Fish Injury 911!! Need some advice

[pachuco2k]

4 1/2 months into my tank and I have my first fish emergency. I came home from work today and saw that one of my fish had managed to wedge himself in one of the orifices of my coliseum decoration. I thought he was dead at first but I saw that he was still fish "breathing." He wedged himself so well that my attempt to gently pull him out did not work. I could not pull or push him without meeting some resistance. Or rather, the force I would have needed to get him out might have killed him. Well, I eventually got him at a good angle and slowly and as gently as possible pulled him free. He is now free but has a pretty severe looking gash on his left side. Take a look at the pictures I've attached. I don't have a QT and probably won't be able to get one until this weekend maybe. Right now he's swimming around OK but i can see that he has either lost, or has folded in his pelvic fins. He looks pretty bad but I'm hoping he will pull through. Any advice on how I can best care for him? Will his side heal eventually? What should I do? Help!! BTW, he has three friends but one has always been a bit aggressive. I'm hoping the guy lays off of him for awhile. This just happened about 1/2 an hour ago.

 

[Fruitbat]

No pictures attached, pachuco2K. What kind of fish is it?? Unless it is a Betta you might consider getting some MelaFix and dosing the tank. The stuff is supposed to be pretty good for helping wounds to heal. Keep an eye on the injury for any signs of a fungal infection and be prepared to deal with it.

 

[pachuco2k]

Pics

Whoops, too big. OK, lets try this again. Here are views from both sides and the crevice that did the damage.

 

[pachuco2k]

The infernal crevice!!

 

[pachuco2k]

Well, I woke up this morning and found the fish belly up attached to my filter's strainer. Apparently the trauma of yesterday was too much. I have another Red Tetra in there that's the same size. I think I'll wait on putting that decoration back in until it grows some more. Later!

 

[Allivymar]

Aw I'm sorry pachuco; only saw the pics this morn and had no time to give a decent answer. I think you're right; he likely hurt himself too badly and wasn't able to survive. Sucks tho

And I agree with keeping it out of the tank; maybe the decoration would look better on a shelf?