Kogi jumped out...

[Waldo183]

So it seems that Kogi jumped out while I was at work and he was damn near dry by the time I got home but I put him back in and kept him near to top so he could breath and he seems to be surviving? I lowered the water level so he wouldn't have to swim as far up and shut off the filter so he wouldn't have to fight against the current either. It looks to me like he's lost a lot of coloring cause he lost quite a bit of scales? It looks like his scales are flaking off... But he's swimming around on his own now and making it up to the surface to breath... Any tips anyone has to help he heal up would be GREAT and also very very much appreciated!!!! I'm gonna add some stress coat but is there anything else I should add?

Also any ideas of material to make a custom lid for my tank? It's a 4 gallon bowfront so no standard lid I can find will fit it...

[RandomFish]

Originally Posted by Waldo183

Also any ideas of material to make a custom lid for my tank? It's a 4 gallon bowfront so no standard lid I can find will fit it...

You can cut some plastic mesh canvas to fit the top of the aquarium and then weigh it down with a rock or find some rust-proof wiring to clip it to the sides of the aquarium. Sorry, I don't know how to make your little guy feel better.. I hope someone else will reply soon with some advice.

[Drift]

You can also buy thin sheets of plastic/plexi-glass at a hardware store and cut it into the shape needed. Then you can put wholes needed where they need be. Helps lessen water evaporation too. :)
Not sure what all you can really do that you haven't already for him. :( I'm sure someone will come along and give you advice though. :)

[Mizzle]

don't fill the tank up so high is another option. bettas can only jump so high =)

[Waldo183]

So I bought a piece of lexan? or maybe acrylic? and used a dremmel to make it fit over the tank so Kogi won't be able to jump out anymore... I noticed today that his pectoral and tail fins are torn up pretty badly so I was wondering what medication if any to help those grow back and heal as quickly as possible... I've heard using aquarium salt but is there anything else anyone has used with some success?

[Oldfishlady]

Keep the water clean with daily water changes and if he looks to be getting worse- I would QT and use aquarium salt 1tsp/gal along with 100% daily water changes for 10 days.

[Waldo183]

Thanks so so so much!!!!

[Waldo183]

So I hijacked my boyfriends account because I'm worried about our fish and he's at work and can't answer my questions. I just tried to feed him a bio-gold pellet and he ate it. He's also blowing tiny bubbles that stick the the edge of the tank at the top of the water. Is this a good sign?

Also, does anyone know about how long his fins will take to re-grow? I'm worried about them getting too small and him not being able to swim. He's still swimming all around the tank and is making it from bottom to top with what seems to be no trouble but his pectoral fins are getting really thin. I know my boyfriends added in API's Stress Coat, will this help stop the tissue loss? I feel bad for the little guy because it was around a 2.5 foot drop and then we don't know how long he was out for. He kept his fins close to his body last night but they weren't falling off until today.

Please feel free to share anything you can with me because I know very little about bettas. The one thing I do know I love my little fish and I want to do everything I can to help him.

Thanks!

[Waldo183]

P.S. I posted some before and after pics in my album if that helps.

-N.G.

[RandomFish]

Hi, Waldo's nervous girlfriend. It's a good sign that he's eating. :) Don't be too nervous; bettas jump out of their water a lot. I read that the ones in the wild will jump out of a rice paddy and hop along until they find a new home.

Oldfishlady's advice is pretty solid - you can't go wrong with providing him with constantly clean water.

Please be sure to dissolve the aquarium salt in dechlorinated water (takes a long time to fully dissolve) prior to adding to tank w/ fish in it. Aquarium salt will not only alleviate stress by providing him with electrolytes, but will also stimulate fin re-growth by mildly irritating his skin and prompting a slime coat. (I was iffy about recommending aquarium salt because I read that scaleless fish can't handle the salt, and your bf mentioned that Kogi lost some scales, but I guess scaleless fish only refers to fish that aren't supposed to have scales.)

The heater should be set to the upper level of betta comfort - i.e. 80F to 82F. The warmer temperature will boost his metabolism and promote healing.

A darkened, low-traffic environment is also beneficial to healing. Bettas that are used in fighting will be placed in closets after a match in order to heal from injuries.

If you would like to make him feel better, you can use one of the following:

- Atison's Betta Spa
- Tetra Blackwater Extract
- Indian almond leaves (1 leaf per 5 gallons overnight should be good enough... the water will darken but not to worry, bettas like that)
- banana leaves (not sure what the dosage should be, but I read from a knowledgeable person on this board that it's good for healing fins)


Whatever you do, please don't use Melafix, no matter what some pet store employee may tell you. It will heal fins all right but the main ingredient will damage the labyrinth organ of anabantoids such as bettas and will likely kill them.


P.S. Is "Kogi" supposed to mean "fish" in Korean?