For anyone that does not know, I own fish. I have two aquariums. Currently my first and favorite fish is in an aquarium by himself. He was initially called Terri on the night my friends and I won him at a local fair. We played one of those ping-pong games just to pass the time. Before I knew it I discovered a new hobby and a new passion of mine: aquatic life. Terri is now in a 10 gallon tank. But he was originally put in a 29 gallon tank with his buddy Klyde. I purchased Klyde with a temporary home that night at the fair back in April 2021. They are both Comet Goldfish. Since that night their community has grown to include live plants including Horwort, Anacharis, Pennywort, & two types of Java fern. I’ve also added Nerite and Mystery Snails to help keep down on the algae. Occassionally I’ll add Ghost Shrimp. Ghost shrimp have a double purpose in the goldfish tank. They help clean it but they are also live food. I’ve had a few survive for weeks. But eventually it seems they all get eaten by the goldfish. Lastly, two baby bristlenose pleccos were added. They were originally in the plant tank. But they were moved to quarantine Terri. So why is Terri quarantined right now you ask? Ah yes, let’s get back to that story.
About 2-3 weeks ago from the time of writing this blog, I came downstairs to Terri on the floor. He had jumped out of the 29 gallon tank through the feeder door. A door I have now taped shut and no longer use. I certainly freaked out because Goldfish are not known for jumping out of water. I have no idea how long he was there. He wasn’t wet as I picked him up off the floor and placed him on the hutch by his tank. After a moment of hesitancy, in faith I put him back in the water. I probably should have rinsed him off first. His gills immediately began to move. He soon sank to the bottom and I thought that meant he was a goner. After saying some intense prayers, as again this is my frist and favorite fish, he began to move! I cannot tell you the spectrum of emotions I had that morning. I was shedding tears over a fish. Something I didn’t know was possible for me to get so attached to. But when I look back on these 8 months that I’ve had them, they’ve been a big emotional support to me. The hobby keeps me busy as their tanks require constant attention with daily monitoring. Once it was clear Terri was alive, I added the middle name “Lazarus” because I was certainly praying resurrection prayers that morning. A shout out to my older sister Jess for the middle name suggestion. When Terri started swimming around again I noticed he was only using the left fin. He had damaged the right fin during the fan. I cleaned off his right side inside the water. Next, I began a water treatment to kill off any bacteria or parasites he may have picked up. About 2-3 days went buy and after seeing what I thought was fin rot, I quarantined him.
Long story short, we were just at the vet earlier this week. Who knew vets would require you to take a sick stressed out fish to their location? But I guess in person is always better visual quality than over zoom. The vet let us know that it wasn’t fin rot after all. He reviewed my progress pictures as well as how Terri was that day. Turns out everything is trauma related. The fit died off from lack of blood flow while he was out of the water. Since he grew back a portion of his missing fin when I first rescued him i believe his tail fin will make a full recovery. His discoloration, loss of slime coat, and scales regrowing in are all from the trauma as well. Terri swims around pretty regularly now with both fins. The black marks he had outlining a few of his fins and on his body are already beginning to disappear. My little guy is on a good track. He has had many people speaking life and saying prayers for him. Even the vet was amazed he was alive seeing Terri’s condition. Keep on swimming Terri-Lazarus for many years to come! He’s my Christmas Miracle.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
Author: A.S
Pawsitively 2nd Mile Service 