Facial injury treatment

[howmanyds]

What's the best treatment for a 1" pearlie occelatus who got into a lock jaw battle and lost half his face?

---> .(

I don't have a second tank so he's currently in the isolation box with a few shells. When I found him I put him in a cup with some tank water and a drop of prime, but I still need to get an air stone and external heater, so I didn't want to leave him in a bucket for long.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

whats the extent of the injury? lost jaw, split jaw, worse? Picture would help.

 

[xwing]

Last time one of my peacocks lost a fight badly I put in in a topowear with holes all over like a breeder tank within a tank. Because like you I don't have a spare tank i still cleaned it before work after work and right before I went or bed I guess I pic would help too

 

[howmanyds]

I think his lower jaw is still in tact. Not sure about the upper.

Looks like he's been in a Quentin Tarentino movie.

 

[howmanyds]

Hard to take pics with all the bubbles stuck to his box. I just did a water change.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

you werent lying about his face, Id euthanize theres nothing to help him come back from that im afraid.

 

[howmanyds]

Poor guy. He's one of the victims of the not-pearlie from my other post, if you saw it.

He's too big for anyone in my tank to eat. Should I just leave him in his box until he gives up the ghost?

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Thats up to you, if you can find the post where Hukit talks about humane euthanasia hes got a few good ways. I'll try and find it

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Just so happens theres a good link sticky'd on here http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/an-overview-of-euthanasia-73775.html

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Personally I do blount force, but the temp shock sounds fast and painless to me since I dont have clove oil on hand

 

[mistersprinkles]

I like clove oil. I've seen videos of fish being put to sleep this way and the fish does not struggle or thrash around, it just passes out peacefully. I don't think this causes them any pain or distress. Sort of like when you get put to sleep for an operation. No panic, no stress, no negative reaction. You just fall asleep.

 

[Rivers2k]

Sorry about your fish that stinks. I agree with euthenize. I prefer the freezer method. They say freezing to death is the best way to go for humans (not that I ever want to try it) so I figure why not fish. I put him in a bag of water the heart slows down and the fall asleep.

 

[howmanyds]

The article said if you drop a fish in half frozen water, it's instant and as painless as possible.

But this guy died on his own, so he's already in my veggie garden with the other meleagris that have been picked off by what appears to be a conspecific occelatus, which had been sold as one of the pearlies. (See my other thread for a pic.)

 

[Freakgecko91]

That looks a little too intense to be from another Shellie, are you sure it was them? Kinda seems like damage caused by the peacocks to be honest

 

[howmanyds]

I thought about that too, but I've actually seen the big shellie (brevis?) going after the pearlies on many occasions, bullying, etc. His jaw is plenty big to take a hunk out of the smaller ones. Besides, don't facial injuries usually come from jaw-locking? It seems to me that if the peacocks wanted to eat the pearlies they'd just gulp them whole, or try to, wouldn't they?