Hello All..
Just wondering what the chances are for my 6 year old feeder fish to live.

A few months ago, I bought a African clawed frog. He grew way faster than I anticipated and a couple of weeks ago, he murdered a new fancy tail goldfish I bought. I thought the new fish was big enough to be okay in the tank; certainly wouldn't fit in the frogs mouth, but he ripped her head off. It was horrible. I also have three cats who have never harmed the fish, but do like to get up and drink water from the filter.
Trix is way bigger than the fish the frog murdered, but I figure, maybe the frog latched onto her tail and in the fight, she flew out of the tank? Or, maybe one of the cats decided to get her out to play? Anyway, I have no idea how it happened, but Trix ended up on the floor and I don't know how long she was there. Her tail was dried out and it had blood on it.
We thought she was dead, but decided to put her in some water to make sure. She began moving so we put her back in the tank.
Yesterday, I took the frog back to the fish store. I decided, even if he didn't chase her out of the tank, she's too vulnerable to be around him anymore.
She spent most of the day hovering near the bottom of the tank; resting, I suppose. Last evening, I noticed, she has now developed fuzz on one side; almost looks like mold (the white hairy kind). Her tail looks like it's matted.

Today she is swimming around more and moving her tail more. She spent quite a while sucking at the surface, but now she's swimming around again. I don't really know what to do for her. I've added water conditioner to make the water more comfortable for her. And I've been feeding her.

Will her tail grow back? Has anyone had this happen??

(I have one other fancy tail fish...he's been very sweet to her, protected her from the frog and just hanging near her)
15 gallon tank

Thanks in advance
Tami

If someone will tell me how, I can upload pics of her.

How horrible for you to find her on the floor.
At least shes swimming and not showing any signs of brain damage. Does the tank have a lid? If not then you should get one. The tank doesnt sound big enough for the two fish and if you can, try and upgrade soon to at least a 25 gallon. You can get some good deals with second hand tanks either on ebay or in your local paper.
Just now you should keep the water as clean as possible with regular water changes and add something like melafix to the water.
good luck with your fishie.

Okay, question: How many gallons per fish?

Update on Trix:
Unbelievably, she is doing well, aside of the "fur" growing on her side! Yesterday, she had fur on her tail too and today it's gone! I really think she is going to be okay!

Tami

It's pretty standard to have one goldfish per 10-20 gallons. Fancy fish do fine with 10 gal, and that's great that Trix seems to be recovering. There was an amazing story of a goldfish who survived 6 hours out of a tank wrapped in newspaper early this week. (Sorry, I can't remember who)
Keep an eye on that "fur", it could be a fungus. I'd make sure your water levels are pristine and just to be on the safe side, if you haven't already, add some salt to your tank. (1 teaspoon per gallon for a .1% solution) You should probably do a .3% solution, but only bring it up .1% every 12 hours.
Keep us posted on Trix and good luck!

Just adding something to the salt suggestion above...make sure you use a salt that is ok for aquariums, like rock salt, aquarium salt, solar salt, sea salt or pickling salt, most table salts apparently contain anti-caking agents that are not safe for fish. :-)

Good point, Jen. I always tend to leave something out of posts...and seeing how I'm just a little fry, can't edit them. *smile*

Hi! I am glad you found your fish in time!! I had this happen last year in my outdoor pond in the middle of July. It was one of my 14" Koi. She was completely dry, and was covered in flies and yellow jackets. She got all fuzzy looking too. It took about a week for her slime coat to build back up. You'll notice each day she'll look better. They are tough little creatures. Just keep an eye on him/her. Good luck!!!!!!!

WOAH! wheres that, i must have missed it!???

The 'fur' of her body/tail is a fungal infection, im not sure if the salt will treat it, but you may need to use an anti fungal med before it spreads, it could kill the fishy.. its like the secondary threat to a fish whos been attacked

Lucy, I wish I could tell you who it was with the fish out of water for 6 hours in newspaper. It was rather fascinating. She found her fish on the floor and he was dry, so she wrapped him in newspaper to bury him, and came back to him like 6 hours later and I believe the fish moved, or blinked, or something along the lines of that and she said the fish was a little damp due to being held in the newspaper. I'll try to find it, but I'm not sure if I can again.

wow, that must have been amazing for who it was! il keep my eyes open for it

Your fish doing better with the fungus, Tami?