Question
Hi, I'm wondering if you can help me?
We have a large pond and today we noticed one of our fish, a comet/goldfish, was stuck in a filter by her tail!
We pulled her free, but her tail is quite badly injured! Its quite shredded and there is a large blood patch!
She is 10 years old and I would hate it if she were to die!
We have put her in a hospital tank with some medicine that is supposed to treat damaged tissue, but it was all we had in the cupboard! Is there anything I can do to help her? Ive just noticed she has babies in the pond too!! She isnt looking too good at the moment, shes floating around off balance, but shes still very much alive!

Answer
I'm sorry she was injured.  She was probably weak after spawning which allowed her to get stuck.  I've also had goldfish try to spawn in the filter material around my pump's intake, then getting stuck.  I have a page on how to treat fish at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/fishcare/treat.htm that may be of some help.  I suggest aquarium salt, MelaFix, and some antibiotics.  Fish have an amazing ability to heal so she may recover although it could take a while.  The tail will probably not return to its former glory but hopefully she will be able to return to the pond after treatment.  The main concerns are infection and other fish picking on her (which can't happen if she's in a hospital tank which is good for her).  Good luck!

Robyn