Is My Fish Dead?

Question
My fish jumped out of the bowl while I was cleaning his tank. Not a Beta fish. I aquired them from someone else so I'm not sure exactly what kind they are. It took us awhile to get him back in the bowl. He floated at the top for awhile, then started swimming but seemed lethargic. I put them all back in the tank. He has floated at the top for awhile and is now slowly floating to the bottom. This has all happened within the past two hours. I do not want to flush him if he is not really dead so how can I be sure and if he is dead do I need to clean the tank again?

Answer
Hi Andrea,

I apologise for how long it has taken for your question to be answered. I'm not sure if I was your expert but your question was forwarded to a Question Pool, which is very rarely staffed.

Basically it is likely that your fish is suffering from severe shock. Due to the trauma that was encountered during his little holiday it is likely that a medical problem will be brought about. Stress takes many forms, shedding scales, ich etc.

fish such as plecs, certain loaches, gouramis etc have developed 'labyrinth systems' which allow them to gulp air from the atmosphere during times of oxygen depletion. Depending on the species of fish it is possible that this system kicked in and he should be fine. Otherwise, oxygen starvation could be the problem.

It is unlikely he will recover and euthanasia could be the only option.

Due to the fact that this was asked days ago I'm guessing the situation has now been resolved. It's just I looked at the question pool today and saw questions going back months and months so I figured some people would appreciate some kind of answer

Sorry I couldn't get to you sooner.

Tom