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About Chris Robbins
Expertise
I have 25+ years of personal experience as a pet
store employee and manager in the family pet store
business. The main part of our business was
Freshwater Fish. I can answer questions on; Fish care, diseases,
parasites and fish identification, feeding your
fish, breeding and sexing your fish, setting up
your aquarium, cleaning your aquarium, and
"what`s this weird stuff in my tank/on my
fish" questions. I am not an African Cichlid expert, Plant expert or Brackish Expert. No Pond or Saltwater Questions Please.
Experience
I worked in and managed my family's fish and pet and fish store for 26 years and maintained the 35 aquariums. My experience also has included occasional in-home consultation and aquarium maintenance for my clients.
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You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Fish > Fish > cat and fish
Expert: Chris Robbins
Date: 2/28/2008
Subject: cat and fish
Question
Hey, one of my cats fished out my betta and I found him on kitchen floor, still alive... I placed in small amount of his water and cleaned out the tank and used warmer water put him back in this tank he is swimming and going up to get air, but is bleeding at the dorsal fin? I am a vet but not on fish...:) I was wondering what else can be done the bleeding is not bad, it looks like he is trying to clot like a finger stick or less,I am assuming this is due to the warmer water temp causing vasodilation, he was not bleeding before the warm water.But, I was afraid to keep in cooler water due to shock. What about salt? how much? and just plain? any other suggestions? he is a tough little guy, but he is 2 and unsure about this time, the other time he had bowl turned over but not gotten too. I am surprised they did not eat him this time. How that got up there who knows ( CATS ) thank you Reena
Answer
Hi Reena;
Poor guy. Cats are pretty persistent, aren't they? Your little betta guy needs time to recover in clean warm water for sure. The bleeding should stop soon and he may lose the ends of his fins and tail if he was dry for a few minutes. If any tissue died it will fall away and new fins will re-grow. The water changes every day will get rid of the old dead tissue so it doesn't pollute his tank, as well as boost his immune system.
Keep his tank in a very warm spot so the water stays up in temperature at about 82f. If the temperature fluctuates it can cause additional stress and putting him in warm water from cooler water can cause shock. Let him slowly acclimate to a warmer temperature.
Change his water every day and you can add aquarium salt too. It's available at local fish stores. Don't use table salt though. It has anti-caking additives and sometimes iodine. It must be 'pure salt' with no other additives so look at the label to be sure. Kosher salt is usually okay but again, look at the label to be sure. Add 1/2 teaspoon for every gallon of tank water.
Another product you can use is MelaFix. It is a natural product that helps inhibit infection and has been proven to aid in the re-growth of new tissue. It is available at fish stores.
I hope he feels better soon...
At Your Service;
Chris Robbins
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