Female hiding/stuck?

[nimrod]

Hi all,
my fish (common goldfish) are old enough to have learned about the birds and the bees. They have been behaving in a "reproductive manner" lately. One of the largest females has been chased around the pond for hours by 3-4 males. After the chasing had completed, the female was resting on the bottom of the pond in a crater of muck. I assume this is where she chose to release her eggs? But the day after, I couldn't find her in her usual spot, but instead saw her tail sticking out of a crack/fold in liner over near the pump housing. I assumed she was hiding and left her alone. I came back to find her in the exact same spot the following day. I began to worry. One day later (today) she is STILL there. Just her tail poking out. I worried she had gotten stuck (suction from the pump?) so I poked her tail with a stick. She didn't really move or respond, so I got really worried. I used the stick to try to see a bit more into the little crack, and when I did, the fish "swam" deeper! *note: she couldn't actually go any further into the crack, so she wasn't actually any deeper*

Is this behavior normal? Should I be worried? Should I try and remove the stuck female?

 

[JRS]

Spawning can be very hard on the females being chased, especially when outnumbered. Sounds like she is trying to be left alone. Unless she is right against the pump intake, that should not be the issue. Length of time seems long but besides extracting her from the fold and checking her physical condition, not sure what else to do.

 

[Tula]

Is there any way to get a better look at her ( for instance lifting rocks etc. ) without pulling her out?

 

[nimrod]

Is there any way to get a better look at her ( for instance lifting rocks etc. ) without pulling her out?

not really... She's really just wedged in a fold. Nothing movable around her. She's sorta on her side too.

 

[nimrod]

Update: She died.

Rip.