Fish Jump Head Injury

[DBradar3]

Hello everyone!

I recently got two little mollies, a male and female, placed the other day in my 20 gallon to join a julii catfish and orocinclus. They've been energetic, exploratory, and good to each other. Second day, I just returned to the tank after 15 minutes and the female was outside on the counter tile, flopped once to gain my attention! I picked her up by the tail muscle and put her in as gently as I could (panicking!). Her gills were not bleeding or anything and she was breathing fine once put back in, but she had a bubble of blood on the top of her head, a single scale poking out also on her head, and some blood speckling on the side of her head (not at the gills). She went and hid in a dark place, understandably, and has survived the night. This morning she is still moving slow and hiding here and there, and now she seems to be shivering. The other fish are leaving her alone, so it's not them. I plan on getting Melafix today at the store but won't be home from work until late tonight.
Is Eve going to be okay?

 

[Delapool]

How did it turn out?

 

[DBradar3]

Conclusion

Sorry it took so long for my reply; I haven't been home all day.

Well, Eve took a drastic turn for the worse a day later. It turned out she hit her head too badly. She began having uncontrollable spurts of darting in random directions, up, down, toward a wall or décor... She then started laying on her side in the long time between these spasms. Soon her left eye bulged and popped out from the immense pressure in her head. The poor thing was hemorrhaging and I couldn't do anything to help her. Another day passed and she was still alive, lying on her side. I took her back to the fish shop soon as I could to have her euthanized. She was suffering so horribly, poor thing
She's at peace now and I've learned my lesson, to have a lid on the tank. I would hate to see another accident like this happen to such a happy healthy little fish.

 

[Delapool]

Sad news

 

[Laeris]

Booooooo. I really can recommend egg crate/light grid. It's economical and relatively easy to cut with dykes.

 

[Delapool]

I've lost so many yoyo loaches that get out through the feeding cover when it is left off.

 

[DBradar3]

Really? Is that a particularly jumpy fish?

 

[Delapool]

Wouldn't normally think so but a previous poster used to have trouble with hers as well. Pretty odd though.

 

[DBradar3]

I looked up images of yoyo loaches. It's a catfish, right? You wouldn't think a bottom dweller to be jumpy at all!
My cory certainly isn't, but my oto can be darty sometimes.

 

[Delapool]

Pretty similar - I'm a big fan of loaches. That's interesting with your fish as well. I'd love to get cories sometime. A little cramped at the moment with bristlenose catfish and loaches plus a bumblebee catfish that was an impulse buy at auction.

It was all very odd. The tank is covered but I can lift out two hand-shaped triangles for feeding. Every so often I would forget to put the cover back on. And then every so often one of them would get too curious.

 

[Autumnsky]

Always check water parameters too as often the fish will try to jump out if the water isn't to their liking. Also for looking for mates and sometimes it is just because of other fish scaring or startling them. Sometimes they just like jumping. All reasons are bad to find them out of the tank.

Sorry to hear your little guy didn't make it. I startled a fish in my tank before and it dove fast head first to the bottom of the tank and didn't make it. So I understand.