sorry for your loss. It's always rough to lose your first fish. And with all that you went through, I'm sure it was worse. At least you tried though, and I applaud you for that.
while were on the subject of jumping fish,
my arowana is constantly trying to jump but hits the top of the tank instead, what would you use to heal a 3 1/2' fish if it jumped out and was all dried up??
Duct tape the hood down. That is a big fish to have out of water period. I would hate to try and put him back, it's not like he is a bass or something.