I need URGENT help!

[akjadestar]

Well I had this little terra cotta pot in my bettas tank, it was on it's side, and it was meant to be a cave.. but Venus never really went in it... he normally liked to stay on the top and hide in plants. Well... today when I got home from school I was looking all over for him in his tank, and I found him by the plant pot, with his head stuck in the hole that was on the bottom of the pot. I honestly thought he would never manage to get himself stuck there, and I thought it was pretty big of a hole, enough for him to slip through.. anyways... I got my sister to come up and I was crying because I thought he was dead... but my sister saw he was moving a bit, and I noticed he was puffing his gills in and out and his mouth was opening and closing. Since he hates fishnets we took it and put it near him thinking maybe if he saw it he would try to swim right away and pull himself free. He moved out a little, and I think when he did he rubbed off some of his scales... so then he squirmed back to how he was before...
My dad helped us out and broke open the pot with some pliars... So Venus was free, but my dad told me he didn't look too good... well I just wasn't ready to see him suffering so bad... so I stayed away. Later my dad told me he was lying on his side, and he thought he was toast... we had the airstone on, thinking that would help him breathe or something.
Well... I finally worked up the courage to go see him and he was lying on his side, still, but to my surprise he was still alive... his gills are slowly rising and falling. He has a patch of scales missing above his head... I'm keeping on his airstone so he can get a bit of oxygen since he can't go get air from the surface... and I'm doing a half water change tomorrow, that way I won't have to move him out of the tank... Hopefully it'll be enough and it has to wait til tomorrow since it's late tonight...
do you have any other advice? if he survives the night that is...

[Sella]

Aw honey I think you're doing the best you can.. I'll pray for you and you're little manfish.

[dramaqueen]

I would keep the water clean as possible and lower the water level so he can get to the surface easier. And plug up holes in terra cotta pots.

[xxabc]

His main source of oxygen is the labrynth organ, not the gills. So the best way is to lower the water level by a lot, so he can reach the top much easier. Keep his water very clean as well.

[Starbright]

I never even thought of fish getting stuck in that hole! I should rearrange my pot too > < I really hope he pulls through!

What the above people said sounds right. Good luck good luck!

[dramaqueen]

I've heard of it happening.

[akjadestar]

Thank you! He's still hanging in here. I gave him some aquarium salt because it's supposed to help gill function, I don't know if I can lower the water level. The airstone tube goes inside a large riser tube, and when I've tried putting it outside of the tube, it seems to bother him a lot. And he's in really sensitive condition right now... so I'm a bit worried, and the water level has to be above the riser tube for it to work... Otherwise I would do that.. Oh he looks so awful, the only way I can tell he's still alive is his gills puffing out and occasionally he'll move around his tail... it looks like he's trying to swim but he can't get his head off the ground... I don't know why. But around his head is where a ton of his scales are gone, and since that's around the area he was trapped I think he has some gill damage.
Just now I noticed a sliver of the pot still left behind in the tank, that my dad had left behind, and while I was trying to scoop it up with the net, Venus, who was right near by, was wriggling around.
Oh yeah, and this morning I found him in the same position , lying on his side.
When I was changing his water this morning I didn't move him out of the tank, I just let him be and used a cup to scoop out half the water, then dumped in the new water. He wiggled around and I honestly thought he was about to die. He can't move! I don't know why he can't lift his head. I'm hanging on to my money does anyone know what medicine might help? I don't know what else will work... =[
I've never felt so hopeless...

[vaygirl]

I'm so sorry! It does sound like you're doing everything you can. If it were me I'd find some way to help him get to the top to get air here and there. Maybe by lifting him in your cupped hand rising him to the surface? Is he afraid of hands at all? I don't know if this would stress him. It's just an idea.

[dramaqueen]

I would put him in a smaller container while he recovers. Then he can get to the surface easier.

[akjadestar]

Well, I don't know if I wanna move him, I'm so scared of hurting him because he has so many missing scales... I'd rather leave him in his tank with shallow water, if I move him I'll only stress him out more and possibly hurt him.
I may not know better (probably I don't) but I think he's only living on the air pump right now... I could just be full of it o.o
So I'm in a dilemma right now... is the air pump even helping him? Because right now, I don't want the water shallow because the airpump doesn't work in shallow water. But if he doesn't need it, then I can lower the water level.
I'm still unsure though cause Venus couldn't swim to the top if he wanted to. Like I said, he's on his side and he'll try moving but he can't raise his head.
But he must get around because almost every time I check on him, he's lying in a different spot.
Another worry of mine is he might starve if this carries on too long. I limited his feeding to once every 2 or 3 days because he was getting a little fat and I feed him flakes and it's hard to control how many you feed him and I normally end up giving way too much. I was supposed to feed him this morning, but he can't swim, so yeah..
Does anyone know of a medicine or something I could give him?