O Hell!

[Robot_Rooster]

i was doing my weekly water change and one of my danios swims right into the gravel vac and into eh very mucky bucket i managed to get him out of the bucket and into the breeding net but it looks like i broked somethingof his when he got sucked through he is still breathing but not swimming very well what should i do

 

[SharonCC]

Just keep an eye on him and wait a bit, to see if he recovers. It may just be some fin damage that can grow back. What exactly has broken off...

 

[Robot_Rooster]

well there seems to be white strands coming from his anal region,

 

[Robot_Rooster]

can i get like a cap for the gravel vac so it wont happen agin?

 

[SharonCC]

well there seems to be white strands coming from his anal region,

Maybe poo...watch him carefully and if he doesn't recover and looks like he's suffering I'd euthanize...

 

[nosoup4you]

If you are just doing a water change and not vacuuming the gravel you can take a piece of pantyhose and cover the end securing with a rubber band. Another option is to get a siphon with a larger diameter hose so that the fish are less likely to be crushed if they do get sucked up.

 

[Robot_Rooster]

well i always do them the same time, so dont i need to do a gravel vac every week? if no then how long? and thanks for that tip nosoup. and i dont have the guts to eithanize its too horrible, it swims lopsided then lay on the bottom then continues so hopefully he'll get better

 

[fish.com1]

so dont i need to do a gravel vac every week?

I would still do a gravel vac weekly, especially if you have bottom dwellers in there beacause if you don't gravel vac they can become infected and lose their sensetive barbels. And a build up of waste in the gravel can cause high nitrates too.

 

[nosoup4you]

I do mine at the same time weekly too but I know that some others do gravel vacuuming less often which is why I offered the suggestion. It is possible that the fish has just experienced some temporary damage to his/her swim bladder and will recover with time. Just keep an eye on things and hopefully the fish will recover.


If the fish is having a lot of trouble swimming it might be wise to put him/her in a breeding net to make it easier for the fish to surface for food.

 

[Robot_Rooster]

yh i put him/her into a breeding net so the others won't nip at him.


all i can do now is wait

thanks

 

[Robot_Rooster]

i just went to check on him when the lights were out and i found him dead :'( this is my first fish death and i killed him

 

[nosoup4you]

I'm sorry to hear about your fish but don't feel too badly, it happens to even the most conscientious fishkeeper. I smashed a Cory while doing a gravel vac awhile back and several months ago I moved a pregnant guppy into an open tank for birthing and found her dried up on the floor when I got up in the morning.

 

[Robot_Rooster]

its just kinda gives me the shivers since its my first fish death,

 

[SharonCC]

Oh, that's too bad! Everyone makes mistakes...the trick is to learn from them!