injured big pleco !😢

[finfayce]

my poor plecostomus was stuck in an extra filter in my over stocked guppy tank! his head looks injured and red in places. he must have struggled because he is missing bristles, a little of the tail. his under skin on his back has 2 deep red blotches/ bruises. i feel awful. i usually make sure all my corys and plecos are ok. as soon as i pulled the filter cartridge out he went to the bottom clinging on the glass. . now he’s in his usual place.
should i do anything for him?

 

[finfayce]

his side fin looks stripped of flowing fins.
he’s acting normal. just looks beat up.
i was considering putting a pleco in my 20 gallon with my one goldfish?

 

[finfayce]

another picture

 

[Colin_T]

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 2 weeks. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 or 2 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. Start with 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres and if the areas get infected, increase it so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Infected tissue will look red and inflamed if it's a bacterial infection, and white and fluffy if it's a fungal infection.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

When you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

 

[finfayce]

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 2 weeks. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 or 2 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. Start with 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres and if the areas get infected, increase it so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Infected tissue will look red and inflamed if it's a bacterial infection, and white and fluffy if it's a fungal infection.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

When you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

thanks Colin. do his injuries look fatal? do you think his eyes are scraped off?
my 20 gallon goldfish tank has all marbles for substrate. do you think that would be a surface easier to clean? also not as abrasive as sand?

 

[Colin_T]

I have no idea what its eyes are meant to look like. If you have a picture of the fish from before this happened, it would give me a reference point.

Fish and other animals have remarkable healing properties if they are kept clean and free of harmful bacteria and fungus. The clean water and salt should help keep bacteria and fungus out of the wounds until they can heal.

Leave the fish in the tank with the sand.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

...do his injuries look fatal? do you think his eyes are scraped off?

Not yet. If you do as @Colin_T says, your fish could make full recovery. As for the eyes, note that they are sunk within a socket of bone. Fish that spend most of their lives rummaging about on the bottom of a stream or pond have to be resilient to all manner of tight spots, sticky-out things and pointy bits.
Many such fish can actually roll their eyes into their heads, (this is the easiest to see on Corydorus, for example).
Even if your fish did lose its eyes, it would still be able to find its way about, using its other sensory organs.

 

[finfayce]

Not yet. If you do as @Colin_T says, your fish could make full recovery. As for the eyes, note that they are sunk within a socket of bone. Fish that spend most of their lives rummaging about on the bottom of a stream or pond have to be resilient to all manner of tight spots, sticky-out things and pointy bits.
Many such fish can actually roll their eyes into their heads, (this is the easiest to see on Corydorus, for example).
Even if your fish did lose its eyes, it would still be able to find its way about, using its other sensory organs.

thanks. i feel sorry for him because of all his injuries. he was head first behind a filter cart

 

[finfayce]

i never thought he could fit inside that space.

 

[Colin_T]

They also squeeze between heaters and the glass and get burnt so make sure there is sufficient space for them to move behind things without getting trapped.

 

[finfayce]

They also squeeze between heaters and the glass and get burnt so make sure there is sufficient space for them to move behind things without getting trapped.

yes. i learned the hard way. i just didn’t think one would go into an active filter.
i’m wondering- do they have good eyesight?

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

i’m wondering- do they have good eyesight?

They have adequate eyesight.
Consider the environment in which they feed, when back in the wild. Not the cleanest of waters and good eyesight isn't necessary, when you're rummaging around submerged leaf litter, old wood and muddy stuff. They can use their other senses to find their way around and to find food.

 

[finfayce]

They have adequate eyesight.
Consider the environment in which they feed, when back in the wild. Not the cleanest of waters and good eyesight isn't necessary, when you're rummaging around submerged leaf litter, old wood and muddy stuff. They can use their other senses to find their way around and to find food.

i guess- never thought the “old days “ for plecos.

 

[itiwhetu]

Here it is