My gar dropped out of its tank a couple of days ago.When he dropped he was jumping so rapidly that he smashed himself against the wall and floor many times.I put him back in the tank ,but now he swims awkwardly.I mean his head shakes when he takes turns.Its been a week since.
if it's been a week since, the fish should be out of the forest for some of the more immediate dangers. is it eating? as michael said, add salt, keep up the water changes and increase the temp.is its back bent or is there a kink in it? i've had several gars do the head shaking thing in response to stress, but never had one that died soon after the action.
another area of concern could be a possible bacteria infection, has its stress coat returned to normal or is it flaking at this point?
remember, gars are good jumpers from the get go. if you haven't already got lids on the tank, get some as soon as possible, if not find out how the fish could have escaped this round and add cautionary measures so it can't repeat a trip to your floor. also, do post a picture so we can see if we'd missed anything out.
good luck, if the fish has survived a week it should survive the ordeal, remember to keep us updated
if it is a spinal/nerve injury then there is nothing you can do. hopefully this is not the case, but the twitching sounds typical of nervous system damage.
can the fish still eat? does it have full control of all of its fins? if this twitching continues and doesn't seem to improve, the unfortunate, but most humane thing to do is euthanize the fish as these sorts of injuries generally get worse over time and the fish very likely suffers.
hopefully this is not the case, but please take the possibility into consideration. sorry to hear about your fish jumping/injuring itself--
--solomon
the fish is fine,there are no bacteria or flakes.And there is no problem with the fins.He still eats also.I feed him 2-3 guppies every week.His head just shakes.Is this temporary?
Wont the salt hurt him?
the fish is fine,there are no bacteria or flakes.And there is no problem with the fins.He still eats also.I feed him 2-3 guppies every week.His head just shakes.Is this temporary?
Wont the salt hurt him?
Standard aquarium salt is a common remedy for freshwater fish ailments. It will not hurt him, and is especially beneficial combined with an upped water change schedule and a small bump in temperature (although the temp bump is not always necessary with gars).
the fish is fine,there are no bacteria or flakes.And there is no problem with the fins.He still eats also.I feed him 2-3 guppies every week.His head just shakes.Is this temporary?
Wont the salt hurt him?
"the fish is fine" and "his head just shakes" are contradicting pieces of information. is it possible for you to upload a video of the fish? if it is just shaking to adjust the food while it is eating (gars usually adjust food with quick motions of the jaws to move it into the mouth head first), then there is no problem...but if it is twitching when it's not eating, then there is likely some issue probably resulting from the jump/thrashing--
--solomon
Sounds like some nerve/spinal damage. Unfortunately it can be common in gars because of their inflexibility and tendencies to dart about. Seeing as yours leapt to the floor it is certainly (and unfortunatey) possible.
Would definitely advise posting a video so Solomon and/or Peje can better diagnose for you.
looks like possible nerve damage do u have a vid of him turning and feeding....jus keep and eye on him good thing hes feeding he may come out of it or it might stick need to see a vid of this tho to better explain..
