of the bowl and very carefully coat your hand/fingers and try to remove the fibers. Then get him back into the tank. He may not be his normal self for awhile, but hopefully he'll recover. Good luck!

 

[madasafish]

Yeah, I was gonna recommend the same. AlliV is a little wary of these agents, as she says they irritate the fish's skin to encourage slime-production. Nonetheless, the stress-coat or whatever brand you choose is probably a good idea. And if the bowl water isn't water from your tank, think about scooping some tank water out and putting it in there.

I gotta say that I'm amazed this fish survived. You must have come back at THE right time. There is a chance for survival, but I've seen gaspers... that may not be a good sign

IME fish that jump are a) natuarally prone to such an act (e.g. hatchetfish) or b) getting the new-tank jitters or c) trying to get away from toxic water. How high is your ammonia level? This may be driving the fish to jump. It sounds like they're low, though, if you've cycled the tank. I found this out the hard way, though!

Good luck, Todd!

 

[LondonGman]

What they did was coat their hand with Stress Coat and very carefully and gently pull the fibers away.

My sister swears that StressCoat saved her ill goldfish. I still secretly use it as a water conditioner even though it may not be popular on these forums. Try it, if only for its “placebo” effect.

Placebo = A substance containing no medication and prescribed or given to reinforce a patient's expectation to get well.