pica_nuttalli
don't be a twit
I have no idea what happened. I came home tonight to swap out some files before doing more homework and decided to feed the 60g. As I was doing so, it suddenly struck me that I didn't see pufferfish swimming anywhere--which is bizarre for an SAP. I moved a chunk of floating wood to put my net in and there he was! Floating.
He isn't dead yet, but he won't sink. He was stuck in a shallow dip on that peice of driftwood, but I don't know if that's why he got injured or if that's just where he ended up once he started to float. It looks like he must have swallowed some air somehow, as he floats belly-up. I held him underwater for ~20 min and that seemed to help some, but he's still too bouyant.
I don't think that he was there for very long, 'though--at most a couple of hours. He's in very poor color and has a nasty-looking black spot on the bottom of his tail, but his fins are all functional and his eyes look fine. He is still trying to swim about, which seems like it ought to be a good sign as well. But the black patch worries me and he seems to be lacking some mobility in his tail.
The only solution that I could think of was to run out to Walmart and buy a hamster ball. I rinsed it well and put him in it. That's got him held underwater but out of the cichlids' reach. I just don't know what else to do. There isn't a med for this, so I'm not bothering to post in Emergencies (and quite frankly, I don't want to hear the gibberish.) As far as I can tell, it's time to just sit and wait.
I just need him to stop floating. I can medicate for the skin issues with melafix in a hospital tank. But I can't medicate if he's going to just float back up to the top and dry out again.
He isn't dead yet, but he won't sink. He was stuck in a shallow dip on that peice of driftwood, but I don't know if that's why he got injured or if that's just where he ended up once he started to float. It looks like he must have swallowed some air somehow, as he floats belly-up. I held him underwater for ~20 min and that seemed to help some, but he's still too bouyant.
I don't think that he was there for very long, 'though--at most a couple of hours. He's in very poor color and has a nasty-looking black spot on the bottom of his tail, but his fins are all functional and his eyes look fine. He is still trying to swim about, which seems like it ought to be a good sign as well. But the black patch worries me and he seems to be lacking some mobility in his tail.
The only solution that I could think of was to run out to Walmart and buy a hamster ball. I rinsed it well and put him in it. That's got him held underwater but out of the cichlids' reach. I just don't know what else to do. There isn't a med for this, so I'm not bothering to post in Emergencies (and quite frankly, I don't want to hear the gibberish.) As far as I can tell, it's time to just sit and wait.
I just need him to stop floating. I can medicate for the skin issues with melafix in a hospital tank. But I can't medicate if he's going to just float back up to the top and dry out again.
hope he makes it
