Hi there! One of my younger (~9mo old) mollies got wedged under a few of the substrate rocks and was trapped for ~1 week. I originally thought he was hiding (not unusual), until I noticed him routinely missing. I think he swam in between the rocks, but knocked one loose, thus trapping him in.
I carefully removed the rocks and he swam out. He was swimming a bit awkwardly and his right side appears to be squished a little. He was able to swim relatively well for being trapped and he ate food. I immediately added stress coat to the water and turned off all the lights for him to rest.
My question: I’ve seen that fish can recover from cuts with proper treatment, but this would be more internal if anything. Is there anything I can do to help him recover on top of the stress coat (salt maybe?)? Or do you think this will be a death sentence? Perhaps he is just swimming awkwardly due to being in an odd position for so long? The rocks, while heavier than the fish, did not appear to fully crush his body.
I also ordered smaller substrate and will be replacing it all ASAP so as to prevent this from occurring in the future.
Thanks all!!!
I carefully removed the rocks and he swam out. He was swimming a bit awkwardly and his right side appears to be squished a little. He was able to swim relatively well for being trapped and he ate food. I immediately added stress coat to the water and turned off all the lights for him to rest.
My question: I’ve seen that fish can recover from cuts with proper treatment, but this would be more internal if anything. Is there anything I can do to help him recover on top of the stress coat (salt maybe?)? Or do you think this will be a death sentence? Perhaps he is just swimming awkwardly due to being in an odd position for so long? The rocks, while heavier than the fish, did not appear to fully crush his body.
I also ordered smaller substrate and will be replacing it all ASAP so as to prevent this from occurring in the future.
Thanks all!!!
