# Should I put him down?



## Cobalt Blue (Mar 14, 2014)

People are saying I should put my Cobalt Blue Zebra down. Every fin that he has has chunks missing, and his dorsal fin even is brown on the top. I put him in a hospital tank has been in there for about 5-6 days. The hospital tank is a 10 gallon and its the only hospital tank I have, and its also occupied by a 5 inch Socolofi and a small Snow White. I rotate them in and out a breeder cup thing. I think I should give him more time to recover right?


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## jeffkro (Feb 13, 2014)

Fin damage grows out doesn't it? I thought its kind of like getting a bad haircut.


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## MizOre (Sep 20, 2013)

If he's eating, if he's not clamped and shimmying, keep working with him.


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

He has not given up, do not give up on him.


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## Cobalt Blue (Mar 14, 2014)

Ok he is looking a little bit better today. He started eating again 2 days ago once I put him in the hospital tank he was scared of food. When he was in my community tank he had 3 black bars around him I don't know if Cobalt Blues are suppose to have that though. It only happens when he gets scared.


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## Cobalt Blue (Mar 14, 2014)

He has been in a 10 gallon hospital tank with the snow white for a while, and he really hasn't shown any recovery. The brown on his dorsal fin. Should I put in a bubble curtain for more circulation? The snow white is fine she is just in there for some fin damage recovery not as bad as the cobalt blues fins though. What should I do? There in a high quality water and he hasn't shown any recovery at all.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Are you treating with anything?


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## Cobalt Blue (Mar 14, 2014)

No. What am I suppose to treat him with? II don't really know what the brown is on his dorsal fin. When I had the bubble curtain for 2 days some of the brown went away.


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

Other people have said smilar things before, but I have firsthand experience that it is true... 
If you can keep your nitrates down, way down, like under 10ppm, fish seem to heal up faster. 
I had a fish with a pretty severely damaged pectoral fin, damaged anal fin & dorsal fin too, that I'd gotten from Petco. 
About that time, I had to start treating my entire tank for bloat AFTER having to treat it for a bacterial infection and then fungus, so I'd taken out my Purigen. 
Long story short, during this 3 week period, nitrates were higher, one time almost up to 40ppm between water changes, but never really much below 10ppm during this time. The fins on this fish during that 3 week period showed absolutely no signs of recovery at all. (ph is always 8.2, ammo 0, nitrite 0)
Then, when my treatment was over, I did 2 large back to back water changes, and re-added Purigen, getting my nitrates down to less than 5ppm.
In 5 days, the fins on this fish healed 100%.
I really believe it was keeping those nitrates really, really low.
And yes, I had a Cobalt that had bad enough dorsal fin damage that it turned a little brown. took about 10 days to heal. They really can heal pretty quickly if their water is pristine.
But in my opinion, it is ridiculous to put a fish down because he's beat up...


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## Cobalt Blue (Mar 14, 2014)

My Nitrite is lower than 10ppm. Im just waiting for him to start eating normally and for him to turn blue again. The only blue par ton him is his eyes which are beautiful, but his body is pink. It might be the light in the hospital tank because when I cut it off he seems to the eye to be blue. Idk. How do I get his colors back and how to I get him back eating?


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## Skie (Apr 13, 2014)

Keep faith in him until you realize that the fishs state of life is true torture. If hes eating then defiently dont euthanize him. Keep the hospital tank water as clean as possible. You should talk to a aquatic vet that can help you pick out meds. Be aware that some meds are not filter safe and a sponge filter should be used. Carbon can be used to remove meds after you are done dosing. If you have to euthanize there are many right and wrong ways to do it.

Good luck to your fish :fish:


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## Cobalt Blue (Mar 14, 2014)

Thanks but how to do I get his metabolism back up and how do I get his color back?


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

Others may correct me, but his colors are as much of an indication of how he's feeling as anything else... you keep his water perfect, and you wait.


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## Cobalt Blue (Mar 14, 2014)

Ok how to do I get his metabolism back up?


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

There are no doubt more experienced people on this forum to listen to, but if it was me... I'd be adding Seachem Stress Guard to the water, doing as many water changes as it takes to keep the nitrate at 5ppm or less, covering the outside of the tank at night with a towel (so lights/people/kids/pets/whatever) can't stress him, leaving tank lights off (just natural daylight during the day). Don't cover the top of the tank though, just the sides. Really, it wouldn't hurt at all to keep the tank covered 24/7, I wouldn't think... and just wait... I don't think you can make him eat. He either will, or he won't... Good luck, and I hope someone more experienced comes up with additional suggestions for you.


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

how is your fish?


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## Cobalt Blue (Mar 14, 2014)

He is doing fine actually. He is ready for the show tank again. The only thing keeping him in the hospital tank is aggression. Im scared that if I put him in the tank the other fish will beat him up. I don't really want to re arrange my aquascape.


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## inth3shadows (Sep 1, 2008)

you can soak fish food in garlic (either fresh crushed garlic or a commercial additive like seachem garlic guard) and that might entice him to eat. It has been known to entice fish to eat before.


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