Fish Stuck In Wood...

[ICEEGRL]

One of my danios tried to swim through a small hole in my wood that had an anubias planted in it. That was not a smart idea. It got the plant pushed out of the way then got stuck half way through. I don't know how long it had been like that. I am guessing several hours. I got it out by pulling the top of the wood apart. The danio was badly cut up, but I thought she might have been ok with enough care.
I put her in a 10g with some meds, and she was swimming around and acting happy to be free. The next morning she wasn't swimming. She died during the night. When I removed her I found the problem. She had been stabbed by a splinter! It was broken off in her between her chest and belly. I never saw it. It was just a little brown dot. It turned out to be a lot more than a dot. It was the size of a dagger compaired to her.

The point is... When your fish do these stupid things like uproot a plant so they can try to get through a hole smaller than them... always turn them over and look very closely! You could be missing something that could save their lives.
While you are concentrating on the bigger injuries... the little one may kill them!

I just thought I would tell what happened so maybe if it happens to any one else they would know to really look and pay attention to those little tiny spots.

 

[Jules H-T]

It's pretty certain that had you spotted and removed the splinter the fish would have died practically instantly. I suspect this was just a case of a fish hitting the self destruct button by mistake, as they sometimes do.

Perhaps the lesson is more to be careful about the condition of your wood and sharpness of your ornaments (not that I'm saying you should have spotted it, more that perhaps taking a nail file to it now wouldn't hurt).

 

[ICEEGRL]

I pulled it and cleaned and sanded the edges right after it happened. I had too... I had to break the top to get my danio out. I didn't want to hurt her more than she was by pushing or pulling her. There was just a small piece holding it together. It was very easy to break it apart, but it did leave several sharp edges. I think I have gotten all of them now... I hope!

 

[kewskills]

well at least this wont happen again, and alot of people will have checked their tanks now also

 

[Tobigara]

i'm at work now so i can't check but i will when i get home. thanks for sharing and i'm sorry for your loss

 

[jourdy288]

Sorry to hear about your danio.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Sadly fish sometimes dont seem to have any sense sometimes. I used to have glowlight tetras which for some reason always used to get jammed between the internal filter and the side of the tank (which is why I dont use internal filters anymore unless it is a short term thing).

 

[PRW1988]

That sucks, sorry to hear about your loss, but your loss is truly a gain as now you know to look for even the smallest of wounds (or injuries).

Hope it doesn't happen again.