Does anybody know anything about fish?

[Gepansy]

I have a rather big fish tank in my room.
The other day when I was still sick, Sara was inside.
I heard her collar, but had no clue where she was.
I was sure she was in my room, but niether one of my parents were so I decided to go check on her.
My lamp wasn't on, I could barely see, but just enough to see a shark-like figure in my floor....instantly I knew exactly what it was and what Sara had been doing.
My mom had fed my fish for me that morning and forgot to move the light back over for a lid.(my other lid was glass and broke)
It had happened once and now, again.
My algae eater had jumped out of the tank for the second time.
I was terrified and my mom refused to touch him!
Finally, she put him back in the tank.
It had been about two weeks now and he was fine until recently.
One side of his body looks white, red, and raw sorda.
I noticed white around one of his eyes too, but I looked up close and noticed that it is out of the socket a little bit.
It looks swollen from a distance.
I was wondering if any of you know any medicine I can put in the tank or if there is even anything I can do for him.
He is getting plenty of food.
If there is a medicine for him, I would have to put it in with my other fish.I don't have another bowl that's big enough for him...he's HUGE!!!!
What do I do?????

[slleipnir]

I don't really know much, maybe you could talk to your vet? Maybe get a new tank, like the plastic ones their not to pricey, and put him in it till he's better..maybe its stress or something from him jumping out of the tank and such..

[Logan]

I know you're upset. Call your local pet store. They can advise you of anything you can do for him. You may need to separate him from the others, as Audrey suggested, even if you just get a divider to section him off from the other fish in the aquarium. I don't know if they make antibiotic drops for fish, but maybe. I would definitely check with people who see these fish. I hope he'll be ok, Gepansy, but if he isn't, I hope he won't suffer. That's exactly why I don't have fish!!! Can't stand to see them suffer.

[slleipnir]

Logan, I know what you mean but not wanting to see them suffer. A lot of fish get stuck and die in those filters, I used to have gold fish that did that.

I used to own a lot of fish, I know you can get stress drops for them, so maybe theres something else you can do. Hope things work out for the best. Let us know what happens

[Gepansy]

Originally posted by Logan
Call your local pet store.

Wish we had one.

[Logan]

Oh, sweetie, I wish you did too.

[aly]

I am so sorry for your fish. I wish I could offer you some advice. I have had fish for years and years but not run across that problem.

I hope he gets better.

[Kfamr]

My neighbors had a fish which got white bumps all over it, you need to go to a pet store, or maybe a vet? im not sure but have somone check it out, they had to put some kind of stuff in the water the help the fish and it didnt hurt the other fish, it prevented them from getting the bumps. I used to have fishies.. ahh i miss them... Onel was a big black puffy like fishwhich i named "Puff Daddy" , after the rapper that has now changed his name to "P diddy" anyways i also had an albino gold fish (the only different one in the tank! thats why i got him ) which was like a pink/white color so his name was Pinky from Pinky and the Brain (a cartoon) and then i had a cory cat sish which was a orangish color that i named Elmo. I REALLY want my fishies back.. and i actually dont mind cleaning the tank every once and a while. Elmo and Pinky had a baby once. Of course right befor we were going on vacation and we couldnt take care of it... it was so small we put it in a little glass with some rocks and a little plant and gave it to my neighr to watch along with the others. She put the glass on the vcr (to keep it warm hehe) but eventually it died sorry to blabber on i think fishies are so cool! But you should really try to find a pet store near you.. sounds like maybe one of the other fish may have attacked it though (after being out and everything maybe the other fish didnt recognize the fish and attacked it, because i know when you get a new fish your supposed to put the bag in the water with the fish in it befor you let it go in there for the other fish get used to it. good luck hope the fishie is ok

[zippy-kat]

Alyssa, there is RX for fish in with all my other fish stuff...and I *think* there's a bowl big enough for him... (she's not kidding guys, he is HUGE!!)

Separate him from the others and try some Zeemax...that's the only thing I can think of at the moment. Have mom read some of the other Rx's to see if he fits any of the descriptions. **Sounds like he has a bit of a fungus combined with something else... I also have some Pepso Food you can try on him...use it SPARINGLY...

Wish I were there to help!

[shais_mom]

I can't help at all, but I thought maybe you should try copying and pasting this to the "pet Section" I am sure there are some fish owners down there! Good luck!

[AdoreMyDogs]

Alyssa, I will call the aquarium shop where I used to work. They only had fish and small animals and they specialized in fish. The 2 owners know anything and everything about fish. I will read them what you wrote and see what they say. They will then be able to recomend a cure and I'll write down what it is. If you don't have the same product they recomend, let me know and we'll be able to work something out. My guess is that during treatment, the algae eater (is it a plecostomas...or pleco for short?) will have to be seperated from the other fish.

Like I said, I'll call the aquarium shop from work today and we'll get an answer for you

[Pam]

My husband has had fish for years and years. Right now we have two very large tanks (I think a 60 gallon and a 75 gallon). Similar things have happened to us over the years. I know there was a time I rescued a fish off the floor and put him back, only to find that the other fish in the tank began to take advantage of his weakened condition and began nibbling on him. Unfortunately they do that sometimes and that may explain his red, raw condition. I was going to suggest contacting your local store and ask them what medicine to put into the tank. He would need to be isolated and treated separately. It sounds like Leslie is going to come through with the answer later on today. Good luck and keep us posted.

[zippy-kat]

Thanks you guys...Alyssa will be thrilled to read this after she gets home from school!

Yes, Leslie, he's a pleco.

[AdoreMyDogs]

OK, here's some info from the fish experts at the aquarium shop I used to work at:

First thing you want to do is test the PH and O2 (nitrite) of the water. Very important. If you don't have an aquarium shop or a PetSmart near you, you should buy a kit and test and test the water at home. It may be as simple as doing a 1/4 to 1/2 water change every other day for a couple of weeks. PetSmart does the water samples for free, just bring in a few ounces of the fish tank water (don't test just after a water change, you want to test the pre-water change conditions of the water)

If the PH and O2 are at a normal level then you need to start the pleco on either MelaFix or Wound Ease and follow the instructions for dosage on the package. Those medications are made by the company "Aquarium Pharmasuticles". The Wound Ease helps to rebulid the fishes natural slime coat that was damaged from jumping out of the tank. The MelaFix helps to clear up bacterial infections, which is what it sounds like he has by your description. The MelaFix also has medicine in it to help rebuild the slime coat.

The pleco should be removed from the tank containing other fish because the other fish may be feeding off his bacterial infection, thinking it's fish food. That will eventually make the fish worse and worse until it dies. He has to be seperated until his wounds are healed and he has cleared up his bacterial infection. If you do put him in a quarantene tank, make sure you are real good about water changes, because "new tanks" are always difficult to keep the PH and O2 levels at a normal level.

Good luck. I hope the fishie is OK and makes it through this OK. Please update us on his progress

[Gepansy]

Thank you guys for all the help.
I will go back over this info later.(school morning...really busy right now)
Sorry I didn't post sooner, but I've been really busy with school and ect.
I will be sure to try what you said to.
I will update after I do it to tell you how he's doing.
Thanks guys!!!!!!!
Alyssa