My small little crab latched on to one of my fantails tail.. and pulled/held it down. I dont think it happened before, or at least from what ive noticed. Now the tail if it is loose, like pulled apart. The fins are "Corroded" like its been nibbled off.. at first it was just lying on the bottom.. now its just floating in a separate container. It was still eating and swimming, but its "lifeless".. not swimming regularly.
should i be scared and do i put in any medication for it? or just have it separated?
2007-02-25 10:27:52 · 7 answers · asked by kwazyliloboy 5 in Pets ➔ Fish
haha.. some funny and helpful? stuff..
but my goldfish are about 3 inches long head to tail.. and my crab is small and dinky about an inch..
this hasnt happen before.. first time..
2007-02-25 10:41:06 · update #1
Odds are very good your crab is quite hungry to go after a fish that much larger than it's self and hang on long enough to do significant damage. Be sure you're feeding it enough and the right kinds of foods.
Even with it hungry it's hard to imagine a crab that small doing that much damage to a healthy goldfish. Odd enough to make me wonder if the fish was healthy to begin with. I would suggest you want the fish very, very closely for any signs of disease. the excess damage to the fins maybe a sign of fin rot so watch for any additional loss for finnage now that they are seperated. Assuming your gold fish was healthy before the attack, it should recover ok given a little time. Give it as large of a container as possible and treat it with salt. About 2 tablespoon per 5 gallons is needed to help the fish and control bacteria and parasites, so do the math to get the right amount. You can use any salt that does NOT contain iodine. Most table salt does, but all stores carry table salt that does not as well.
I would return the crab as soon as possible if I were you and give the goldfish his home back to aid in it's recovery.
MM
2007-02-25 11:20:37 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Crabs should not be kept with goldfish for the very reason you have mentioned. Crustaceans eat fish as part of their regular diet and, unless you are feeding the crabs fish for food, they should not be kept together. Yes, definitely the best thing would be to separate the two and, hopefully, your goldy will survive. Give it some aquarium salt, not table salt, according to directions on the box. This will relieve stress and help repair the slime coat and kill any secondary infections that may result from the skin/fin damage. Good luck to you and your goldy!
2007-02-25 10:47:08 · answer #2 · answered by Venice Girl 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow. Thats interesting story!
2007-02-25 10:30:54 · answer #3 · answered by ****** * 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you should never have crabs , crayfish , or any type of crustacean in your tank with fish unless you expect this to happen. And you can expect it to happen to all of your other fish.
2007-02-25 10:32:55 · answer #4 · answered by Vincent W 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Um it might die soon if it is acting that way. But if its still swimming and such it might heal so I would just wait it out.
2007-02-25 10:33:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Just make it into some crabcakes, and your worries will be over.
2007-02-25 10:36:28 · answer #6 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
flush it down!da potty, the crab probably kept from swimming, right? so he also kept him from breathing they have to swim in order to breath ! sorry bout yr fish!
2007-02-25 10:32:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋