Really bizarre rescue....

RosemaryDuck

Crowing
Dec 15, 2020
1,438
3,280
321
Florida
Soooo.....I came here to post this because it's really weird, and I don't know where else to share it!

I've rescued/nursed back to health many different animals over the years, but I can definitely say this is my first fish case.

I was out by the lake today, just walking around watching the tilapia and plecos swim around, when I noticed a plastic bag someone had thrown into the water. I leaned down to pick it up and realized there was a small baby peacock bass inside. I let him out of the bag, but he looked like had been trapped a long time and drifted on his side and didn't swim.

I quickly fished him out and placed him into a container with an air pump. I put aloe drops in the water to repair his slime coat and a bit of medicated drops for any injuries. He's currently in an isolated container in my bathroom. He was completely upside down when I first placed him in, but is now swimming around.

He still looks pretty down, but definitely better then earlier. What else can I do for this little dude? I'm definitely no fish expert! 🐟
 
Soooo.....I came here to post this because it's really weird, and I don't know where else to share it!

I've rescued/nursed back to health many different animals over the years, but I can definitely say this is my first fish case.

I was out by the lake today, just walking around watching the tilapia and plecos swim around, when I noticed a plastic bag someone had thrown into the water. I leaned down to pick it up and realized there was a small baby peacock bass inside. I let him out of the bag, but he looked like had been trapped a long time and drifted on his side and didn't swim.

I quickly fished him out and placed him into a container with an air pump. I put aloe drops in the water to repair his slime coat and a bit of medicated drops for any injuries. He's currently in an isolated container in my bathroom. He was completely upside down when I first placed him in, but is now swimming around.

He still looks pretty down, but definitely better then earlier. What else can I do for this little dude? I'm definitely no fish expert! 🐟
Wow! Good eye and quick thinking! I cant say I have any advice unfortunately. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Do you have a locally owned fish store you can contact? Where are you located?
 
Wow! Good eye and quick thinking! I cant say I have any advice unfortunately. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Do you have a locally owned fish store you can contact? Where are you located?
I'm in Florida. I didn't even think of a local fish store! I've got one about 15 minutes away that might be able to help. Though they're mostly marine/saltwater fish.
 
Hmm, there is a fish thread on here, try putting it in the search bar, I'll look for it to. Nice save!
Do you have a Petsmart near you? What size is the container, do you have a picture? I would go pick up some water conditioner to get rid of any toxins or chemicals in your water if you are using your tap water. Also pick up fish food, (I'de go with Goldfish,) at least a 2 gallon fish bowl for him would be really good if you could get ahold of that. The more room the better especially since he has been trapped.
You have an air pump, thats good, Ammo lock would be a good product to have, since Ammonia is a toxin that fish leak out of there gills, and release into the water with their poop and pee. When they don't have enough room, it accumulates in the water, and burns the fishes gills, eventually causing brain damage and death. You may not even have him that long though, if you can get him back to 100% soon.

Fish tips-
For a correctly sized fish bowl/tank, you need to do a 50% water change once a week, that is with a proper filter as well. I would do a 50% water change every few days, since you have no filter to help with poop, pee, and ammonia. Plus, he is likely to big for his container already. Approximately how many inches do you think he is? An inch a gallon for fish is a good rule of thumb. Thats a minimum as well.
Water conditioner helps remove ammonia, and other toxins, so that is a must in my opinion.

The important stuff I can think of are, air pump, fish food, water conditioner, and possibly Ammo lock, but then you would need an ammonia test kit to tell when to use it. Welcome to the fish world! Hahah!

Other then that, I would just make sure the water is safe for him, (I don't know if water toxin levels/stability is different from tropical fish, since that is all I own. It may be different for him since he's not the usual domestic, but this is what I would do for him.) keep feeding him, and giving him a safe environment to recover in.
I'm no expert, so could be wrong about some of this advice, but this is what I would do if it was me. I'll try to find that thread and tag a few exerts here. In the mean time, great job! Fantastic save! You have a great eye and not everyone would have seen that. Keep up the good work!
 
Hmm, there is a fish thread on here, try putting it in the search bar, I'll look for it to. Nice save!
Do you have a Petsmart near you? What size is the container, do you have a picture? I would go pick up some water conditioner to get rid of any toxins or chemicals in your water if you are using your tap water. Also pick up fish food, (I'de go with Goldfish,) at least a 2 gallon fish bowl for him would be really good if you could get ahold of that. The more room the better especially since he has been trapped.
You have an air pump, thats good, Ammo lock would be a good product to have, since Ammonia is a toxin that fish leak out of there gills, and release into the water with their poop and pee. When they don't have enough room, it accumulates in the water, and burns the fishes gills, eventually causing brain damage and death. You may not even have him that long though, if you can get him back to 100% soon.

Fish tips-
For a correctly sized fish bowl/tank, you need to do a 50% water change once a week, that is with a proper filter as well. I would do a 50% water change every few days, since you have no filter to help with poop, pee, and ammonia. Plus, he is likely to big for his container already. Approximately how many inches do you think he is? An inch a gallon for fish is a good rule of thumb. Thats a minimum as well.
Water conditioner helps remove ammonia, and other toxins, so that is a must in my opinion.

The important stuff I can think of are, air pump, fish food, water conditioner, and possibly Ammo lock, but then you would need an ammonia test kit to tell when to use it. Welcome to the fish world! Hahah!

Other then that, I would just make sure the water is safe for him, (I don't know if water toxin levels/stability is different from tropical fish, since that is all I own. It may be different for him since he's not the usual domestic, but this is what I would do for him.) keep feeding him, and giving him a safe environment to recover in.
I'm no expert, so could be wrong about some of this advice, but this is what I would do if it was me. I'll try to find that thread and tag a few exerts here. In the mean time, great job! Fantastic save! You have a great eye and not everyone would have seen that. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much Weeg for the fantastic advice! Love this site so much.

I was worried about the tap water as it's really harsh in my area. I filled his container with water from the lake. I did add a bit of Natural aloe drops (not sure of the brand, but it's for fish slime coats & conditions the water).

I still can't believe anything survived in that plastic bag all day. It's been high 80s here all week. It was a bit colder today so I'm sure that helped. I hope the little guy makes it and I can release him.

I'll be taking everyone's advice and I'm also gonna contact the local fish store and see what they've got to say as well. 😁
 
Cool find and great rescue!
If you live near the lake, or any body of water, and you have a rubbermaid tote , you can sink it in the water in a shady spot (so long as it gets shade all day!!) and put the little guy in. That's plenty of room for him to recover, safety and will be the temps he's used to.
Once he's fully recovered, you can just tip it over!
 
Thank you so much Weeg for the fantastic advice! Love this site so much.

I was worried about the tap water as it's really harsh in my area. I filled his container with water from the lake. I did add a bit of Natural aloe drops (not sure of the brand, but it's for fish slime coats & conditions the water).

I still can't believe anything survived in that plastic bag all day. It's been high 80s here all week. It was a bit colder today so I'm sure that helped. I hope the little guy makes it and I can release him.

I'll be taking everyone's advice and I'm also gonna contact the local fish store and see what they've got to say as well. 😁
Awesome! Is there a chance you can post a picture or a link to the aloe drops your using? I'm sure there great, just curious for future reference! ☺️
Perfect that you filled it from the lake, thats great. Then hopefully you wont have to worry about water quality, and temperature. Keeping an eye on Ammonia with an Ammonia test kit is a good idea though.

The fish store should have some idea, I think thats a great call. I'm crossing my fingers for the little guy!
 

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