Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => The Emergency Room => Topic started by: Littlefish on May 12, 2017, 07:54:30 PM
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Hi All.
Please help.
I've just notice a red thing on one of my new otos in quarantine. I've never seen anything like it, but have attached a picture in the hope that someone can identify it and suggest a treatment.
Many thanks.
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You can see the fish better than in a photo - does it look like some sort of creature attached to the fish? As it is red, if it is a creature, it suggests some sort of blood sucking thing.
Does the red thing move at all?
Are there small round marks on any of the otos?
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None of them are cooperating by staying still for me to have a good look.
I'm beginning to wonder if the one fish has somehow cut himself because it seems to be around the fin, which he is holding away from his body, but there does seem to be one bit of red that is sticking out.
The red thing doesn't appear to be moving at all, even though the fish is quite active.
I've been looking online and can't find anything that matches it.
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Could it have impaled itself on something that broke off and left it sticking in the skin? And got coated with blood, obviously.
There is one thing you can try. Have a flattish container filled with tank water ready, and a few paper towels soaked in tank water. Net the fish and carefully transfer it to a soaked paper towel and hold it with its head in the container of tank water and have a good look, with a magnifying glass if necessary. It might be a good idea to have a pair of tweezers to hand just in case they are needed. You need to use the paper towel so that your skin does not touch the oto.
I've done this to try and free a bit of gravel stuck in a fish's throat. I got the gravel out of the goldfish and it survived several months till we gave them away, but I couldn't budge the gravel in the bolivian ram - she died shortly afterwards but I think that was due to the gravel not the handling.
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I'll have a go and update you when done.
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Fish surgery! I hope you find out what it is, and he is ok :fishy1:
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Well, I don't think either of us enjoyed that experience. Wish I still had my dissection kit as that would have provided some perfectly sized tools.
However, perhaps it is just a cut because there didn't seem to be anything to pull out, so I used a cotton bud soaked in the tank water and it washed away some of the blood. It's possible that the blood was along the bottom edge of the fin, which was what made it look like something that was sticking out.
I've put the fish back in the tank for now, and will keep an eye on things.
My last water change was yesterday, and the water parameters are doing well. Perhaps I'll do small water changes every other day, and have a look to see if there is any decor that he could have cut himself on.
Any other suggestions? I want to give all of the new fish the best possible chance of making it through their quarantine period.
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Water changes are the best thing for now, as often as you can manage. The danger now comes from an infection getting into the wound so keep an eye out for that.
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Thanks Sue, I'll go with daily water changes and monitor the situation closely.
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Well done for trying to help him! I would of been so nervous getting him out to do this hopefully it's a cut and doesn't become infected.
Fingers crossed. X
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All otos accounted for this morning.
The big one still has some red around his fin, and I thought I'd lost a little one, but it was pretending to be a leaf.
Regime of daily water changes to start today.
Fingers crossed.
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No overnight casualties or worsening of the problem, that's good to hear. :cheers:
Amazing how well they can hide, isn't it?
Thanks to a recent bout of bullying in my 120 I didn't see Lefty for 2 days. And he's a Dwarf Gourami!!
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That's good news :)
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Glad to hear it seems to be going good.