Fish Stuck In A Hole In A Rock!

[eydon00]

Hi,
I have an adult male Gourami who has managed to get himself well and truly stuck in a hole in a rock. One of the shrimp took the opportunity to start eating him. The only way to get him out the hole was to remove the rock from the water, grab his tail and pull him out.

Anyway, he survived that ordeal, but he looks a bit of a mess. He's lost a fair few scales around the head, and has a bit of flesh missing behind the head where he was wedged in. He now seems to be having buoyancy problems. He keeps struggling up to the surface and taking great gulps of air - which I hope is him trying to re-inflate his swim bladder.

Any one got any advice. I have no way to segregate him, but the other fish are currently leaving him alone. I've given them some extra food, so hopefully they won't feel the need to take chunks out of him while he's in a weakened state.

 

[jesse217]

Hi,
I have an adult male Gourami who has managed to get himself well and truly stuck in a hole in a rock. One of the shrimp took the opportunity to start eating him. The only way to get him out the hole was to remove the rock from the water, grab his tail and pull him out.

Anyway, he survived that ordeal, but he looks a bit of a mess. He's lost a fair few scales around the head, and has a bit of flesh missing behind the head where he was wedged in. He now seems to be having buoyancy problems. He keeps struggling up to the surface and taking great gulps of air - which I hope is him trying to re-inflate his swim bladder.

Any one got any advice. I have no way to segregate him, but the other fish are currently leaving him alone. I've given them some extra food, so hopefully they won't feel the need to take chunks out of him while he's in a weakened state.

First put him in a seperate tank with about 6 inches of water so that he can easaly get air. Feed him good food like bloodworms and add some condittionner to help him out. Watch him carefully to make sure he does'nt get a disease.