HELP!! MY FLOWERHORN IS LAYING ON THE TANK BOTTOM

[Justin2021]

So I ordered a flowerhorn on Monday and it shipped yesterday and I got it today. When I opened the package, there was only an inch of water that was extremely cold and he wasn’t moving. I quickly put warm tank water in with him and in about 5 minutes he started to breathe and within an hour of giving him oxygen he can swim for about 5 seconds then he floats to the bottom of the tank and lays on his side, for the past 2 hours He’s been leaning on a rock with an air pump next to him. Please help me with what I could do to get him better
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[Justin2021]

Update he’s still in the same position but he is breathing fast but he can move around a little more

 

[fisheatfish]

Whatever you can do to help atm, you're doing it. Hope you took pics of the terrible packaging from the seller...you're entitled to a refund if he doesn't pull through.

 

[squint]

How hard is your water? Survivability of ammonia exposure and osmoregulatory dysfunction is enhanced by harder water. Gills are used for many things: acid-base balance, gas exchange, ammonia excretion, osmoregulation, etc. If they're breathing fast then one or more things may be disrupted.

Salt:

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/articles/frequently-asked-questions-on-using-salt

If you have an oxygen concentrator you can supersaturate the water which helps with the gas exchange aspect.

 

[Justin2021]

How hard is your water? Survivability of ammonia exposure and osmoregulatory dysfunction is enhanced by harder water. Gills are used for many things: acid-base balance, gas exchange, ammonia excretion, osmoregulation, etc. If they're breathing fast then one or more things may be disrupted.

Salt:

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/articles/frequently-asked-questions-on-using-salt

If you have an oxygen concentrator you can supersaturate the water which helps with the gas exchange aspect.

I added salt last night And his breathing had gone down a lot. Since this morning he is starting to sit up on his own and swim around more too. I tried to give a mealworm and he swam to it then stopped.

 

[kno4te]

Keep doing what ur doing. Seems to be improving. Contact the seller and let him or her know what has occurred. Hope it gets better.

 

[Vampire fish]

Keep him relaxed sounds like he'll come around

 

[squint]

I added salt last night And his breathing had gone down a lot. Since this morning he is starting to sit up on his own and swim around more too. I tried to give a mealworm and he swam to it then stopped.

Sounds like he's recovering well. Remember that he's accustomed to higher salinity now so you'll need to acclimate him back to your normal water at some point.

I think many of those new arrivals you see at some LFS laying on the bottom hyperventilating could be saved if some kind of salvage protocol was established.

 

[Justin2021]

Update: he is now almost perfectly fine. Hen can swim good and has a large appetite.

 

[flowerhorny]

congrats on the revival ..you def picked out a good one ..beautiful !!