Flowerhorn

[peppermjnt]

hello everybody! im hoping anyone can help me with my problem. My one and a half year old flowerhorn jumped and hurt herself on the fake coral decorations, it was three days ago and she can't swim vertically, falls on her left side all the time. I took her to the vet, they gave her a vimatin b injection to help her muscles and nerves recover if thats the reason she can't swim. they gave me two more doses to inject, i did the second one yesterday, and one more to go today. i think i can see her trying to swim now and then and she just can't keep the balance. so i prop her with a sponge filter that sits on the bottom (its off, so theres no vibration disturbing her). she looks pale, purple color where she was bright red before. i use air pump and the main filter makes a lot of oxygen running in the tank next to her.I feed her by hand with dry prawns, she has good appetite. i wonder if anybody had the same problem and if my fish has any chance to ever get back to normal. the tank is 200 litters.
Do u think i should let her swim around sometimes to build her strength (cause she tries too) or should i just let her rest for a while and not move much for now. i don't know what she hurt exactly, cause i didn't see when she jumped, but im assuming its either she sprained her muscle and hurt her swimming bladder. please help, Im worried my fish is in a lot of pain and frustrated, and if there's really no chance for her to recover maybe I'll have to put her down. I love her so much and I would hate to do that.

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi mate; sorry to hear your fish is so poorly

I'm afraid there really isn't all that much you can do for injured fish.

Hopefully she'll heal on her own, but in the meantime make sure your water is in tip top condition, with extra water changes if necessary and make sure she keeps eating. I wouldn't try and make her move, it could make her worse.

Sorry I don't have anything more useful to suggest to you

 

[colleen0309]

So sorry your flowerhorn is injured! If she doesn't make it, keep in mind that you did everything you could for her. I don't know many hobbiest that actually take their fish to the vet. In my area, that wouldn't even be an option. There are no vets that see fish around here. All you can do is keep her as comfortable as possible, keep the tank clean, and keep her fed. Hope she recovers for you!

 

[peppermjnt]

Hi mate; sorry to hear your fish is so poorly

I'm afraid there really isn't all that much you can do for injured fish.

Hopefully she'll heal on her own, but in the meantime make sure your water is in tip top condition, with extra water changes if necessary and make sure she keeps eating. I wouldn't try and make her move, it could make her worse.

Sorry I don't have anything more useful to suggest to you

thank you so much for your response ! yea im doing 25 % water changes everyday with water conditioner and add a bit of salt, after i took her to the vet i gave her some relaxing medicine to calm her down, trying not to touch her unless i have to put her back in the upright position when she is on the side struggling to get up or when im feeding her. =(

So sorry your flowerhorn is injured! If she doesn't make it, keep in mind that you did everything you could for her. I don't know many hobbiest that actually take their fish to the vet. In my area, that wouldn't even be an option. There are no vets that see fish around here. All you can do is keep her as comfortable as possible, keep the tank clean, and keep her fed. Hope she recovers for you!

Thank you for your support! yea it was really hard to find a fish vet in my area too. Apparently theres only one in the whole city. Ill keep doing what you said -keep water in good condition and feed her. thank you for your response!

 

[fluttermoth]

Best of luck, mate; I hope she pulls through. You never know; fish can sometimes be remarkably resilient and heal fast, if they're going to.

 

[peppermjnt]

Best of luck, mate; I hope she pulls through. You never know; fish can sometimes be remarkably resilient and heal fast, if they're going to.

You're right, and flowerhorns are very hardy. I can definitely see some improvement today. =) She is a lot more active and doesn't lie on the side, she is constantly trying to swim and for a few seconds she manages to swim well. most of the time she is balancing vertically (sort of "standing" on her tail head up), and then swims again. I hope she will get better and better. the fish vet is gonna come to see her next week and say what else we can do.

 

[fluttermoth]

That sounds promising; I really hope she continues to improve.

Do keep us up to date with any progress, I'll be thinking of her

 

[colleen0309]

Just wondering how your flowerhorn is doing?

 

[peppermjnt]

Just wondering how your flowerhorn is doing?

she is much better now, thank you for asking. But still not great, she can't rest upright. she is swimming a lot and the color is good. appetite is good as well. she refused to eat all the food she used to eat before, i bought dry blood warms for her, she never tried before. thats the only food she eats now. i try to give her pellets and prawns, she spits them out after chewing them. i noticed that she has sort of a dint on the side she falls to when stops swimming. and a bump on the other side. looks like her swimming bladder or something shifted to the side when she hit herself. and that bump is making her fall down as soon as she wants to just sit at the bottom and rest. also eyes are asymmetrical now. and when she is swimming the fin on the dint side is moving a lots faster and less smooth, like she can't spread it out to the end to push the water.
she learned to lean onto the sponge filter herself when she is too tired of lying on the side. i used to help her to do it, but now she is very active, so its almost impossible. still hoping she will get back to normal. im happy she is better than before at least. just worried that maybe she is in pain...what do you think?if a flowerhorn will never be able to stand vertically on its own, but eats and swims, will she live long like that?

 

[peppermjnt]

Best of luck, mate; I hope she pulls through. You never know; fish can sometimes be remarkably resilient and heal fast, if they're going to.

She got well!!!! im so happy! After one month. she can swim well now and doesn't fall on her side anymore. You were right!

 

[dbanner]

Just seen this this thread. Glad your flowerhorn pulled through I have recently bought a Thai Silk Flowerhorn a few weeks back for my 450 litre tank. He is in there with a 9 inch Ornate Bichir. All is good and they don't bother each other at all. The flowerhorn was around 1 1/2 inch when I had it and maybe an inch bigger or a little more.

I was never interested in them before but now I'm so happy I bought him he has so much personality and is already taking food straight from my hand. He also shakes his body at his reflection in the tank glass lol I'm pretty sure this is him trying to warn off what he thinks is another flowerhorn