Flameback Angel got stuck in a rock. Is she a goner?

[FishyHotel]

I was feeding my fish this morning an noticed that my flareback angel wasn't coming up to eat. I didn't remember seeing her earlier so I looked around the tank and noticed that she was stuck inside of a cave rock. I dismantled my scape to get at the rock, but when I got the cave rock free she still couldn't get out. I used a screwdriver to snap the rock open and was able to get her out, but she hasn't really been able to swim since I got her out.

She is pretty scratched up and not really swimming around, but she did eat a few mysis when I put them in her container. For now she is just in a specimen cup in the tank with an airstone to make sure she has a chance if she can recover.

I know that she was trying to catch bristle worms, I have watched her really go frantically at them at night and dig through the sand. When I took the rock out there were a few of them on the other side of the rock where she was burrowed.

I'm pretty sure she won't recover, but I just wanted to see if anyone had something else to try or something to give me hope . Thanks for your help,

 

[cdemoss01]

I was feeding my fish this morning an noticed that my flareback angel wasn't coming up to eat. I didn't remember seeing her earlier so I looked around the tank and noticed that she was stuck inside of a cave rock. I dismantled my scape to get at the rock, but when I got the cave rock free she still couldn't get out. I used a screwdriver to snap the rock open and was able to get her out, but she hasn't really been able to swim since I got her out.

She is pretty scratched up and not really swimming around, but she did eat a few mysis when I put them in her container. For now she is just in a specimen cup in the tank with an airstone to make sure she has a chance if she can recover.

I know that she was trying to catch bristle worms, I have watched her really go frantically at them at night and dig through the sand. When I took the rock out there were a few of them on the other side of the rock where she was burrowed.

I'm pretty sure she won't recover, but I just wanted to see if anyone had something else to try or something to give me hope . Thanks for your help,

probably not but who knows if it had eaten well before it got stuck I would say it MIGHT be alright.

 

[FishyHotel]

Just an update for posterity -- The angel did not recover even after being in quarantine for a day. She could not swim, and didn't appear to be making any progress toward doing so. I thought it cruel to let her suffer so looked up how to humanely euthanize a fish.