HELP! Tang is injured

[Kazzy]

My baby Eibli Mimic tang is injured. One of his side fins is shredded, and he has scrapes on the same side. I think he got stuck in the rockwork and had to wiggle out. He can't get off the bottom because his fin is shredded. Thankfully, he is alert and no longer in shock. My dad and I got some garlic formula to help him fight infection should it come and to help him heal. Should we move him into a quart glass measuring cup or feed him where he is with a turkey baster?
Should we do anything to help him? Is there another type of medicine to help heal like something to dip him in? PLEASE HELP! I don't know a whole lot about healing wounds because none of our fish have been injured to the extent they can't heal themselves. He is a pretty rare fish and one of my favorites and I really don't want him to die!

 

[deaclauderdale]

Karma for your troubles and I'm sure someone with experience with this tpe of event will chime in.

 

[Kazzy]

Thanks, I hope someone will. My dad and I are going to feed him garlic soaked food with a turkey baster and hopefully he will eat it.

 

[AQTCJAK]

Tropical Science MarineMax will help the process along

 

[Dentoid]

So sorry to hear that Grant. I would not recommend moving it to a quart glass container for fear of creating more stress on an already stressed animal. Unfortunately, laying on the bottom doesn't sound good. A shredded fin isn't enough to keep a healthy fish down. There may be further injury that you can not see. Unless you have a QT tank ready to go, I would leave him where he is and observe.

 

[Kazzy]

Oh, he isn't lying on the bottom. His fin just has too many holes for it to get him anywhere. He can move around, but he can't get more than maybe an inch off the bottom. Good news though: He is eating! We target fed him with fresh shrimp that we mixed garlic xtreme with. He has eaten at least 7 good sized chunks. I am hoping if he makes it through the night that he might make it. I am having my dad overfeed the serpent star so he won't try to eat the tang.

 

[Dentoid]

Oh, I miss understood. That sounds a bit better.

 

[Kazzy]

Oh, I miss understood. That sounds a bit better.

Hurray!:bigblue:

 

[Kazzy]

He is now trying to swim around some. He can hold himself horizontal a little longer before tipping down again, his rear fins are working hard, and his right side fin is working pretty well. One bad thing though: I noticed the base of his damaged fin is a little hurt. Not enough to disconnect the fin from the base, but it looks a little damaged. I am a little worried that he may be hindered by that for the rest of his life, which will be quite a while. Do you guys think it will significantly damage his swimming ability if he lives? And his scrapes won't be a big problem, will they? They are just white. I don't think they broke the surface. And I don't think there's any redness, which is supposed to be a good sign.

 

[Dentoid]

He'll adapt to what ever damage he heals from. We once had a neighborhood dog with three legs, his name was Pokey, but he got around well!

 

[Kazzy]

Thanks, and good night!

 

[lcstorc]

I hope he gets better soon. The only thread I remember about an animal that was physically injured and recovered was when Witfull saved the Zebra Moray eel. Here is the thread where he was treating the wounds and such. Hopefully it can be of some help. My fights have always been with disease etc .
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/16124-sad-rescue.html

 

[Kazzy]

My tang passed away last night and was being feasted on by hermits. I pulled him out and flushed him. Thanks for all your help.

 

[lcstorc]

So Sorry to hear.

 

[framerguy]

:tears: Darn it Kaz, I just saw the thread and I'm so sorry. Sounds like he was one of your favorites. I was going to say to swab his wounds with iodine to help with infection. I had to do that once with a lionfish, a tricky situation to be sure. Keep it in mind in the future, it may not have helped here, but it's good knowledge. I feel for you, I lost my Tominsis tang a couple of weeks ago. :tears:

 

[BigAl07]

So sorry Kaz! You did right by pulling it out.

Karma to you for a better day today

Allen

 

[Kazzy]

Hopefully my dad and I will have time to go to the fish store to look and see if they have anything we might get. My dad is kinda sad because that was his favorite.

 

[Dentoid]

:cry1:

 

[GeeWizzItsMe]

Did you find out what happened to it for sure? Also, tell us what you see/get from the lfs!

 

[Kazzy]

Did you find out what happened to it for sure? Also, tell us what you see/get from the lfs!

I think he either got caught on a powerhead intake or got stuck in the rockwork. It's possible it was an intake because, as I mentioned before, it was only one side that was damaged.