What Is My Fish Doing? Please Help! Video Included

So earlier today one of my rummy nose tetras tried to jump out of the tank in a hole between the filter and the lid. ( I cut a hole for the filter to fit in, I have one of those mesh screen lids for reptiles. Luckily I put a block of wood there to prevent any jumpers. Unluckily however when the rummy nose jumped, it hit its head on the wood...HARD. I thought it was dead because it was laying on its back in a plant, not moving but it eventually swam away, seemingly uninjured apart from missing scales on his head. Eventually I came home a few hours later to find him spinning around going off and on his back and doing flips. He has been doing it for 15 minuets now Please help! Video below

 

He likely has brain damage from hitting the wood so hard. What are your water parameters? Do your fish normally jump?

 

He likely has brain damage from hitting the wood so hard. What are your water parameters? Do your fish normally jump?

This was my first jumper water parameters are normal. I know it probably has brain damage but what do I now

 

If it were me I would personally choose to euthanize. I'm sure there are ways to care for him but I think his quality of life probably won't be very high after this. For now you could put him into a breederbox/net to keep a better eye on him and prevent him from hurting himself on any of the decor.

 

If it were me I would personally choose to euthanize. I'm sure there are ways to care for him but I think his quality of life probably won't be very high after this. For now you could put him into a breederbox/net to keep a better eye on him and prevent him from hurting himself on any of the decor.

I have heard clove oil is a good method for euthanasia, but I don't have any do you know of any other suitable methods for rummy noses?

 

I have heard clove oil is a good method for euthanasia, but I don't have any do you know of any other suitable methods for rummy noses?

There are several ways but most are inhumane and pretty emotionally difficult such as quickly severing the head and crushing it immediately. Here is another thread with suggestions

 

I would euthanise as well. It is quite possible he has internal damage such as hemorrhaging in the brain or some internal organs. I've seen this once with a small fish that had a blood red stomach, the spinning and flipping in between resting. He died eventually but it took more than half a day, in hindsight it would have been better off if I had killed it when I spotted the internal bleeding. Blunt-force trauma is much more unusual for fish that aren't as bothered by pesky gravity as we landrots are and they rarely recover from it in my experience.

 

I would euthanise as well. It is quite possible he has internal damage such as hemorrhaging in the brain or some internal organs. I've seen this once with a small fish that had a blood red stomach, the spinning and flipping in between resting. He died eventually but it took more than half a day, in hindsight it would have been better off if I had killed it when I spotted the internal bleeding. Blunt-force trauma is much more unusual for fish that aren't as bothered by pesky gravity as we landrots are and they rarely recover from it in my experience.

I have no clove oil or vodka I will probably cut off the head and crush it... I'm just afraid I won't do it right and will cause more suffering.

UPDATE: I ended up just putting it in a bag and crushing it. Thank you all for your help.

 

Sorry for your loss

 

That's not a pleasant task, but I think you chose the most humane course of action (euthanasia) and also the most humane method. In this context, "humane" refers to a quick death that minimizes suffering. I have been present at a couple of "clove oil executions" and they were not particularly quick; the fish seemed to experience varying degrees of discomfort in their final lingering moments. According to some experienced members here on Fishlore as well as several aquarists with whom I have discussed this in person, these results are not uncommon.

Sadly, clove oil seems to be more humane for the fish keeper than the fish. For a squeamish person it allows a degree of detachment from the physical act of taking a life, and maintains the illusion of a quick painless death.

What you did was literally instantaneous, with no chance of suffering...but the deed is tough.

I also question the whole brain-damage idea. These fish weigh a very few grams; they don't have the inertia to cause that kind of damage simply from striking a piece of wood an inch or two above them. The odds are that many fish have jumped and struck the glass lid of most tanks, but we don't see them do much more than swim away without serious consequences. I suspect that the fish may have suffered from some type of condition or other health problem which caused the spinning and may also have precipitated the jump as well. Once they start the crazy spinning and looping they generally are close to the end, so the odds are you saved this fish some uncomfortable last moments.

 

That's not a pleasant task, but I think you chose the most humane course of action (euthanasia) and also the most humane method. In this context, "humane" refers to a quick death that minimizes suffering. I have been present at a couple of "clove oil executions" and they were not particularly quick; the fish seemed to experience varying degrees of discomfort in their final lingering moments. According to some experienced members here on Fishlore as well as several aquarists with whom I have discussed this in person, these results are not uncommon.

Sadly, clove oil seems to be more humane for the fish keeper than the fish. For a squeamish person it allows a degree of detachment from the physical act of taking a life, and maintains the illusion of a quick painless death.

What you did was literally instantaneous, with no chance of suffering...but the deed is tough.

I also question the whole brain-damage idea. These fish weigh a very few grams; they don't have the inertia to cause that kind of damage simply from striking a piece of wood an inch or two above them. The odds are that many fish have jumped and struck the glass lid of most tanks, but we don't see them do much more than swim away without serious consequences. I suspect that the fish may have suffered from some type of condition or other health problem which caused the spinning and may also have precipitated the jump as well. Once they start the crazy spinning and looping they generally are close to the end, so the odds are you saved this fish some uncomfortable last moments.

What happened right before he jumped is that he darted back and forth around the tank really really fast before he jumped so he had a good 5 seconds at full speed.