Crazy raphael catfish causing problems, and may be hurt.....?

Question

So, in preparation to put my new driftwood in my tank, I took out a large hollow root decoration. I knew my raph was in the log, and I hadn't seen him in almost two weeks, so I took the ornament out of the main tank, and put it into a large stockpot filled w/ tank water. I could see where raph was at in the log, so I tried all my tricks to get him out: bloodworms, a little cold water, and a qtip, and none of these things got him out. This is pretty unusual for him, so I got worried, and started busting off pieces of the ornament with vice grips ( carefully and far away from him, of course. Finally, I got it all busted except the part he was in, and realized he was stuck. I tried to pull, tried to push him out backwards, and he just wasnt moving, he had lost a lot of weight, and he was stuck. I put a paper towel in next to his body, and my husband broke off piece by piece w/ his hand until raph slid out. He looked pretty lifeless @first, but perked back up pretty quickly and ate

a bunch of bloodworms. The question is, he now seems to have a large scrape on his side (this is a 8 1/2 inch catfish, so it's a pretty big scrape) I'm not really a fan of using unneccesary medications, and my tank water is pristine, w/ all parameters(nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia) at zero. Should I treat it preventativly or should I wait and see if it starts to heal on it's own? Thanks all, in advance.

Answer 1

A small quarantine tank would be nice,there are slime-building chemicals that are relatively harmless,but if your main tank is large enough for that big boy I wouldn't treat the entire tank. A short saltwater dip might prove beneficial,but if the fish seems to be doing OK,I'd just let him heal. Watch for secondary infections and maybe look for a forum or website that may offer suggestions. I had a Synodontis cat that did the same trick,when he was about 2" long in 1987,he died of old age this Winter, at age 21.-----Good luck,PeeTee

Answer 2

I think that medicine will heal it faster, but it will probably heal on its own...