Female Betta Trapped In Flower Pot!

[attibones]

I came home today from pet shop to find that my blue female betta is trapped with her head poking out the drain hole of the flower pot cave. She was stuck something terrible, but I managed to get her out by filling my water change bucket with enough tank water to submerge her and by taking a hammer and (as gently as I could) tapping away at the sides until I had enough room on one side to tap the flat inside of the flower pot next to her body. Then I did three good whacks with the claw end of the hammer, the bottom split in half and she was free.

I thought she was dead but she waved a fin at me. She's very badly wounded. She's bleeding. She's got a good chunk missing from her tummy. Her fins are badly damaged. She's exhausted.

It's a broke week so I don't have any money for antibiotics, but I've got catappa leaves and a spare tank and filter, just no spare heater.

How do I keep the hospital warm?

What else can I do besides daily water changes to keep her comfortable?

I'm afraid I'm about to lose her. She's lying at the bottom of the main tank while I prep the hospital.

(Also, I recently read a post about stuffing the hole or blocking it, definitely learned my lesson.)
She's lying upside down on her back now. Still breathing.

 

[attibones]

Treated water with 2 ml of Prime, added a bit of hornwort and two catappa leaves. She still can't swim but she's still breathing so I've got her in a cup inside the water so she isn't thrown around by the water. Filter is going at a trickle.

I'm going to put a space heater in front of the tank to help keep it warm. If her wounds don't kill her, she'll drown. How do I keep her so that she can breathe the air and stay submerged?

 

[l_l_l]

So sorry to hear that.
Do you have any aquarium salts that could help her fix her wounds?

 

[sawickib]

Omg that sounds terrible , i would think for the drowning part make it so shes very close to the surface, or pumps LOTS of oxygen in there, but other than idk. I hope she pulls through. 

 

[attibones]

So sorry to hear that.
Do you have any aquarium salts that could help her fix her wounds?

No. I think my sister does. I'll see if I can't get her on the phone.

 

[tunagirll]

The easiest thing to allow for breathing is to reduce the water in the tank so she doesn't need to move far to breathe. If you need to turn the filter off to do so then do it, it won't do much harm for a day. I wouldn't salt the water as it will just add to her stress right now. She really just needs to be left alone to relax and recover.
 
So maybe just reduce the water level and keep the tank dark, and wait to see how she goes. You could help her along a little by adding a little hydrogen peroxide to the tank to increase oxygen if you have it, no more than 1mL of 3% solution per litre.

 

[attibones]

Omg that sounds terrible , i would think for the drowning part make it so shes very close to the surface, or pumps LOTS of oxygen in there, but other than idk. I hope she pulls through. 

I'm not sure how to do that. She can't get to the surface because the hospital tank is too full, but I've got it just low enough that the filter operates. I'm thinking about seeing if I can't snag a breeder box or something. I'd like for her to be in the main tank but I can easily lose her in all the foliage.

The easiest thing to allow for breathing is to reduce the water in the tank so she doesn't need to move far to breathe. If you need to turn the filter off to do so then do it, it won't do much harm for a day. I wouldn't salt the water as it will just add to her stress right now. She really just needs to be left alone to relax and recover.
 
So maybe just reduce the water level and keep the tank dark, and wait to see how she goes. You could help her along a little by adding a little hydrogen peroxide to the tank to increase oxygen if you have it, no more than 1mL of 3% solution per litre.

I'll drape a towel over the tank (I haven't got a hood) and see if that helps. It's a very long plastic bin actually.

I'm confused now. I don't want to risk infection from poor water quality. Should I just put the filter back to the main tank and just keep her water levels low without a filter (with daily water changes)?

 

[tunagirll]

 

Omg that sounds terrible

, i would think for the drowning part make it so shes very close to the surface, or pumps LOTS of oxygen in there, but other than idk. I hope she pulls through. 

I'm not sure how to do that. She can't get to the surface because the hospital tank is too full, but I've got it just low enough that the filter operates. I'm thinking about seeing if I can't snag a breeder box or something. I'd like for her to be in the main tank but I can easily lose her in all the foliage.

The easiest thing to allow for breathing is to reduce the water in the tank so she doesn't need to move far to breathe. If you need to turn the filter off to do so then do it, it won't do much harm for a day. I wouldn't salt the water as it will just add to her stress right now. She really just needs to be left alone to relax and recover.
 
So maybe just reduce the water level and keep the tank dark, and wait to see how she goes. You could help her along a little by adding a little hydrogen peroxide to the tank to increase oxygen if you have it, no more than 1mL of 3% solution per litre.

I'll drape a towel over the tank (I haven't got a hood) and see if that helps. It's a very long plastic bin actually.

I'm confused now. I don't want to risk infection from poor water quality. Should I just put the filter back to the main tank and just keep her water levels low without a filter (with daily water changes)?
 

 
Yes, take the filter out and keep the water level low, but just for the day - she should have recovered enough in 24 hours that you can bring the water level back up and the filter back in. If the flow looks to be a problem, then you can baffle it with a piece of filter sponge

 

[attibones]

Right. Then I'll try that. I really don't have much hope for her at this point. She still can't get off her back and her breathing is slow. I think she's in a lot of pain. I know I would be.

 

[attibones]

Sometime in the last ten minutes, I lost her. I appreciate the assistance, guys. It really just was too late for her.

 

[starlitsunrise]

I'm so sorry to hear that Atticus, when I was reading down the page I was really hoping I'd see her pull through.  

 

[attibones]

I was too, but there wasn't much to be done. I feel really stupid because it was preventable, but at least I've learned something.

 

[tunagirll]

Sorry to hear it RIP little miss!

 

[l_l_l]

Awwww sorry for your loss

 

[ADW1988]

Sorry for your loss.. Did everything you possibly could.