Oscar jumping accident. Dorsal damage.

[CarlFlegg]

Hi all.

So my Oscar has had no shortage of bumps and scrapes from jumping into the tank lid, or trying to get his last pellet from behind the filter intake, but tonight he's done himself a bit of a mischief.

Chucked a king prawn in the tank for him, and as expected he went into a mini feeding frenzy, he dived up the top of the tank and tore the front of his dorsal pretty much clean off on the central bracing.

He has had a pretty nasty gash in his head before that healed pretty much completely within the space of a week or so, so I'm hopeful this won't leave too much permanent damage. It is by far the worst injury he has had though.

Any thoughts on how this is likely to turn out? Or any tips to help the healing? I've read a little salt might help prevent infection?

He is a little over a year old, tank parameters are;

PH 7.5
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate hovers around 30 between water changes (It's 20 from the tap so can't do much about that)

I will come back and try add some pictures shortly.

Thanks!

 

[CarlFlegg]

 

[stiker]

Hi all.

So my Oscar has had no shortage of bumps and scrapes from jumping into the tank lid, or trying to get his last pellet from behind the filter intake, but tonight he's done himself a bit of a mischief.

Chucked a king prawn in the tank for him, and as expected he went into a mini feeding frenzy, he dived up the top of the tank and tore the front of his dorsal pretty much clean off on the central bracing.

He has had a pretty nasty gash in his head before that healed pretty much completely within the space of a week or so, so I'm hopeful this won't leave too much permanent damage. It is by far the worst injury he has had though.

Any thoughts on how this is likely to turn out? Or any tips to help the healing? I've read a little salt might help prevent infection?

He is a little over a year old, tank parameters are;

PH 7.5
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate hovers around 30 between water changes (It's 20 from the tap so can't do much about that)

I will come back and try add some pictures shortly.

Thanks!

Fish have pretty amazing ability to regenerate from damage. I would perform water changes of around 30-40% every 1-2 days or so for around a week or until it has healed. I generally do every second day as my regular water change schedule.
I can’t say if it will fully heal or return to how it looked before but as I said you’d be surprised witha fishes ability to heal and at the rate they can with clean water. Performing the extra water changes will also help prevent the wound from becoming infected.

 

[kno4te]

Clean water and a little salt at 1 tsp per g. It looks like a deep section removed. Not sure If the entire dorsal will come back but will see.

 

[twentyleagues]

Ouchy! As others said clean water is paramount.

 

[CarlFlegg]

Thanks for the quick responses, I'll up the water change schedule for the next week or two, fingers crossed, such a beautiful fish, shame he is so stupid and clumsy ?

 

[LBDave]

I have a peacock bass that has gotten some pretty severe dorsal damage a few times. Like others have said clean water is very important.
I have done 70-80% water changes (includes sump filter) in a well established tank.
Sometimes I have used salt but on the last injury I just used Seachem Stressguard. Salt can harm some plants a bit. But it is natural and can help with the slime coat. It assists/ changes the osmotic pressure. For some diseases this is useful. Also can kill ich.
Stressguard contains Glutaral and Methylene Blue.
Glutaral is used in API CO2 booster. Glutaraldehyde is a disinfectant. It is also helpful in supplying carbon to plants.
It is a pretty stout disinfectant and is found in cosmetic products among other things.
Methylene Blue is a medication and a dye. It is used to prevent fungal infections for fish and fish eggs.
I have not experienced any tank staining with the Stressguard.

The pbass actually lost a lot of the vertical fin and I was worried it would not grow back. She is growing it back completely it seems but it has taken many weeks. I used the Stressguard initially for a few days to a week. After that just the usual large water changes.

Either way your oscar should recover with no problem as long as the water is very clean and it is eating well. Make sure the water is below 80F. Best temp would be 77. Hi temps promote growth of bacteria.

My oscars also get beat up at times due to exploring etc. They are rambunctious.

Good luck.

 

[islandguy11]

Highly suggest to wrap some yoga mat or similar around that center bracing to protect against future similar injuries. Or if you don't want to affect light penetration into tank, then try something like these, which flukeone uses:

 

[Nove Sedici]

As said, some water changes might help. I always use salt when doing a water change. 200 grams (8oz) of salt for every 100 liters (26 gallon).
It helps fishes with their salt/water regulation so they can use their energy for recovery.

You can also take a male albino Oscar, "white men can't jump"

 

[flukeone]

Or if you don't want to affect light penetration into tank, then try something like these, which flukeone uses:

And just as i was reading that, the aro jumped and got a bruise on its forehead ?