I have a 55 gal tank with incredibly spoiled (and a bit overweight) fish. But it's the dojo's fault! If they weren't so funny and affectionate between their toothless piranha like feeding frenzy, I wouldn't be so entertained and feed them too much.
Back to the problem. My absolute FAVORITE dojo became too big for one of the hiding shelters and got stuck! He must have been struggling to get out like there was a bloodworm just out of reach. He has a ring around his body just behind the front fin where the skin is badly damaged. And apparently someone took a few nibbles from an area in the back, either a birth defect or injury before I got him.
At first he just floated with tail in air like he was a java fern leaf and was very lethargic. I was sure he was dying when he didn't eat the bloodworms I tried to feed him. I came to the painful decision that he should be euthanized to save him from a slow, painful death. Then as if he read my mind, he started acting normally! He was resting on the sandy bottom, then would swim around as normal. My daughter (27 yrs old - mine isn't the only heart he stole) is begging me to try to save him, but I wouldn't know where to start! My time as a paramedic doesn't help me here. I see his missing skin and and can only think of infection and how painful it must be! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! If it's possible to save him, I would love to. There would be many happy hearts here. But if it would be too cruel to even try, I get it. I strongly believe in quality over quantity of life!
Back to the problem. My absolute FAVORITE dojo became too big for one of the hiding shelters and got stuck! He must have been struggling to get out like there was a bloodworm just out of reach. He has a ring around his body just behind the front fin where the skin is badly damaged. And apparently someone took a few nibbles from an area in the back, either a birth defect or injury before I got him.
At first he just floated with tail in air like he was a java fern leaf and was very lethargic. I was sure he was dying when he didn't eat the bloodworms I tried to feed him. I came to the painful decision that he should be euthanized to save him from a slow, painful death. Then as if he read my mind, he started acting normally! He was resting on the sandy bottom, then would swim around as normal. My daughter (27 yrs old - mine isn't the only heart he stole) is begging me to try to save him, but I wouldn't know where to start! My time as a paramedic doesn't help me here. I see his missing skin and and can only think of infection and how painful it must be! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! If it's possible to save him, I would love to. There would be many happy hearts here. But if it would be too cruel to even try, I get it. I strongly believe in quality over quantity of life!