goldiegirl Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 Hi, this morning I woke to a horrifying sight, my 1-inch calico fantail stuck to the filter intake of my AquaClear 300. I had to shut off the filter to release the fantail. When I did, he started swimming away, but I noticed that his dorsal fin and one of his pelvic fins were gone, and he was listing very badly. Then he sank to the bottom, but every once in a while he'd swim sideways. I finally scooped him up and put him in a container of tank water, then put the container in the freezer to euthanize him. Did I do right? I didn't think he had any hope. I'm going to put a piece of foam over the intake to prevent future accidents (luckily my fish was alone in his tank). He was always a slow-swimming fish and the intake was just above the gravel. I feel awful. He was with me for only 2.5 months. This was preventable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 Hmmm, I'd have thought he'd have more than enough speed to keep from getting sucked against the intake. I'd have given him more time to recover, he would have been extremely stressed and might have just been in shock and would have recovered given a day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 I would have give him more time to recover too. Another point is...it is now considered cruel to euthanase a fish by freezing as they die very slowly. The best way to kill a fish is to dash it hard onto concrete. Hope this does not put you off fish keeping! :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldiegirl Posted June 11, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2002 So even if my fish was missing its dorsal fin, it might have been all right? Now I feel really bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 11, 2002 Report Share Posted June 11, 2002 Hi Goldigirl, good to have you back again. Don't be too hard on yourself, these things are sent to try us, and losing any fish is upsetting, but it's all part of keeping fish. Perhaps your fish might have recovered, but then again it could have gone through a long episode of fungus and fin rot that would have been hard to erradicate. Deciding what to do on the spur of the moment is always hard. The thing is, you've taken the correct measures to stop it happening again, although a piece of fine mesh like a kids fishing net wrapped over the intake might have been better as it won't restrict the flow like the foam will. Sounds as though he was on his own, so it might be time to shop for two or three more so they'll have some company. Regards Bill (Pegasus) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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