Help, had a jumper

[kingsgal]

I moved a fish to a newly cycled tank today and I neglected to cover the one little hole in the top he could jump out of. He is an albino rainbow shark.I found him and he is back in the tank, but I am not sure how long he was out. Couldn't be too long though, he is still alive. When he firstgot back in he just sunk to the bottom, and stayed there "catching" his breathe. Then he started swimming a little weakly, gotcaught in the current of the filter, so I unplugged it so he could get away. Then he fell to the bottom again and laid on the gravel for about 10 minutes. He is up and swimming again, so I think he will be okay.

He does have a really bright red spot next to one of his gills though, maybe he injured it in the jump. Should I put somemedicine in the tank, such as melafix. He has had a very stressful day, with the move and the jump, so I don't know what I should do. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Raechal]

I would add some extra stress coat or add a little aqaurium salt to the water depending on what other fish you have in your tank.

 

[kingsgal]

For now, he is the only one. i was going to move them one at a time, slowly.

 

[Raechal]

For now, he is the only one. i was going to move them one at a time, slowly.

How big is the tank he is in now? And the other fish are in the other tank?

 

[kaz petts]

I had a clown loach do something similar. I was giving my tank a really good clean out and had taken out a piece of bog wood. I looked everwhere for my loach but thought he must have hidden under the gravel so thought nothing more of it. I went off to my lfs for some stress coat, wasn't gone too long. When I got back I refilled my tank with water and put my bog wood back in, when I moved the bog wood I found my loach laying on the floor. (carless of me I know) he wasn't breathing so I rubbed his lifeless body carefully to try and help him, his gills began to move slowly so i placed him in a bucket of tank water with a small heater and mini filter in. He sank to the bottom of that and was gasping for his breath, he eventually started swimming around but he kept falling onto his side and swam upside down for a while before sinking to the bottom again. I kept an eye on him for about 10 mins, I went to get myself a drink and when I came back he was swimming happily and didn't seem any worse for ware.
I gave him another hour to settle down then carefully netted him and placed him back in the tank with the rest of the fish, he is still alive to this day and I am now more careful when I move my bog wood about just in case.
Hope your fish recovers like my loach did.

 

[Raechal]

I had a clown loach do something similar. I was giving my tank a really good clean out and had taken out a piece of bog wood. I looked everwhere for my loach but thought he must have hidden under the gravel so thought nothing more of it. I went off to my lfs for some stress coat, wasn't gone too long. When I got back I refilled my tank with water and put my bog wood back in, when I moved the bog wood I found my loach laying on the floor. (carless of me I know) he wasn't breathing so I rubbed his lifeless body carefully to try and help him, his gills began to move slowly so i placed him in a bucket of tank water with a small heater and mini filter in. He sank to the bottom of that and was gasping for his breath, he eventually started swimming around but he kept falling onto his side and swam upside down for a while before sinking to the bottom again. I kept an eye on him for about 10 mins, I went to get myself a drink and when I came back he was swimming happily and didn't seem any worse for ware.
I gave him another hour to settle down then carefully netted him and placed him back in the tank with the rest of the fish, he is still alive to this day and I am now more careful when I move my bog wood about just in case.
Hope your fish recovers like my loach did.

Glad he recovered. I found a dead female betta behind my 120 gallon last week. She must have been there for awhile as she was very very dried up. I covered the wholes in my tank with plastic garbage bags.

 

[kingsgal]

How big is the tank he is in now? And the other fish are in the other tank?

He is in a 10 gallon tank by hisself. My other fish are all still in the old tank.

 

[Raechal]

How big is the tank he is in now? And the other fish are in the other tank?

He is in a 10 gallon tank by hisself. My other fish are all still in the old tank.

I'd keep him in the 10 gallon by himself for now and add a a tablespoon or two to his tank. Maybe some stress coat as well. Wouldn't want to freak him out even more by adding the other fishies.

I'd only add salt if the fish you are adding later on can tolerate salt.

 

[rdd1952]

I can't offer much advice on what to do for your fish but I will tell you how you can maybe prevent it from happening again. You said he jumped out a small hole in the top. I lost a betta that jumped through the little 1.5" hole in the back where the heater goes in. Unfortunately, he did this while we were at work and layed on the carpet all day. needless to say, he was completely dried out and dead when i found him that evening. An empty toilet paper roll (cut off shorter so it doesn't stick up) works great. It is a little wider than the hole so it fits kind of snug. Just slide it in with the hole pointing up.