Angel in trouble

[davidcalgary29]

I found my lovely Queen Angel, which I've had for about four months, lying listlessly and aspirating shallowly, in a head-up position in my display this morning. I quickly transferred her to my hospital tank (which I always keep running in cases of emergency), and dosed with cupramine before heading to work, but am trying to figure out a diagnosis. Fish displays no physical manifestations of anything that I've seen -- colour is good, with no spots, fin damage, or fungal growths -- but the poor thing is basically paralyzed. Fish was eating like a pig at 2300 last night and has never previously been ill.

The only fish that I've added in the past two months is a saddleback butterfly (which is fine) that spent a month in QT without displaying any sign of a disease in hospital (or display). Does anyone think that this is ich, or maybe velvet? I've never seen ich present with this symptomology (paralysis). Has anyone else had a large angel that has reacted in this manner? My previous ich fish have always lain on their side and aspirated rapidly -- not head up, with shallow, but regular, breathing.

All other fish in the tank are fine and were eating well this morning.

Tanks params are normal -- nitrites, ammonia are undetectable; SG 1.024, temp 78.0.

I'm just puzzled over this one.

 

[White Tiger]

For possible help, please answer the following question.

1. Do you have any sea anenomies or jellyfish?
2. Is he laying down on his side?

========Also========
What is cupramine?

 

[remindmetoscrap]

.

 

[Angela Short]

A form of copper.

 

[emperior911]

i've never heard anything like that. The only thing i can think of, is if you have any rabbit fish or lions that could of stung her. good luck. i dont know if the copper will help if she doesn't have ich. There is a medicine i had great sucess with. its called pazipro. helps with a number of problems

 

[davidcalgary29]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Angel died last night.

Short of performing a necropsy, I won't be able to obtain a final diagnosis of the fish's fatal illness, but agree that symptomology was very strange.

@white tiger:

No venomous livestock in my tank; I suppose that a small jelly could've hitched in on some LR that I placed in the sump two weeks ago, but thought it would've been shredded in the return (I have a mist pvc pipe "bar"). I do have a torch coral, but it's never bothered any other fish.

Angel never laid down on its side; it just maintained a head-up orientation until its death. It was very, very rigid for close to an entire day, but maintained good colour throughout.

I am going to have to look closely at the tank at night to try to discover an unknown source. My only fish deaths, since I set up my 165g, have been large angels, and I'm not sure why. It's possible that there is something about these angels' feeding habits which have caused them to come into contact with some form of biological toxin. The most exotic thing that I've seen in my tank is a hitchhiker annelid worm, but doubt that's the cause. Perhaps some type of toxic sponge?

I lost a beautiful female genicanthus in much the same manner a while ago, and it presented some of the same symptoms: no outward signs of disease except paralysis and death. And again, strangely, my "delicate" fish (butterfly, tangs, midnight angel) are all doing really well. It's all very strange.

 

[White Tiger]

I'm not sure how your angel died. However, I am sure that the little jelly fish that you were talking was not the killer.
======ALSO========
Do not put any sick fish on copper medication without some signs of ick since copper medication can kill a paralyzed fish.