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Hi all,
One of my freshwater angelfish had an accident yesterday. It briefly got stuck between a piece of driftwood and the glass of the aquarium. It was only stuck for a few mins before i realized what happened, but when it was stuck it freaked out enough to compact both of its eyes and scrape up its sides pretty bad. I freed it and it has been floating on its side at the surface since last night. It's still breathing and will occasionally swim around the tank, but will end up back in the same position. What should i do? Will the little guy heal, or should i euthanize him/her?

If you have any other fish in the tank the answer will be made for you. The angel could very easly be harrased to death by healthy fish. If you can place the angel into a seperate tank by its self it just might survive only time will it depends on the injuries it received.

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Keith

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Poor angelfish.
I would definately try and seperate the fish from the others or it is going to be nipped at giving it no chance to heal.
We cant see the fish though, you'll have to use your judgement on whether it truley does have a chance of survival. Is it attempting to eat?
Do you have any melafix on hand? This will aid in the healing process.

---

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Hi keithgh and Lindy,
Thanks for your responses. Unfortunately i don't have a spare tank to put him/her in. The positive thing is that none of the other fish have been harassing the poor guy. Actually the other angelfish that is in the tank has been keeping guard if any other fish comes by. It's been a few days and the injuries around its eyes are looking better. It must have injured it's swim bladder or fins because it struggles to swim around. After any attempt to swim it just floats back up to the surface. I got it to eat a little today and have dosed the tank with melfix and an antibacterial treatment. Does this sound ok, should i do more?

The floating around could be a swim bladder issue, it could also be stress. Try adding some stress coat or similar and make sure the tank temps stay degree accurate and steady. If you suspect the injury to have breached the mucous layer on the fish a mild antibacterial like melafix or an antibiotic may help.

Good luck with your fish.

Good news. I think the angel is going to pull through. It's eyes look much better and he/she has been picking food from the java moss indicating that it can still see. It's been upright and active for the last day or two, and has gone back to it's normal "playing" with the other angel.