Kind of a weird situation...fish fell on the floor. Need some advice kind of quickly!

[doreenjoy]

Put the fish into QT.

If you want, you can do a salt bath first (take 1 gallon of water out of the main tank, dissolve 1 Tablespoon salt in it, and put the fish in there for 10 minutes). Watch the fish while it's in the salt bath and remove it immediately if it shows signs of distress.

I had this same problem before with a cardinal tetra that got injured on its nose. I'm sorry I don't remember the name of the white cottony fungus....best not to guess at it. But QT is the best way to go so you can medicate that fish if need be.

 

[wataugachicken]

what is the point of the salt bath? the fish already has a thickened slime coat. i would just leave it alone and let it heal.

 

[doreenjoy]

Just suggesting what worked for me. The OP updated that the fish is developing a fungus, so IMHO it needs to be moved out of the main tank at this point.

 

[rsanz]

I've heard of salt baths being used to treat fungal infection.

I assume it's fungal. Fungal infection is usually what develops when a fish is physically injured, correct?

 

[doreenjoy]

Mine had columnaris, which is technically a bacteria but looks like a fungus. The open wound gave the bacteria a place to invade the fish.

 

[rsanz]

Here are a couple photos...best I could do on short notice.

First, his good eye:

Now, his infected eye:

Just to clarify, both pics are of the same fish. I know it's blurry, but you can at least see a cloudiness surrounding his eye. It is clearly not as clear as his normal eye.

 

[doreenjoy]

Hard to tell from the photo if it's something to worry about or not. If it is looking like a puffy white cottony substance, I'd put the fish in QT.

If it just looks white, you have the option of leaving where he is. Will you sleep better if the fish is in QT?

 

[J double R]

first off.. its highly unlikely that a fungal infection would set in after only a few hours. if his eye was damaged, that is likely just swelling and slime covering the eye.

fungus is still possible, especially from here on out, but i doubt that's what it is now. not every white puffy thing is fungus. worst case scenario, an infection of some sort DOES set in, and he loses the eye. best case, it heals well enough and he will probably have slightly obscured vision on that side.

 

[rsanz]

Well, two rasboras died overnight. The one with the white eye growth, and what I can only assume to be the other one that was on the floor for a few seconds. I'm down to six.

I'll have to replace them next weekend. Oh well. Thanks for all your help, guys.

 

[FishyMatty]

Just to make you feel better I dropped one of my discus on the floor when I was preparing to move. I kept dropping him every time I tried to pick him up because his spines kept getting me and i didn't want to squeeze too tight. He was probably on the floor for a minute or more . That was 4 months ago and hes fine. Fish are resilient even discus who are said to be the most delicate.