• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

HELP, Fish People, Harvey jumped out of his tank!!!

sweet~nichole~marie

sweet~nichole~marie

Tallulah's Mama
Ok, I am totally freaking out. I know that some of the snake people on here also keep fish, or they maybe know of a good fish forum with lots of helpful people like we have on here.

Harvey, my lungfish, was going after a fish, over shot, crashed through the lid on his tank and hit the floor!!! I had to wrap him in a towel to pick him up and slide his back into his tank but there was blood on the towel! I can't tell where it is coming from. What should I do? Should I dose his tank with antibiotics? I am worried about him picking up an infection from the floor. Is there anything I can do besides just wait and see?

I love my Harvey monster :( I hope he is ok . . . .any advice?

This is Harvey's original post for anyone who is curious:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89089&highlight=harvey+lungfish
 
Personally, I would do daily water changes and just keep his water quality really excellent, and maybe add a little Melafix into the water. I would not go all out with antibiotics yet. Fish can do a remarkable job of healing themselves if you give them excellent water quality.
 
I had a betta slip his divider and rip into another male... that fish lost an eye and healed himself just through water changes and Melafix!

Good luck!
 
NO Melafix! If I'm not mistaken, lungfish breath air, right? I'm not sure if they're like anabantoids exactly, but I do know that melafix and bettafix are very bad for air breathers like bettas and gouramis. Plus, all it really is is tea tree oil, and all that does is stimulate the slime coat... which aquarium salt can do just fine.

Unless you actually see a wound, the best course of action would be to keep his water crystal clean and lightly dose it with aquarium salt.
 
VickyChaiTea said:
NO Melafix! If I'm not mistaken, lungfish breath air, right? I'm not sure if they're like anabantoids exactly, but I do know that melafix and bettafix are very bad for air breathers like bettas and gouramis. Plus, all it really is is tea tree oil, and all that does is stimulate the slime coat... which aquarium salt can do just fine.

Unless you actually see a wound, the best course of action would be to keep his water crystal clean and lightly dose it with aquarium salt.
Click to expand...

I have never had an issue with Melafix and anabantoids. Any research on the subject? I've also never heard this (ever) from all the betta breeders I've spoken with.
 
Well I did a little research myself, and most of it seems speculative at best... very interesting though, and I suppose I would play it safe and leave out the melafix.
 
Yikes, well, I don't want to risk that . . . maybe it affects Labyrinth fish because they absorb air through highly vascularized tissue in their mouth. If that is coated with an oil they take into their mouth, oxygen absorption would be affected. However, lungfish use a modified swim bladder . . . maybe it wouldn't affect them the same way.

Maybe I will just put in a slime-coat stimulator and electrolyte booster.
 
OMG..... He is a cool looking fish.. I hope he will be ok.. And I am glad that you where there when he jumped out of the tank.. It couldve been way worse had noone been home..
 
Water changes are your friend. Do at least 25% water changes a day. Look for signs of infection and report back if you see, or look up tetra-fish's forum. They usually have wonderful advice there.

I personally hate melafix but that's just me. Double check with tetra-fish forum. I think they might recommend adding salt to the tank. You'll want to pick up a box of pickling salt from Morton Salts. Do a search for ick treatment on the forum and it will tell you the best salts to get in a sticky. It's been forever since I've been on the forum and a little longer since I had to treat a fish for something.

Good luck and keep us updated!
 
Emily1188 said:
Personally, I would do daily water changes and just keep his water quality really excellent, and maybe add a little Melafix into the water. I would not go all out with antibiotics yet. Fish can do a remarkable job of healing themselves if you give them excellent water quality.
Click to expand...

I agree with this and the addition of a bit of aquarium salt cannot hurt, either. It will keep bacteria counts a bit lower for a while which is a good thing.

Emily1188 said:
I have never had an issue with Melafix and anabantoids. Any research on the subject? I've also never heard this (ever) from all the betta breeders I've spoken with.
Click to expand...

It is the same as cohabbing your snakes... it's not an issue until it's an issue. I have personally known people who lost bettas to Melafix sensitivity and yet I used it with my bettas for YEARS and had no issues. I no longer use it with bettas because I don't want to risk it.
 
Hi, SNM - Nanci asked me to take a look at this thread, and it sounds like you've rec'd some pretty sound advice so far. I hope for the best for poor Harvey.

Just a few additional thoughts...

1. Did you wrap harvey in a dry towel? If so, you may start to see some overall damage that you'll want to watch closely. I'm sure you were crazed with fear for him at that moment, but for future reference, never touch a fish with anything dry including hands, fabric, nets, etc.

2. Salt. There's a ton of debate as to which kinds, so avoid the hysteria and stick with either aquarium salt which is hugely expensive, or go to the grocery and get either Kosher rock salt or ice cream salt. No iodine or anti-caking additives in either, and perfectly safe.

Before using salt, tho, consider the inhabitants of the rest of the tank. Snails, armored fish, etc are very sensitive to salt. Consider quarantining harvey if you have salt sensitive fish in the tank.

3. Melafix. I don't use it, but agree with Hyp's thoughts on the subject. I don't use it simply because I'm not a fan of a lot of chemicals of any type in my tanks. It has some antiseptic properties (think Bactine on a scrape) but overall not a useful med, IMO.

4. Stress. This can be a huge factor in healing, just like with snakes, humans, etc. Keep the lights off and limit activity around the tank. Bump up temps a bit as well. Resist the urge to flip on the lights and stick your face against the glass to observe him. Also, again, consider the other tankmates if he has any. As you know, fish are opportunistic and if Harvey is showing signs of illness, they'll bully him. If this is happening, move him to a quarantine tank. I always had one set up and running at all times due to the huge number of tanks I had going. Let me know if you need advice on how to accomplish this quickly.

So those are my thoughts. Let me know if you have questions. I'm not here very often but you can always reach me on my site: www.petfish.net or by email [email protected] Seems like there are a good number of fish peeps here to help as well. Hypancistrus totally knows her fish stuff!

Good luck with Harvey. Hope he comes through this with no issues at all!

~Lori
 
Hypancistrus said:
It is the same as cohabbing your snakes... it's not an issue until it's an issue. I have personally known people who lost bettas to Melafix sensitivity and yet I used it with my bettas for YEARS and had no issues. I no longer use it with bettas because I don't want to risk it.
Click to expand...

That's very interesting. I'm more curious, however, as to whether or not there's any legitimate research on the subject, or if it's more speculative/anecdotal evidence.
 
Thanks for all the advice! I knew I could count on this forum :) I will go pick up some salt today. I haven't been using it in my tanks for a few years because I have lots of live plants and they didn't seem to like the salt, but I would rather have Harvey survive than the plants!

He is by himself in his tank (aside from the feeder goldfish, which is what he was going after). Considering that they are about 2 inches long and he is 2 feet, I think he will be safe from them. I am hooking up the "python" to do a water change on the tank today and will clean out the filter, make use it is running at max capacity.

On a positive note, he does seem more active this morning. He is moving around a bit - last night he was just laying there in the corner, acting rather stunned.

I will keep the light off and try to avoid hovering like a nervous mama :)

And yes, I was so panicked I didn't wet the towel first ~smacks forehead~ I know not to touch him dry, but it was mayhem. He was flipping across the floor, there were blood smears everywhere, the dogs were dancing around trying to grab him. He was so strong and active I couldn't get my hands on him. I just yelled "towel" at my boyfriend, grabbed him and stuck him back in the tank without thinking. I hope I didn't damage his slime coating too bad. ~sighs~

Thanks again for all the advice and the name of a fish forum. Harvey is as much a part of the family as the dogs and snakes are and we spoil him rotten. He gets all sorts of treats and I stand over his tank and talk to him frequently. :) He is so aware of what is going on in the house. He watches everyone and has so much personality for a fish. I plan on him being a part of our family for a long time.

I am also going to go get a heavy sheet of either glass or plexiglass to cover the openings on the top of his tank in case he decides to try this again! Right now there is a thin sheet of plexi over each hole that they lights sit on top of, but they proved no problem for my Harv-i-nator.

I will keep you all informed on his progress!
 
SO glad to hear he's doing well... usually strong fish can pull through. I've had good luck with salt and clean water myself, keep us posted!
 
What an excellent pet! I hope Harvey's on the mend soon. I also strongly suggest that you start a Harvey blog thread!
 
Emily, I wish I could find the link to the article that talks about the negative effects of melafix. :C

Glad he's looking better, and I hope he makes a speedy recovery!
 
He seems to be doing ok! My internet has been down for a few days so I haven't been able to keep you posted, but so far so good. He had a wound on his tail - I think maybe he scratched it as he busted through his lid - but it seems to be healing. Last night I turned on his light to check on him (I've only being doing that twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening just to check on him) and he did turn around to look at me and swam towards me a little, which I took as a good sign. Before he was just laying on the bottom, ignoring me. So, I feel hopeful!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top