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You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Fish > Fish > Injured pleco
Expert: Amber Worman
Date: 4/22/2008
Subject: Injured pleco
Question
Hi Amber,
Fish injury question: we have a pleco, about nine inches long. He got hurt rather badly last Wednesday, when he flipped himself out of his tank and landed on the carpet. We've noticed that he panics at sounds sometimes, and we think he might have thrown himself out of the tank when he was racing around. He fell about four feet to the ground. When my wife found him on the carpet, he was very dry and leathery - he wasn't moving much, but she felt him twitching so she put him back in the tank. He was able to wiggle himself so he was propped over the airstone - we assumed this was so he wouldn't have to move his body up when he needed air. He was breathing very fast, but that slowed down the same day.
Initially we didn't see any injuries - we only noticed on Sunday that there's a reddish raw descaled area running the length of his body, primarily on the right side. It seems to be worst towards his head, where the scraped scales are hanging off. It looks pretty bad. Oddly, we don't remember seeing this on Wednesday, and we'd definitely have noticed it the way it is now. We were wondering if the injury became more evident over time?
Other info: this is a twenty-gallon freshwater tank with no other fish in it, kept at about 75-78. There are a lot of snails, though. We give the pleco two algae tablets per day.
What's the best way to treat something like this? I'd really appreciate anything you can think of - we all care a lot about this little guy, and we'd like to help him heal as quickly as possible.
I took some photos, if these help. These are actually vertical - he's sitting on one of the walls of the tank.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll247/chris77329/IMG_7769.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll247/chris77329/IMG_7773.jpg
Thanks for anything you can suggest here!
- Chris
Answer
Hello Chris-
Ouch! That definitely looks like a raw spot. The best way to treat this would be to lower the water temperature just a bit, to about 72 F, and to start treating him with a half/dose of aquarium salt and a full dose of Melafix (this medicine can be found at most places that sell fish, even WalMart.) The dosages are found on the back of the containers. Melafix is great for soothing open wounds and regrowing scales. The salt will help to keep the area free from infection. You will also need to make sure that his water stays incredibly clean, but don't put him under too much stress by doing too many water changes. You can likely hold off feeding (1 tablet per day versus 2 tablets) since he will probably be relaxing more than usual.
Sorry for the wait, I'm trapped in the middle of exam week so it's hard to keep up on everything. :)
Hope this helps,
Amber Worman
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