Hurt dwarf Gourami

Question
Hello,

I have a fish tank with one Dwarf Gourami and 2 glow fish.  About a week ago now my Gourami jumped out of the tank (I do not have a lid because I added an automatic fish feeder for weekends.  I immediately put him back into the tank and he seemed ok the rest of the day.  The next day I came in and thought he had died as he was on his side on the bottom of the tank.  I went to fish him out and he swam away from my poke.  I have tried to leave him be since thinking he is going to die soon, however he is still surviving.  He lays at the bottom of my tank on his side, and today I got him to shift enough I could look at his fin.  It seems when he landed on the file cabinet he hurt his fin.  He is not using the one side fin and is not able to really swim.

Is there anything I can do?  I don't want to pull him from the tank only to make him suffocate to death, but I don't want him to suffer in the tank.  He is moving around the bottom of the tank, and once in a while I see him try to swim, but it seems he is unable.  Is there something I can add to the water to help him heal?

Thank you for your help!

Answer
Hi Kimberly

Most fish are able to regrow their fins. This is not a fast process though. Keep the water clean by performing 30% weekly water changes, followed by a 10% water change mid-week. You can add a little aquarium salt to the tank. If your fish are not used to salt, add about 1tbsp per 10 gallons of water. This will help prevent infection and promote regrowth. Use aquarium salt, not table salt. Remember to replace the salt with your water changes.

If not better in a few weeks, you may need to add some antibiotics to the tank. These are available at any pet store that sells tropical fish.

I hope this helps you and he gets better soon! Good luck!

Richard