Fish attacked by kitten

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FishSlave

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2009
7
0
0
NY
Hello everyone. I don't know if anyone remembers me. Apparently the site doesn't as it's telling me to make my "first" post! It's been quite a few years since I've been on here but I have had quite a bit going on in my life (illness) and the fish hobby has been out for a bit.
I have been suckered back into fish owning by my special needs daughter. She won a fish at the carnival and it's been down hill ever since for me.
This fish is your run of the mill comet goldfish. I could flush it, or buy her a new one, but she would notice. She pays attention to very close detail and she would know if this fish was not "Mr Fishy" Okay enough about that..
This is my issue:
The kittens (that I rescued of course..) got curious and decided to try and eat my little one's goldfish. I went to feed the cats (we have 4) some treats and one of the treats bounced off the chair so i went to pick it up and bam. I see the goldfish on the floor and I was SURE he was dead. He was mauled really bad, scales and fins torn to shreads and his eye was popping out ...and he looked crispy! There was no water anywhere and he was hard. So I went to scoop him off the floor and I saw his fin move! So I (being a human paramedic) FREAKED! LOL I turned around and threw him back in the tank. I know I should not have done that, but I did. I cleaned the cat hair off of him with some Q-tips and was careful not to damage what slime coat was left. I added Stress coat and the recommended dosage for the (30 gallon) tank he is in. And I added Fish-Mox to it as I know cat's saliva can be quite full of bacterias.
I woke up this morning and his eye is looking like it may actually be saved. It's actually back in his head and the swelling is going down, I can almost compare it to the other normal eye. His fins and scales are still in awful shape but he is swimming around like he normally would. Just a slight bit sulkier and just slliiiiightly a bit off but I can't tell what it is lol
What are the chances this fish will make it? My daughter is on the autism spectrum and is very, very attached to this fish. He has almost died numerous times (all physical accidents- poor fish!), first being at the carnival. My daughter had to have the fish in the bag that was floating upside down.. I've done everything I always could for this fish, even more than I ever would for my own lol This fish means the WORLD to her. Is there anything more I can do?
BTW- We are in the middle of a pretty big snow storm and I absolutely cannot get out to get more test strips at the fish store that is 35 miles away, and the cats had dropped the entire container into my 75 gallon so there is no way I can test the water parameters at this time.
Mr Fishy is a 4-5'' run of the mill Comet Goldfish in a 30 gallon tank with a Emperor 280 Filter. Its 280gph. Well established tank (2.5 years).
 
I would just follow the insturctions on the package of meds. dosing, redosing ect. After treatment is complete just keep the water very clean. You could also add some aquarium salt to the water to help facilatate healing for a couple of weeks after treatment with the medacation is complete. If it made it this far I think it stands a good chance of recovering. Good luck.
 
Thank you for your reply! To be honest, I've never salted a tank this small before. Do you know how much salt would be needed for a 30gal? I always have aquarium salt available for my cichlids (they love lip locking!) and could easily add some. Thank you again!
 
Not too much a Tbls per 5 gallons should do it.
 
I would do a big changes aside from any tank parameter issues, to reduce bacteria which are always present in aquariums.
 
Petspoiler. Thank you for your reply! Would you still do a water change other than the 1/4 water change that is required with the amoxicillin I am treating the tank with already? Thank you.
Also, he is a picture of the fish's injuries.
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how big is the tank? gold fish should have atleast a 75 min ( 55 is ok for fancys like black moores ) but for a comet, i would do no less then a 75 min.
 
LiveBearer. Thank you for your comment. I did include in my post, twice, that it's a 30 gallon- I understand I wrote a storybook LOL However, I upgrade tanks as they grow and shift fish around. I'm honestly not a fish newbie, I've been keeping fish for 20 years. I was pretty much asking advice on my fish's injuries as it's not every day that I have cats attacking my fish! yikesss! These fish will be pond fish once they are a bit larger this summer. Thanks!
 
Petspoiler. Thank you for your reply! Would you still do a water change other than the 1/4 water change that is required with the amoxicillin I am treating the tank with already? Thank you.
Also, he is a picture of the fish's injuries.
sorry, I didn't know fishmox is antibiotic.
you need to follow the label dosing directions of all water volume. I would've done a big water change right after the injuries, but your tx is already underway. not sure if amoxicillin kills all types of bad bacteria in tanks, some of them are really nasty. If you have enough extra doses to compensate & dose bigger water change, I doubt that could hurt.
from your pic, the wounds look mostly superficial. can't see punctures or rips in his flesh. so that's good & surprising, with kitty teeth & claws.
?
he looks like a tough little booger :-)
Be sure to treat for the full number of days recommended.
 
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