Emergency! Motoro stung itself!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
J

jstavis

Candiru
MFK Member
Mar 18, 2009
222
1
48
Madison, WI
Ok, I have two motoros. The male has been trying to breed aggressively with the female for the last month, presumably unsucessfully. In the last two weeks the female has gotten really roughed up with big bites and chunks taken out of the disk.

So I just looked over at the tank, and I saw the weirdest thing: the female has bent her tail around and managed to stick her barb into herself... its pretty well lodged in there and now she can't move her tail. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I try to rip it out myself or let her handle it. This is an odd and potentially dangerous situation., I think
 
I managed to snap a picture. As you can see, she's in pretty rough shape. I'm really hoping the male will seal the deal soon and give her a break.

IMG_0119.JPG
 
Bizarre!!!...she should be fine,its missed the vital organs,stabs to muscle tissue rarely cause a problem.....it will heal fast providing your water parameters are good.The addition of some salt wouldnt do any harm to protect against infection.
Good luck!
 
It was pretty distressing watching her swim around for five minutes with her tail bent back around like that.

What do you guys think I should do about the larger issue-- I don't want to stop the male from attempting to breed, but she's getting torn up pretty badly. Is the best course of action to separate them or will the male eventually flip her? Also, it's my understanding that males generally ignore females during pregnancy. Does this aggression rule out the possibility that she's pregnant right now? She's a pretty lumpy, though i haven't see any definitive movement.
 
I would get him out sharpish She don't need him stressing her out anymore. She needs to be left on her own . I would give it a couple of days if it's not out by it's self u will need to get it out . U will need something like nail clippers to trim the barb . Salt the water and hope she recovers as I think she will . Good luck !
 
Fortunately she pulled it out herself shortly after my first post. The wound is small and is nothing compared to the love bites that the male has been laying on her.
 
It happened to my'' big mama''... with the difference that sting was broken and I must pulled out
 
seperate them for a few days. let her rest and heal. if you dont, she could die from stress....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom