Ah, Shovelnose the Lima

Taratron · Post by **Taratron** » 24 Jun 2006, 22:44

If only the camera was working...

At work, we have a 200+ gallon tank that houses 6 fish: 5 adult silver dollars, and Shovelhead, the lima shovelnose who cannot, unfortunately, easily turn around in his tank due to the rockwork imposed on the glass. That aside.

This past Tuesday I opened the building to find Shovelhead on the floor (his tank is on the top tier of a two-tier system), which meant that he fell a good seven feet before striking hard tile, and survived despite the wild mice, scorpions, and roaches and ants that peek out when I'm not right around. I immediately felt him, and he was alive! Joy to the world, and into the tank he went. And he lives still, though I don't know how long he was out of the water. A few hours, I imagine...

There are two problems facing me now: he's in the display tank, because the only QT we have is a 55 gallons, which I know would be way too small for a fish nearly 17 inches long. So, QT or leave him on display? The silver dollars leave him alone; I honestly think he, after a good meal earlier Monday, decided that a dollar would be nice to seize a chunk out of, and the fish dodged when he lunged up, and out he went...

The second is how to care for him now. He is pretty beat up; all his under-jaw barbels are gone, and his above-jaw barbels have turned white (dead tissue, I guess?), and are curling up as they fall off. His tail is missing chunks, and on his fins, the rays are showing through. And good patches of skin all roughed up from his abrupt fall. Medication would be hard in a tank this size, but it is doable; so far I am doing extra water changes, and adding garlic to the water. What else can be done that he pulls through with minimal suffering? He has not eaten since I put him back in the water, but I hope his appetite will come back soon.

Ruutie · Post by **Ruutie** » 08 Jul 2006, 02:29

I like to use MelaFix. It is availiable in a 64oz. highly concentrated size that will last you forever. Your local pet store can order it for you or you can get the pond MelaFix it is more concentrated than the small bottles usually found in the stores.