My goldfish had a horrible filter accident. Not sure whether he can recover?

Question

I have a Whisper EX 45 filter. The bottom part apparently came loose during the night. This morning, I checked on the tank and found my pearlscale oranda stuck to the filter tube by his head. He is a Hamanishiki variety so his two domes were extremely swollen from the sucking pressure on his head. His face "shrunk" from the pressure so his eyes are bulging a little and are now tilted downwards at a 45 degree angle. His mouth looks like that of a butterfly fish so I'm concerned with how he can eat. Obviously, I freed him as soon as I saw him and fixed the filter tube. He was a little lackluster at first but he is swimming more actively now.

In all my years of raising fish, I have never encountered such an accident so I'm not sure what his survival rate is. I am hoping he will slowly recover from the shock and that his face will return to normal once the swelling on his head reduces. Has anyone experienced this with an oranda goldfish?

Answer 1

I just had the same thing happen with one of my goldfish i freed him asap and he had a hard time swimming but with in 4-8 hours later he is swimming around like nothing ever happened for the most part and the water in my tank is far from perfect its been filled with water for less then 24 hours now and only had minimal water treatment added

Answer 2

I've never experienced that with a goldfish, but my male angelfish did get stuck between the glass and the heater and he was there for a good few hours. I felt so bad when I freed him, but he just floated down to the bottom and sulked there. Even his lady friend couldn't get him to perk up. Unfortunately three days later he died. Of course angelfish are more fragile than goldfish most of the time...



For now, all you can do is maintain immaculate water quality. It's best if you keep the lights turned off as bright lights can stress him out. Monitor him a lot, see how he's doing. It could help to add a little bit of aquarium salt into the tank (1tsp/5g) to help heal his cuts if any, and to help him recover. The salt will also sooth him and it'll also allow him to produce more electrolytes which make him healthy.



Make sure that you remove any other fish in the tank just to make sure that nobody picks on the weak guy! He might perk up in a few days, it will take a lot of nursing him back to life for him to get better. On a higher note, you did say he is active, so I think he has a chance! If he's not eating, try hand feeding him.

Answer 3

there is a pretty good survival rate. this has happened to my fish too. what you need to do is get some Melafix for your aquarium, it helps with shock. i put some in my tank and BAM! instant results! also, remove all other fish from the tank. goldfish are members of the carp family, and will eat anything. therefore, any other goldfish will think of the weak one as food. also, keep the water at prime position. if you don't already have water test strips and conditioning drops, i would recommend getting some of those. also, i would recommend getting a new filter. hope this helps! I hope your fish doesn't die, mine did, so i know how sad it can be. :)

Answer 4

I've had this happen to numerous fish, whom unfortunately didn't survive the night. However, most of the ailments that my fish have had was cured by Melaflix. It has a tea tree root extract that helps heal abrasions, fin rot, pop-eye, etc. It allows more air into the water so the fish can heal faster. Its safe enough for daily use, also. You just follow the dosing instructions on the bottle and he should perk right back up.

Answer 5

Wow I feel bad. I don't think there is anything you can do except keep the water conditions immaculate and hope he can recover on his own. I wish you all the best - never came across stuff like this. Then again I once had a filter open up (like yours), completely eat up, and kill a fish so hey you're better off....

Answer 6

I had this with a angel and a platie. i am surprised you found him alive. i found the angel freed him, and he swam a inch away and died. yours may die soon but hopefully not. SORRY

Answer 7

Awww your so sweet to take care of a goldfishy! This story just made my day!!...except for the part where he got hurt...but regardless, I'm unsure of his survival rate, but maybe google it?

Answer 8

wow. cute. goldfish secks <3