Fish got stuck in wave pump

[Bored_shrimp]

So I have a 40 gallon saltwater aquarium. It currently has six fish in it, but one of them, the six line wrasse, apparently swam into the wave maker last night and was in there when I turned it on this morning(I turn some of the wave makers off at night so its calmer for the fish and so it's quieter when I'm trying to sleep since the tank is in my room). When I turned it on though, I didn't realize he/she was in there and they got chewed up pretty bad. I fashioned a box made from an old tupperware container and stuck it to the side of the tank and the fish is in that. The fish is breathing, but not moving much, still occasionally moving around though. My question is, apart from separating the fish from the others and probably investing in wave makers fish can't swim inside, what should I do? I'll try and get pictures later when the lights come on if the fish is still alive at that point. By the way not sure if parameters matter much here since it's not necessarily a disease or something that could be caused by poor water quality, but my ammonia and nitrite are always 0 and nitrate is usually stable around 2-5. My ph might be a bit low since sometimes the co2 in my house likes to build up, but I've opened windows to increase the ph if it was low(I'm out of ph reagent for my test kit so I have to guess based off what the co2 monitor says for now). Thanks for any input.

 

[stanleo]

I had this happen to a green chromis once. I didn't do anything and he just healed up on his own. Fish have an amazing ability to heal almost any damage they incur so long as they are healthy and in a good environment.

 

[Bored_shrimp]

I had this happen to a green chromis once. I didn't do anything and he just healed up on his own. Fish have an amazing ability to heal almost any damage they incur so long as they are healthy and in a good environment.

That's what I'm hoping happens, but I'd say he did get chewed pretty bad by that wave pump.

 

[Tired]

Try and get a look at how bad the damage is. If you can see bone or organs, it should be humanely euthanized with clove oil. If it won't eat, it should be euthanized. Some injuries cause enough pain that keeping the animal alive for a tiny chance it'll survive is cruel more than anything. If it's eating, it has a chance.

You could post a picture and get an opinion.

(You should keep clove oil on hand, either way, in case of emergency situations where an animal is suffering and needs to be euthanized quickly. It's also good for unwanted hitchhikers.)

 

[Vested]

I wouldnt ever fully turn off your pumps or this will happen no matter what, is it possible to just dial it down at night? Even just 1%, as long as somethings moving. Hope your wrasse heals well, ive done the same thing before and it survived goodluck!

 

[Bored_shrimp]

I wouldnt ever fully turn off your pumps or this will happen no matter what, is it possible to just dial it down at night? Even just 1%, as long as somethings moving. Hope your wrasse heals well, ive done the same thing before and it survived goodluck!

I can't dial back that pump, it's just a constant current flow pump. I am however going to invest in better pumps when I get the extra cash.

 

[Bored_shrimp]

Try and get a look at how bad the damage is. If you can see bone or organs, it should be humanely euthanized with clove oil. If it won't eat, it should be euthanized. Some injuries cause enough pain that keeping the animal alive for a tiny chance it'll survive is cruel more than anything. If it's eating, it has a chance.

You could post a picture and get an opinion.

(You should keep clove oil on hand, either way, in case of emergency situations where an animal is suffering and needs to be euthanized quickly. It's also good for unwanted hitchhikers.)

I cannot see bones or organs, if I saw those I would know it would need to be euthanized. I haven't tried feeding the fish yet, I will in a little while though. I'm just gonna give the fish a chance to chill for a bit, then I'll try feeding. Thanks for the advice though. I also plan to post a picture later when the lights come on if I can figure that out.

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

I can't dial back that pump, it's just a constant current flow pump. I am however going to invest in better pumps when I get the extra cash.

I’d invest in a Jebao pump. They’re as good as the vortechs for significantly less and all the flow options you’ll need. If you’re not in the place to buy another pump, get a yarn sleeve or women’s tights to put on it. Fair warning, you will have to clean this a lot.

 

[Bored_shrimp]

I’d invest in a Jebao pump. They’re as good as the vortechs for significantly less and all the flow options you’ll need. If you’re not in the place to buy another pump, get a yarn sleeve or women’s tights to put on it. Fair warning, you will have to clean this a lot.

I've definitely heard about those. I've thought about getting them before but haven't. I'll look into them though and compare with other options. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Rmckoy]

Generally speaking ..
if a fish is healthy , a wave maker shouldn’t be able to suck a fish into it where it can’t swim away

 

[Tired]

That's entirely right, but it sounds like the poor fish went in the wavemaker while it was off, which is normal behavior for a wrasse. They like crevices.

 

[Bored_shrimp]

Yeah, fish went in while it was off. The fish ended up dying. I'll just have to be more careful in the future and invest in better equipment as well as learn here to do better in the future.

 

[Bored_shrimp]

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Vested]

Sorry to hear that, dont be to hard on yourself. Glad you can learn from it if anything