Howdy all, I haven't posted in a looooong time! Anywho, I have a stuck Beunos Aires Tetra. He's got himself wedged in a tiny window on a castle decoration I have. He has his head and gills popping thru, but his fat body is preventing him from swimming thru. I don't know what the best approach is to remove him. My only option for now is starve the fish until it is small enough to fit thru, but, at the same time I'm worried that it'll struggle to death. THe castle is made out of really hard plast/resin, so cutting is not an option. Any ideas?? Thanks!
Stuck tetra
- Thread starter jdheff1982
- Start date
have you tried nudging him out backwards? the way he came in. a couple lost scales wont be as bad as the struggle he has right now.
I tried last night and I was afraid of ripping off its gills. Think it would be better just to put it out of its misery????
Dangerdoll
Global Moderator
ugh, jd sounds like a nightmare and I can just imagine the panic....... do you have another tank to put him in, maybe with some melafix?
Use a smooth plastic wedge to make sure the gill cover doesn't get ripped off--I'd have a quarantine tank setup for the fish to go into after removal, so it can recover without being stressed by tank mates. It would probably be easier if you can get someone to help--one person to hold the gastle, another to work scales down and through, going backwards. It's rough, but normally works. Maybe a small dose of clove oil to knock him out first--it will help if the fish can't struggle.
I tried freeing it again and he is pretty stuck, I think it died before I left before I left for school. I didn't see an gill movement.