Help! Fish jumped out of tank!

[geogirl]

My Jack Dempsey had jumped out of his tank last night ...
Here is some background on my situation:
I had to move my fish (Lars) to my office into a smaller tank while my apartment is being fumigated. After being here for two days, last night the cleaning lady found Lars on the floor and alerted my co-worker who immediately put him back in the tank. I have no idea how long he was out of the water for, however he is breathing (labored) and moving his fins. The sad thing is he is laying on his side and one eye has clouded over. Do you think he will survive??? It is possible to move him to his original tank tonight, but will that be too stressful on him??

 

[TKOS]

If he is the only fish I would put him into which ever tank has the best water parameters. That might mean leaving him in the smaller tank.

Was the big tank exposed to the fumigation? IS there a chance that poison might have gotten into it.

If he jumped out of the smaller tank it was probably because he was uncomforatble in there. This might just be due to the smaller tank size or else due to poor water condition.

The best I can suggest is to do some small water changes. Hopefully someone else will be able to help who has gone through this situation.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

It probably will be safe to move him back to his own tank now. Though, I would try to avoid using a net, if possible. Try to capture him using a plastic bag if you can. Make sure his tank water is as clean as possible...do a decent water change on it beforehand, up the aeration, and give him a place to hide. If he was healthy to begin with, he should recover just fine. If he developes a severe bacterial infection from this you may need to treat him with antibiotics in an aerated bucket or cooler for a couple of days. Never use antibiotics in the main tank.

 

[mickey]

Things don't look so good for your JD geogirl,
i sincerly hope i'm wrong but from what you have
told us, i don't think so.

 

[geogirl]

thank you for the response. it was obvious that he did NOT like the smaller tank (10 gallons vs. 55-gallons). He started rearranging the gravel!

He is the only fish. My pleco died in March and I had an oscar which died 2 years ago.

I think I will try to set-up his tank at home tonight, making sure to clean it throughly and balance the water chemistry. (right now his "home" tank is empty). But I am scared about the stress of a 10 minute car ride - he hates the car.

If he does make it home, anyone have suggestions about therapeutic water additives?

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Clean, well oxygenated water is the best therapy he can get right now. Though, if you must, Melafix might help him some what.

 

[geogirl]

It's been approximately 43 hours since the incident and Lars is hanging in there. He is back home in his 55-gallon tank. He is still on his side, turning over every now and then.

One thing that has troubled me ... he hasn't eaten for over 4 days! He is unable to eat right now, and when I hand fed him last night he just spit it out. Does anyone know how long a JD (or any cichlid) can go without eating? Also, is it possible that he has brain damage from the lack of oxygen? No one knows how long he was out of the tank for, and when he was found he was not struggling.

 

[TKOS]

Fish can go for weeks without eating, so longa s they were fed quite well before hand.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Don't worry about him not eating right now..fish can go a couple of weeks without food. Try to increase the temperature of the water to around 80-82F and make sure that the water is being well aerated. I'm glad he is still alive..that is a good sign, though the laying on his side does concern me a bit. Are you treating him with any meds right now? How does his skin and fins look? How about his breathing?

 

[geogirl]

Well ... when I saw him this morning before I left for work, his breathing was normal. He does get excited sometimes and tries to either swim or turn upright. He has been successful in turning upright and swimming for a few seconds but then quits and falls back over (I have only seen this 3 times). When he gets excited, his tail fin starts wagging up and down, but he can't really move - thats when his breathing seems a bit labored.

As for his skin, it looks alright and his color is dull but normal. His fins however are tattered and there is a white line across the tail fin where the damage ends.

As for treating him, I did put Melafix and stress coat in his tank last night and today. You said not to treat the main tank, but ... but ... he needed to be in the big tank, it's more stable.