Hawkfish hurt- How do I help it?

[confusedfishy]

My hawkfish got stuck inside of a plastic type rock in the QT today. I got him out but his skin is looking torn and rubbed in places--what should I do? He isn't doing very well, breathing hard on bottom of tank.
We have had him for several months, been in QT 2 times for ich in tank. Neither time has he shown any signs of ich or any problems.

 

[sepulatian]

Is he isolated from other fish? Be sure that he doesn't get picked on. He is likely in a bit of shock. There isn't much that you can do while he is breathing hard at the bottom of the tank. Keep the lights off. The light from the room is enough for him. Post how he is doing later on today.

 

[confusedfishy]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2716967
Is he isolated from other fish? Be sure that he doesn't get picked on. He is likely in a bit of shock. There isn't much that you can do while he is breathing hard at the bottom of the tank. Keep the lights off. The light from the room is enough for him. Post how he is doing later on today.

Hey, thank you so much for always helping me...
I checked on him throughout the night, he is discolored, lighter and darker than normal in places, he has rips off of his sides, not deep but bad. His color has seemed to be getting worse. Right now, he is at the bottom hidden in some nori that got ripped off the clip and sank. I can only see his tail without using the net to move him around a bit, he is alive though I wasn't sure at first when I found him there.

 

[zeke92]

there is some medicines that will make a slimy coat of the fish. i would suggest going to an lfs and looking for one. i would keep him isolated and use some medicine to protect his skin while it heals.
good luck

 

[confusedfishy]

Originally Posted by zeke92
http:///forum/post/2717252
there is some medicines that will make a slimy coat of the fish. i would suggest going to an lfs and looking for one. i would keep him isolated and use some medicine to protect his skin while it heals.
good luck
Thanks for the info. Do you know what the name of any of those products are? Our lfs has nothing except the Kent line of liquid products, salt, and giant test kits so I will have to order it online today...

 

[confusedfishy]

Okay, I am really worried about him, he is looking really bad. I seperated him in a hanging over box. I didn't see the other fish in the tank picking on him but just in case. He is breathing really hard, but is eating. I put a piece of krill in, which seems to be his favorite, and he ate within a minute.
I have attached a picture I took, the light is off except for when I took this picture.

 

[zeke92]

no i do not know the names..
yeah he isn't lookin great but if he is eating that is a good sign. your lfs SHOULD have some sort of stress enzyime that might help his stress but who knows. sorry i couldn't help more.

 

[confusedfishy]

Originally Posted by zeke92
http:///forum/post/2717328
no i do not know the names..
yeah he isn't lookin great but if he is eating that is a good sign. your lfs SHOULD have some sort of stress enzyime that might help his stress but who knows. sorry i couldn't help more.
Okay, thanks, it is a good thought, does anyone else know what I could use? I have been to the lfs and found 2 types of medication-E.M. Erythromycin and Maracyn-Two. Would either of those help him, I have a really small emergency qt that I could put him in and use this??

 

[sepulatian]

A separate QT is going to have to be cycled before administering medication. How many other fish do you have in there? Do you have vitamins to add to is food?

 

[confusedfishy]

I do have a little cycled tank that is 5 gallons, it is empty except for sand and live rock. I feed it once a week to keep it cycled just in case a situation like this happens. I've been doing this ever since I began hypoing new purchases. The problem is the salinity in it. The hawk has been in hypo conditions so I will have to lower that tank or should I begin raising the salinity on the hawkfish? Will him being in the lower salinity hurt the treatment? Gosh, this is terrible...
Would either of those medications I mentioned earlier work or help him? The only vitamins I have is zoe, I know that isn't much. I also have fresh garlic I could soak food in too. He doesn't seem to be eating now and he seems really bad. I can't believe this, he has been my strongest fish for months. I don't really understand how it happened.

 

[confusedfishy]

He's gone, I feel sick, I wish I could have saved him. Everyone I know laughs at me about how much I like all this and they say I work too hard on it, this is why though. I'm still missing so many answers, it's really hard to watch something die. Thank you for your help.

 

[sepulatian]

I am so incredibly sorry that he passed. What kind of thing did he get stuck in? Flames are not timid fish. What else was in with him? What sized QT?

 

[confusedfishy]

Hey, thanks for understanding. He was in the QT because he was in my 92g tank that had the ich breakout. He was in there with a Kole Tang. It was just the Kole in there with him, he is still in there, looks fine. They never seemed to mess with each other at all. I am not really sure how but he seemed to get caught in the plastic rock I have in there. It looks like a wooden log with holes in it. He would go in there sometimes. I went to feed him and I couldn't find him for hours. He had never missed a meal. After a while I decided to move the rocks around to see if he had died inside, I lifted the rock up and felt a thud, he dropped out all scratched up. It was very strange, I have to figure that he wedged himself in there somehow, although it seems really weird.

 

[sepulatian]

That does sound odd. I could see if he was being chased. That is why I asked what was in with him. Sometimes things happen that cannot be explained. I hope that you Kole comes through the treatment fine