I have no idea what to do with this one. My favourite Shellie (only because she is so cheeky) has a puncture hole in her side.

Ive been watching, studying her closely for the past few days now. I think its female as she seems mature but smaller than the two largest which I assume are male.

I noticed a brown lump on her side which immediately panicked me. A couple of hours later the lump had gone and the hole was visible. Watching, I noticed that a couple of hours after feeding the lump appears them falls off.

Conclusion, she has a hole in her side through which poo is escaping…im convinced this is the case and have no idea what I can do. She is absolute star, so playful and friendly, she doesn’t seem to feel the hole and it certainly doesn’t seem to bother her.




Ammonia 0
NitrIte 0
NitrAte 20
PH 8 ish

Im struggling with GH/KH but im experimenting with riftlake salts to keep it stable...one day ill get it right

Jen

I doubt there is anything you can do about the hole itself - not to sound too positive but as long as it doesn't infect or grow larger then it may not cause her problems.

If it's an injury it may heal itself, or it could be a birth defect that has taken a while to show itself.

Does she poo normally as well?

Is there any sign of swelling or rednesss about it, or any other kind of discharge or excess slime coat?

Rather than risking removing her, and possibly making it worse when she panics, I would just keep a very close eye on her and keep us updated on any changes.

Im fairly certain this is a new wound, I would have noticed it when I got them the amount of time spent peering into the tank.

She seems absolutely fine in herself, she reminds me of an excitable puppy, she jiggles and wiggles like crazy until I take notice of her, can you see why she’s my favourite

I haven’t seen her poo normally if at all, which goes for the rest of them, they are so small and poo really quickly so I cant say for sure, I don’t know if this has a bearing on things.
The hole itself looks clean with no swelling, redness or infected looking edges, it looks like a clean cut about 1mm long, which opens when she poo’s, its very odd. She doesn’t have any extra slime coating either.

All in all she’s a very happy little fishy.

Jen

Hope everything works out OK matey, I'm thinking about him and you! x.

Cheers EB, I have to say im stumped with this one. I can understand how a wound like that can happen but i would also expect her to be feeling a bit Cr*p...but no, shes full of beans as per usual....fish what can ya do..ill keep posting if anything changes.

Jen

Well, I hope it's only good news then!

Just a quick update, she is still a very happy little fish, hyperactive and very excitable when she sees me

Jen

Just seen this. Weird. I'd worry about ulceration but what can you do except keep water tip-top and keep an eye on her.

Maybe a half dose course of melafix to keep infection at bay and aid healing? Might be worth doing?

Thanks guys

Ive just this min finished a water change, water perams before i changed were Ammonia 0 same for Nitrite with Nitrate still being a constant 20, im doing twice weekly water changes to help her all i can, the tank is doing really well and FX keeps a constant quality. FX for her, to look at her you wouldnt know anything was wrong but then she turns around and my heart sinks...poor little thing.

Jen

Edit// forgot to mention, im using small doses of melafix to make sure.
X

Sorry guy's Edit again..

If poo is leaking through this hole...how will it ever heal?