Large oranda injured

[yorkie]

Hi we have just had an accident in our tank, one of my quite large oranda goldfish has got sucked by its head onto the filter, I have rescued it but its orange hat bit is split , I really dont want to loose him any ideas to help save him. my husband wants to put rock salt in the water . I'd really appreciate quick suggestions thanks Helen

 

[melosu58]

Moved to the FW forums. This forum is for Admin and tech support.

 

[jsoong]

How big is the oranda? If it is big enough to handle, and the wound is deep or big, you might want to put a dab of polysporin ointment or betadine ointment on the wound with a Q tip. <I generally do not net my fish to handle or exam them. I would catch the fish in a small container with water, and restrain the fish gently with a clean wet towel. Some people have luck doing this in the tank. They gently retrain the fish with a wet towel in the tank & bring it up to the surface (like a sling), but never leaving the fish out of water completely.>

Don't stress about the ointment if you are not comfortable handling the fish, or if the fish don't co-operate. With most wound, clean water is what is needed to prevent infection. A little bit of salt may help, but only at 0.05% level.

 

[yorkie]

thanks he is about a 4inch body I have put him in a seprate tank with fresh water & sea salt 1 teaspoon per gallon , bless him he looks quite lost not being with the others, I thought I'd feed him high protein food & change the water in 2 days time.. god willing he is still with me. I should have just turned the filter off but panic got the better of me.

 

[jsoong]

Clean water & salt will do wonders. However, if your hospital tank is small & not cycled, you will need to do lots of water changes to keep the water quality pristine. With a 4 incher, if your tank is less than 10 gal, I would be doing daily 50% changes in the hospital. <I normally use a 30 gal tub as my hospital to minimize the need for pwc.> At any rate, it is good to check the water parameters daily to make sure there is no build up of ammonia & other toxins.

If the wound is not severe, it may be easier to treat the fish in your main tank (since there is no contagious diseases to contend with.) If the wound is looking good, you might just want to return the fish to the main tank after a few days.

BTW, to prevent future mishaps, you might want to cover the filter intake with a guard. (A plastic basket that you can get at the lfs.)

 

[kangster]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=276

 

[yorkie]

hiya thanks so much it is a filtered 10 gallon tank that the fish is in, the main tank does have a guard for the filter pipe but hubby hadn't put it on.. ITS on now!!, the fish seems to be less stressed so I am feeling more positive, I know it seems soft worrying about a fish but I have had him 3yrs Helen