Hey sandi - welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear about your troubles though.
I hope that you do not mind that I moved your post in order to become its own thread. My thinking is that you will probably gain more attention and replies this way.
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We couldn't see it for a day & then found it stuck in one of the large ornaments...
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I think I already know the answer, but just in case, did you notice any odd behavior with your bala shark prior to this episode? If so, what did you see?
Does your bala have a history of entering or 'hanging out' near this ornament?
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.... with a couple of clown loaches biting on him.
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What other fish do you have in your tank?
Have you noticed any odd behavior in those fish - including increased aggression?
Can you tell us what your water test results are...if you have any.
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He has been gulping air and struggling to float,trying to swim some, but we don't know what to do not knowing if he is in pain from the bites or from distress & pain. PLEASE advise!
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To be honest, regardless of what caused these injuries on your fish, it sounds as though it may not make it....although I am hessitant to suggest that you euthanize it. In many cases, even if the fish is able to survive the initial problem, secondary issues such as fungal, bacterial, or parasitic problems take hold and compliate matters quite a bit.
Otherwise, i think the best thing to do is to get this fish into a quarantine tank as soon as possible so that you can treat it without risk to your main tank or other fish --- of course, that is assuming you can do that. From there, i would keep a very close eye on it and provide the most ideal environment as you can.
If you do have a quarantine tank or something similar, you might want to treat it wth small (read: less than directed) doses of a broad spectrum antibiotic as a preventative measure....but keep in mind that meds can be harsh on our fish and can harm a lot of your benificial bacteria.
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I have a 4 year old Bali Shark, fairly good sized in a 50 gal tank.
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Out of curiousity, how big is your bala shark right now?
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