Can I somehow sedate fish before procedure?

[BarbaraT]

My Parrot Fish has the gravel stuck in it's gill and I thought it had skin grown over it but today I saw the gravel. I would like to take Innovators advice and get hold of Fin and remove the foreign object but she is extremely skittish and strong. Is there anything to put in the tank to calm her before going for it? Thanks in Advance

 

[p3purr]

There are ways to do it but I wouldn't try it without assistance from someone with experience.

Here's an overview of compounds used for sedation:
http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/aadap/PDF/WAS07%20Drug%20Session/1515%20hr%20Bowker%202mar07pdf.pdf
I know it's not aquarium specific info but it may be helpful in making a decision about what to use if you decide to do it.

 

[jsoong]

People have use clove oil to sedate fish. You should be able to Google some info on that. However, clove oil can also kill, so you need to get the dose right.

For my goldies, I use salt. At 0.9%, goldies gets very sedated after just a few minutes and are easy to handle. I don't know if that would work for your parrot fish.

To remove gravel from the gills, you'll likely need a real anesthetic. I doubt if a fish would let you get at the gills even when sedated (you can try, I suppose). For real anesthesia, you need a vet (or at least some medical type that can get a hold of anesthetics .... and some experience in ventilating fish .... just saw a science show where they use a powerhead to force water through the mouth & pass the gills to keep the fish "breathing" while anesthetized.)

 

[Innovator]

If it is stuck in the gills and there is absolutely no skin growing over it you can do as I stated before and hold the fish within a wet shammy (not paper towel, towel, etc) using tweezers to pry it loose. Anesthesia can be tricky and especially if just knocking out for shear minutes while trying to monitor sedation. Finquel (MS-222) would be best, but clove oil can be used. Either way you would need a separate qt tank with water from the main tank along with an airstone, another tank or bucket just for mixing the anesthetic. If surgery is involved then "tubing" the fish might be your best option and I always recommend a couple of helpers as this process is stressful.

Non-anesthesia would be more stressful, but if the gravel is somewhat easily obtainable it might be a faster option without risking under/overdose.

 

[kribbman]

wow fish surgery.......This sounds realy tricky, Ive been in the medical feild for a few years now and I can tell you this. Anesthesiology is one of the most demanding feilds in the medical profession. I wish you and your fish the Best of luck. If you can please give us a follow up of the ordeal, and Pics would be great too.

Just today I asked a question about using contraceptives on fish to stop them from spawning so much, Its interesting to see how clinical, and technical feeshkeeping can be..
Agian I wish you the best of luck and hope you are able to find the information you need.

 

[pat8you]

Quite and undertaking. Best of luck to you

 

[Purrbox]

I've actually seen a live demo of a fish being put to sleep and then revived. One of the more interesting presentations at our fish club meetings. It appears to be a relatively simple procedure if done properly, but a second pair of hands is highly advisable. If you can find someone that's done it before to walk you through it, that would be even better.

 

[BillD]

One of the guppy books I had showed a procedure using soda water, to sedate the fish so ragged tails could be trimmed. The active ingredient is CO2.

 

[BarbaraT]

Thank You For the Advice

We are out of town for the weekend and left Fin bright eyed and bushy tailed. I'll have to see if I can stomach wrestling her when we get back or research the suggested methods of sedation. Thank you all soooooo much and I will keep you posted. Barb