Help! I think my fish has had a bad reaction!

[Fisharetheapy1983]

At this point, I wouldn't be concerned with adding anything to the pond, but getting the water healthy for them. If the water is bad, adding something won't do any good. The water will still be toxic and any medications won't help since the cause of the problem is still there.

If your water has chlorine in it, then you need a dechlorinator. You also need good testing kits, not strips since those are so inaccurate they are pretty useless. You can get the API Master Test Kit or their Pond Test Kit and it will have most everything you will need. The only other test you will need is for KH and you may need to order that online.

Always fix the water first and in order to do that, you have to know what condition the water is in.

I would recommend that you catch the fish and put some triple antibiotic oinment on that wound. You will need to dry that area as much as you can with a paper towel and the salve will be hard to get to stick. But it should help. But it will have a hard time healing if your water isn't healthy, so you really need to address that as well.

Good luck.

Okay thank you for all your advice I will do all what you have recommended. I appreciate your time and help. Thank you

 

[Fisharetheapy1983]

Sorry about your fish. They make something called stress coat, it’s also a dechlorinator and many different brands make it. It helps with the fish’s protective slime coat, might tray adding some. I wouldn’t do any treatments unless it is looking worse or it’s behavior becomes concerning. Health water, healthy fish is a good mantra.

Thank you for your help and advice

 

[Fisharetheapy1983]

View attachment 131345@Fisharetheapy1983
I never put any so call safe chemicals in my pond water that brag about clearing your pond of whatever.
Seems we hear of a lot of mishaps from people who do. Hope your fish gets better.

Thank you ❤

 

[IPA]

@Fisharetheapy1983 It’s apparent that you care a lot about the health of your fish. Can you tell us a little more. How long have you had the pond, approximately how many gallons , how big is it length, width, depth. How long have you had the fish? Yes, the API stress coat is also a dechlorinator and it would be a good item to use in your case. Please don’t be overwhelmed by all of the advice.

 

[Phaewryn]

How is the fish doing now? Here's a water test kit if you have not gotten one yet: https://www.amazon.com/API-FRESHWATER-800-Test-Freshwater-Aquarium/dp/B000255NCI. You want the freshwater one, not the pond one. I wouldn't attempt to keep fish in a location I did not have access to power. Filtration and aeration are important. Can you run an extension cord through a window somehow? That's how I have my pond set up, I run an extension cord out the kitchen window, hooked up to the GFCI outlet on the kitchen circuit. I used some foam insulation to seal the gap where the screen can't close all the way because of the cord. I rent as well, but my landlords love my little pond and do not mind me running power out there to it.

If he's still hanging in there, but not improved with what you've tried so far, you could take the fish to a vet (it sounds weird, but yes, this is something that you can do). If you have another container/tank with a filter/aeration you could treat the injured fish by itself with any number of helpful medications, but you'd need to have a hospital tank ready to go. If you are really attached to the fish this may be worth investing into. A vet can culture the wound and see what antibiotics to treat it with. You shouldn't treat with antibiotics in your main pond since they kill the beneficial bacteria, you'd need a hospital tank. Aquarium salt and antibiotics will likely be what a vet recommends (it depends on the cause of the lesion), but only if you have the ability to set up a separate tank to treat the injured fish in. It need not be a fancy aquarium, a rubbermaid bin can suffice, but it does need to have an air pump (you need to have access to electric power). Many medications you add to the water reduce the oxygen in the water, so you must have an air pump running to treat with most of them. A HOB aquarium filter would also work for a hospital tank for a single fish so long as the water drops into the container from a high enough level to create good aeration, be sure there's no activated carbon in the filter as it will remove the medicine your vet prescribes. If you bring the fish inside to a cooler location (because you have no power outside), you may also need to heat the water with an aquarium heater. There are some medications that are just a "bath" which mean the fish goes in it for a few minutes, then back into the main pond, thus you would not need an air pump or filter. This is another option, a vet would be best to tell you which would be the best one for your fish. Or you could try random treatments on your own and hope one works (there are many, just search for "treatment fish ulcer" and you'll see there are lots of options). I've never had a fish with an ulcer, so I can't recommend a specific treatment that has worked for me, other than adding aquarium salt to the water as a general "first ditch effort" for any fish injury/illness.