Fish injured while cleaning tank

[bennybadoo]

I have a 2.5 gal Eclipse tank with a 1 yr. old male Betta and 1 Emerald Cory . While doing a water change and glass cleaning inside the tank I must have injured the Betta. Up until that point both fish were doing very well for the past year, active and eating well with varied foods. After cleaning the tank I noticed the Betta hiding in the log. When he finally did come out I noticed a small circular pink shaped wound about the size of his eye, on the side of his face. It was not there before. They are kept on the kitchen table and we see them all the time.

How do you recommend treating the wound? All water parameters are within normal limits: ph 7.0, ammonia and nitrites are zero, and nitrates 5-10. The tank temperature is maintained between 78-79(+/-) 1 degree. I have one small resin log with fake plants attached and a small gravel base. I have an air stone and an internal temperature monitor. They are fed blood worms, brine shrimp, shrimp pellets, carnivore pellets and I alternate different brands of Betta food for the Betta.

Thank you so much for your help.

[Hooked Newbie]

You'll probably need to treat the whole tank with Pimafix / Melafix to avoid or treat any infection. Hikari does have a product called Bio-bandage which is direct application, but I don't have any first-hand experience wth it.

[bennybadoo]

You'll probably need to treat the whole tank with Pimafix / Melafix to avoid or treat any infection. Hikari does have a product called Bio-bandage which is direct application, but I don't have any first-hand experience wth it.
Hi,
Thank you so much. I have both Pimafix/Melafix. I hope it will be alright for the Cory Cat.

[kj5kb]

Hi,
Thank you so much. I have both Pimafix/Melafix. I hope it will be alright for the Cory Cat.

I've used both at the normal dosages with corys in the tank, no problems...

[bennybadoo]

I've used both at the normal dosages with corys in the tank, no problems...
I just checked out the API website and they say it is okay to use both products at once as Pimafix has more antimicrobial properties than Melafix does. So you are exactly right.
Thanks!

[Mgamer20o0]

good luck with it.

[Cory Keeper]

you really need to remove that cory cat, that tank is too small for them and they need groups to be happy (6 or more)

[bennybadoo]

you really need to remove that cory cat, that tank is too small for them and they need groups to be happy (6 or more)
Thank you for mentioning that. Due to illness and losing my job I had to sell my condo, put things in storage and live with my mom. I went from 1400 sq. ft. condo to an 8x10 bedroom. I have a 30 gallon tank in storage, a Red Sea Max for eventually setting up a reef tank and a 14 gallon Oceanic tank Bio-cube.
I hate to set up a large tank now, only to have to dismantle it in a month with even more fish to move. I have a book on Catfish and I have learned about the Cory's preferring to be in schools of 6 or more. You can't rely on the Pet Shops to educate you on much of anything.
I planned to keep my two fish in the 3 gallon tank while the other larger tank is cycling.
Does this make sense to you?
I really do appreciate your concern and I understand completely. All advice is openly received.

[bennybadoo]

Hi,
His injuries were worse than they first appeared. The swelling has gone down alot on the side of his face. He had some localized tissue damage below his eye. I think it has permanently effected his vision in that eye, possibly due to the swelling that had been on that side of his face.

I am using Maracyn Plus, a liquid Trimethoprin Sulfa medication that uses special technology to adhere to the body of the fish when added to the water. Tomorrow will be the 3rd and last dose of the first round of treatment. I will most likely do another round. One dose in tank on day 1, 3 and 5. With what appears to have been more tissue damage then first estimated, and possible eye involvement I feel it is important to do another round of medication. I keep the tank at 79-80 degrees. All water parameters are good. I will vacuum the tank again this weekend.

He mostly hangs out in the bottom corner, or in his log where he sleeps at night He has come up for food each day, but only eats one bite and goes back down. I am heartbroken for him. With daily improvement that he has had, I feel I have to give him a chance as opposed to putting him down. It takes time to mend. Wish us luck.

[msjinkzd]

good luck, you could try feeding sinking wafers that go to him to ease in his recovery. Also keep a close eye on your water parameters as anti-biotics can sometimes effect your biofilter.

[bennybadoo]

Thank you for responding so quickly. Before his injury, he would eat everywhere, surface, middle, bottom of tank. He would eat small pelleted food like, Omega One Betta Pellets, Atison's Betta Food, Hikari Micro pellets, Omega 1 Blood Worms, Hikari Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp.
However, he was never interested in my Emerald Cory Cat's Hikari Carnivore Pellets, Omega One Shrimp Pellets , or Hikari's Sinking Carnivore Pellets. My Betta would hover over them, almost daring my Cory to try to eat them, but he would never touch them himself. Then he would go away and let my Cory eat.
I try on occasion HBH Super Soft Krill pellets and Wardley's Tropical Crumbles, but they not on his list of favorites.
I will try presoaking his favorite pellets, that usually would float forever, except that he eats them so fast. I will add some of Vita Chem liquid Vitamins and try to deposit them where he hangs out in the corner of the tank when he is not in the log.

Strangely enough my Betta never hung out at the bottom of the tank until I got my Cory Cat and then he would be there most of the time. He was especially fond of 3 Oto Cats that I had. He would be with them all the time.

I will let you know how he does.

[msjinkzd]

my cories really like hikari sinking wafers. You could also try feeding some frozen (defrosted to feed) bloodworms to him using a turkey baster as well. Just be conservative in the amount and be sure to be every dilligent with the water changes to make sure the water stays pristine for his healing.

[bennybadoo]

Hi,

I want to thank you again for your suggestions. The pet shop where I go to gave me a sample frozen cube of blood worms last night. My Betta eats the freeze dried ones before this injury.

I gave him a small sliver this morning. He did not seem to notice them or maybe had no interest. I dropped a few pellets down over him and he ate one of them.
Not being able to see out of one eye is definitely a problem for him. Besides the pain and stress of the injury he now has permanent vision problems. He has been eating about 1 piece of food a day.

He had gone back into his log most of the day. Tonight my mother called to tell me he was out and swimming around with two straight shots to the top of the tank. By the time I got there to sprinkle some food on the surface he had settled down mid level up against the air and temperature monitor hoses.

Upon closer examination, he had reinjured the area beneath his eye. Tiny flecks of blood were coming from the site. It looked like he might have hit the top of his head also.
Being he is handicapped with the loss of sight in one eye, his depth perception must be off. He is in a 3 gallon Eclipse tank with the filter inside in the top if the tank. He could have shot straight up and with his lack of depth perception injured his head again on the corner of the filter intake. Or he could of hit his head on the log. I was not there to see it happen.

Poor guy. He went back into the log and will stay there for the night. I hate to take the log out, he feels safe there since he has been injured. If he is going to reinjure himself what else can I do?

Do you think getting a larger tank would help out? The answer seems obvious...more room to move without running into something. I had planned to do that as soon as I moved in 2-3 months. I probably should not wait. It would be harder for him to find food with only one eye and poor depth perception. I will have to give this some serious thought.

Another option would be to take him out by scooping him up in a small container and feeding him in that so he can find his food easier, until he has healed and is feeling better.

Thanks for listening.

[bennybadoo]

Hi,

I just wanted to update you. I bought a Hagen Marina Multi Breeder unit that hangs inside the aquarium. It is 8x4x4.25. This has helped my Betta get to his food much easier. He ate several blood worms today over 3 small feedings. He actually hit the surface of the water like a Bass catching a surface insect on a lake. He jumps us and snaps the blood worm and twists. He has not been able to do that since his injury.

I can't explain how good it is to see him progressing. I know he is not happy about being isolated but until he has time to convalesce and eat well, this is where he stays.

My Cory cat came up on the front side of the Breeder Unit and stayed there up against the side for one or two minutes as my Betta came up to him. Remember, for most of the past week the Cory spent each night in the log with the Betta, something he never does.

Well it looks like the New Year will have a bright side to it after all. Once again thank you so much for keeping touch and showing your concern. I will let you know when he is strong enough to release back into the aquarium again and is better able to catch his food in a larger body of water.

Happy New Year!

[Rbishop]

Sounds like great improvement!

[msjinkzd]

that is great! glad to hear he is improving.

[Hooked Newbie]

Glad to hear he's doing better! :)