I found him about an hour ago laying in the dirt. He wasn't dry-dry but he wasn't slimy either. One gill was working. Held him in my hand and moved him forward/backward to force air through his gills. Regained use of other gill in about a half hour. Start swimming weakly around the pond. I noticed the other two were bashing into him... I couldn't tell if they were attacking or if they were greeting him. When they'd hit him he'd sort of float sideways like he was tired. I brought him inside. He sort of has spells where he'll swim, then he'll float with his face pointed up (but completely in the water and NOT on his side)

What do you think his chances of survival are... He looks so tattered.

Can I use salt with him? I brought in pond water and have used no new water.. The water isn't clear, it's sort of yellow and theres outside-dirt in the water. Is it safe to use salt with less than perfect water? I mean, pond water params are good, just the water is gross looking. I don't want to stun him by giving him to fresh of water you know what I mean?

This is from the book "Fancy Goldfish", as relates to jumpers:

aerate the water very well
an injection of dexamethasone has been shown to cure a considerable number of jumpers


DO NOT USE Dexamethasone if:

gill excursions are regular and obvious
the fish is flexible and upright
the fish was out of the water only for a minute
the fish is upright, reasonably reactive
the fish is merely cold
the fish had a chronic illness or weight loss

DO USE Dexamethasone if:

gill excursions are rare
the fish is stiff
the fish has been out of water long enough to become "sticky" dry
the fish is inverted/lateral and near death
the fish is cold-schocked
the fish was healthy before the shock

If the fish survives, you will find a considerable portion of its fin disintegrates. No treatment is usually necessary, the fish will probably be disfigured permanently. If sores develop, it may be due to the dexamethasone, which is immune suppressive. Aggressive antibiotic therapy will probably successfully repel a bacterial attack and salvage the fish.

Do not give up on it unless the skin cracks when flexed.

The immediate thing to do after finding the fish out of water is to place in cool water.
---------------------------------------

It sound like you've been doing all the right things. It's up to you whether to inject the antibiotic, I'd probably watch him and see how his recovery goes.

Based on my observations of him I don't think he needs an injection. I've never heard of it, where can a person buy it? Does it come from a vet?

Likely. When we were looking for either Baytril or Amakacin, we found varieties of the same drug available by other names. Maybe if you put it in Google, something more familiar will come up.

How is your fish doing now?

Dexamethasone is a synthetic corticosteroid with approximately 25 times the anti-inflammatory potency of naturally occurring cortisol. Corticosteroids such as dexamethasone are important in normal protein, carbohydrate, and fat metabolism and for their role in controlling inflammation. These drugs have both strong beneficial effects and a definite potential to cause negative side effects. Dexamethasone is commonly used in both small and large animal veterinary medicine. It may be given by injection, inhalation, orally or topically. Preparations for topical use may include other active ingredients such as antibiotics, antifungals, or miticides.

http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monograph...amethasone2.asp

Brand names (manufacturers): Decadron (Merck Sharp & Dohme); dexamethasone (various manufacturers); Hexadrol (Organon)

I found this answer to someone else this happened to:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pond-Water-Gard...-731/koi-12.htm


...At this point, commitment to the koi is your only option and it may be misplaced. Once a fish goes without air for a long period of time there is permanent damage. Adding Melafix will help with any infections, but, it doesn't do much for the slime coat. You need a sliming agent like Koi TLC. If the fish is still breathing there is still hope for the poor guy/gal - but, the longer they are on there side the less the chance of a full recovery. This brings me to my next suggestion. If you have an air pump or a spare water pump hook it up to raise the dissolved oxygen levels in the pond. Whenever a pond fish is sick or stressed the dissolved oxygen levels can never be too high. The salt level can be increased as well. Pond Salt helps a stressed fish breathe easier, helps battle infections, and helps with slime coat production. Concentrations should not exceed .7%. If you have plants in the pond anything above .15% can turn them brown. You may want to take them out or salt up your holding tank and let the fish spend a couple of days in that. Again, vigorous aeration will help. Aside from those things there is not much else you can do. But, a sliming agent, vigorous aeration, and salt works wonders.....

Thankyou so much. He no longer points his face up. He just hovers stationary but I think that's from me taking him from his home and placing him alone in a bucket. He still seems weak but both gills are still working. He's able to use both fins. I'll add a little salt and see how that goes. He has an air stone as well.

New development!

I shined a flashlight on him just a while ago to see how his gills were working and I noticed right away that he looks fuzzy. Almost like theres to much slime coat... Is this possible? Wouldn't him laying in the dirt for who knows how long cause it to come off? Or could it have hardened and now it's sort of thawing out and trying to come off??? If it ISN'T slime coat, what could it be? A fungal infection already? It isn't white or cottony, just looks like he has a fine fuzz all over him. It's sort of brownish... Could it be wounds? Like from the air? Like raw skin? I bet whatever it is hurts. Is there anything else I can do?

It is definetely a reaction from laying on something unfamiliar - probably small dirt particles have at least set somewhat into the slime, or dust particles of some kind have irritated the fish's skin while outside the pond.

Besides the salt, I'd add something antibacterial to wart off any secondary infection from his jump experience. Maybe Melafix would do it for that, or a half dose of Maracyn. Just something to fight off any opportunistic bacteria that tries to attack the less-than-perfect slime coat at this time.

I assume he is eating, yes?

halloween, you haven't posted any news for a few days, I hope no news is good news for your fishie