problem

Question
My albino rainbow shark got stuck in a syphen tube. Her head looks bruised and eyes are really dark. I think she can still see but head is dark. She seems to swim fine but staying to the top of the tank. Is she going to be okay. And my algae eater is full of sores.

Answer
Hi greg,
Poor shark, I hope she is alright.

Fish can go through some quite bad injuries and the black you are seeing on her head may indeed be bruising. I would just make sure the water is clean with frequent partial water changes and make sure that other fish are not picking at her. Then all you can do is wait and see if she can recover.

It helps to use a small square aquarium filter sponge to put over any power filter intakes to prevent problems like this from occurring. I've had similar issues to yours in the past and have found that simply sliding a small sponge over the intake prevents anything like that from ever happening again.

The Algae Eater's issue is hard to diagnose exactly without preferably a picture or a good description of the sores and the fish's overall appearance.  It could be anything from ulcers, bacterial infections, or injuries from other fish picking on him or from rough tank decorations. Maybe the best thing to do is to take the algae eater out and put him into a hospital tank with warm water heated to about 80-82F and change 50% everyday for a while. Sometimes clean water itself will help heal fish better than severe medications. However, on top of that, you may be forced to medicate him with an antibiotic. Jungle brand "Fungus clear" which also treats bacterial infections may indeed help. Make sure to predissolve it first before adding to the tank. If a hospital tank is absolutely impossible, you can treat the main aquarium but there are risks like wiping out the beneficial bacterial colony and stressing other fish that do not have an illness.

Best of luck with your aquatic creatures and I hope this helps!
Karen~