Badly injured Senegals

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R

Reginator

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 15, 2006
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Euzkadi
Hi there, recently in my lfs I came accross 2 horribly mauled 4" senegal bichirs, both have had the front fins munched by cichlids, one also has no tail and an open wound at the end of his body. I have a bunch of ready tanks so I took them and they're now in a nice peacefull hospital on their own. Both are able to swim (just) and are eating fine, they've been there a couple of days and the injuries are starting to change from an angry reddish to a more clean whiteish colour. I would imagine this to be a good thing from what I know of human medicine, am I correct? Is there anything that can be done to accelerate the process of regeneration and will they actually regenerate all the damage? I've had considerable success using aloe vera (in raw form) on my amphibians, would it be likely to help these chaps? Any foods to avoid or give them? Sorry for so many questions, this family of fish are new to me although I've been keeping many fish and 'phibs for decades....

Thanks for any help....
 
Glad you saved those little guys. The red turning to white is indeed a sign of healing (would help if you have some photo, could be fungal infection). As long as the base of the fin isn't damaged, they would heal. Im not sure about the one with its tail gone and an open wound. That sounds like a very serious injury.

Don't try applying raw aloe vera on them. You could do more harm than good. Just keep water parameter mint. Add Prime when doing wc, it contain slime coat to aid in the recovery. Feed them well and they would heal with time.

Good luck, hope those little bichirs makes it.
 
add some melafix, it's an aloe vera based medication for fish, just add an extra airstone remove your carbon and be sure not to overdose, great stuff
 
I was going to suggest melafix
Carbon out - melafix in - follow directions.
Water might look filmy at surface, but a couple water changes will fix it.
 
w/out signs of infection ect.. just keep the water quality top, also either lower the water level or add something that they can float on to be able to take breathes of air. they are very hearty fish. They will eat just about anything ime. but i found bloodworms, and nightcrawlers to be 2 of their favorites. I would suggest these as well to help bulk them up abit and help them heal themselves. You can cut up nightcrawlers finely, they are messy. or stick to bloodworms, just be sure to thaw them well first.

PS- I also use melafix/pimafix for certain ailments.. and DO NOT reccomend it for useing airbreathing species. pimafix mainly but sometimes melafix can cause perminent damage to these species. Medications in general should be used very carefully. If you d use these medications I would strongly suggest useing 1/2 doses and NOT removeing carbon ect from your system. also if your running a sump it will foam alot.
 
No problem with not medicating, I tend to prefer it as a last resort (habit from 'phibs). They're eating bloodworm and meaty sinking pellets, I actually got one of their siblings a few months back from the same lfs (then the 'tards re-stocked and stuck malawi frikkin cichlids in with them) and he's about twice the length and fat 'n healthy. I have effectively unlimited indoor space to work with as I have a warehouse with koi and cichlids in, and locals have started to drop off their unwanted bigg'uns. I live in Spain so the level of education on the subject of fish is pretty shocking, stores stock all sorts and people often impulse-buy. I've acquired to date: 2 pseudoplatystoma tigrinum at about 14", 1 RTC at about 20", 1 RTC at about 6" (once the proud new owner had been told to look at the 20" one and take into account the fact it's still a baby), 2 Pangasius at about 12", 1 Channa at about 16" and a 14" silver aro. Needless to say I'm building a few indoor ponds to house all these, what kind of size would be right for the amazonian beasts and can they all go together long-term? They are together right now and get along fine with the oscars (who's home they're squatting) so I was considering putting all of them in a 10,000 litre pond (about 2000 gallons US I think?). What kind of tankmates can the polypterus live with once they get up to size? I prefer biotypes but don't mind mixing if the selection is limited....
 
U did the right and helpful choice by buying the bichirs out of their miseries. i bet the workers wouldn't care of the hurt bichirs anyways. Googd luck with them.. The bichirs are very hardy fish so a few torn fins won't skrew around in their lives. pics of ur bichirs would be awesome. Don't forget to put salt.
 
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