Jumped out the tank

[JoeFish]

Got woke up this morning to my three year old SCREAMING!!!!! Walked into the living and my 12 inch Oscar lying on the carpet. He looked dead and dry. So I went and put my shoes on to take him and plant him in the garden, when I picked him up he was cold and dry but had enough in him to flop out of my hand. Totally stunned I scooped him back up and put him in the tank. He sank to the bottom and laid half on his side. After about two minutes on his side he made a lap around the tank and is now swimming in place in the middle of the tank. Added the appropriate amount of stress coat. The only physical damage to him is the eye that was against the carpet is a little cloudy. I have never had a fish make it out of a tank with a full hood, and never found a fish out of the tank still alive. He appears that he will be O.K. but I dont know. I would like to know if anyone out there has had a fish jump out, dry out and live for very long. Also any input on the cloudy eye would be appreciated. Now I am off to the hardware store to get some slide locks for the lids on all my tanks, dont want this to happen again.

 

[wuvmybetta]

That's crazy, I've heard of fish living after such an ordeal so hopefully he'll be ok

 

[Mamaschild]

Joe Fish, your a lucky dog

I have heard of Plecos or catfish jumping out, drying up and coming back ok, but not a regular fish.

Hopefully he will be fine and you can say you saved his life.....actually your 3 year old did :smb: He/she is now Oscar's HERO

 

[ste2k3]

I would also add some melafix to clear up ant infection. the exact same thing happened to me with my oscar in my fish house. the floor is concrete and I think tat the lime or something must have irritated the scales on the side of him and it got infected. if you add and antibacterial such as melafix, then it should prevent any bacterial infection getting hold.

hope yours is OK

 

[AquaNut]

Wow I hope he makes it.

I had an opaline gourami jump one time. I found him a few feet from the tank, looking totally dried up and dead. I picked him up and thought he didn't feel as stiff as I thought he might, so I put him back in the tank. He sank to the bottom and lay on his side for a while, but I could see his gills moving right away. Within a half hour, he was up in a normal swimming position and, later that day, he was swimming around again. I'm going to guess that was about 2 years ago and I still have him, big and beautiful. Like ste2K3 said, I would put some melafix in the tank. Personally, I'd add some aquarium salt, too. It will also help tremendously in staving off infections, but will also aid in respiration, which may be of benefit if he was out of the water for an extended time.

Good luck and please let us know how he does!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Lots of medication ideas, but the single best thing you can do alongside all that is lots and lots of water changes. The cleaner you keep the water, the better he will heal up.

I had my Oscar jump out of his tank, this was many years ago. He squeezed through a gap about the same width of himself and lost alot of scales in the process, but I was there to put him right back.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi JoeFish

That's quite a story! What a way to start the day!!!

It seems like this is not an entirely unusual thing to happen, though. Here's a link to an article I found a few days ago about reviving fish that have taken the big leap:

http/www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/FishHeal.../StillAlive.htm

 

[Sasha]

I can't believe your Oscar survived! A few monthes ago, I had a male swordtail jump out of my 29 gallon tank at night. In the morning I searched the aquarium everywhere, but couldn't locate the swordtail. I soon discoved him dead on the carpet and sadly, he wasn't alive. The most surprising part of it was that my tank has a cover and the only opening is where the filter is placed. That little space is only 2 inches wide, so I have no idea how the swordtail leaped out. He was the largest swordtail I ever bought, reaching the length of about three inches including his magnificent sword. Now, I chose smaller fish after the constant reminder of that horrible event.

 

[JoeFish]

Thanks for the positive thoughts and input. Got Melafix goin now, thanks to Ste2k3 for seconding that call. Thanks to inchworm, never heard of fish steroids before, wonder if they will "Pump Up" my convicts! As for the Oscar he is still holding on. He is definately favoring the side that was against the carpet and does not appear to be able to see from the cloudy eye very well. I opened the lid to give the rest of the fish their evening feed and he went to the bottom and hid. If he eats in the morning I think he will make it. I would still like to here something about the cloudy eye.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I think all you can do is what you are doing, and the eye will probably remain scarred and possibly out of commision. you need to concentrate on keeping things pristine and spotless so that it doesn't get infected. A fish can live with one eye if it heal right.

A big Jaguar at the lfs here had the protective lense of its eye busted, and it's pupil was just dangling there. Seemed to be alright though. I see RBPs with eyes chewed out all the time.

 

[guppymonkey]

I have heard of oscars and other large fish jumping out through the hatch in the hood but never one surviving before. Your lucky your child screamed! I think your fish probably just used its body weight to push the hatch open. Some weight should probably be added to prevent anything like that from happening in the future.

 

[JAYJT]

This has happend to me on a number of occasions but not with a big fish like that! and sadly i never got to mine b4 they died I have lost a silver shark this way and a red tailed black shark oh and not fogetting a red clawed crab, glad to hear you managed to get to your oscar in time.

 

[Brattina88]

My female betta is a jumper... I saw her jump and heard her body thump as it hit my desk, and I ran across the room. She flipped and flopped around and ended up falling off of the desk and hitting the floor before I could reach her... and that was only the first time! I found her on the floor later, drying up -- I thought she was dead, but she flopped out of my hand. She's still alive and I'm glad your oscar survived! I have a baby latch and a can sitting on top of the lid because she would just push it off when she jumped. crazy fish...

 

[JoeFish]

Next day update:

He is still alive! Talked to my lfs owner and she said to think of my fish as a human who is recovering from a heartattack and the associated rehab. It made a lot of sense to me, This fish has more personality than some of my friends. So as the first measure of fish rehab I broke my own rule and purchased some feeders. Normally I only use home grown feeders but I am out right now. This fish has never hesitated to inhale feeders in mass quantity and I think its a good place to start as far as getting him to eat. He checked out the bag as I floated the rosies (skipped the quarintine due to extreme circumstances) and nipped it twice. but once I let them swim he didnt make any effort to get one. Overall he does appear to be doing a little better than yesterday, maybe with food swiming at his convienance he will eat. This fish has grabbed me emotionally since the day I brought him home two years ago. I will probably not keep Oscars after him. My first Oscar lived one year, the next two three years each, and this one is by far mans best friend, heck I could even pet him! I will update his condition daily until he is back to normal or deceased, if anybody has put a fish through rehab let me know.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Bless his heart, I wish him the best,long life & a speedy recovery