anthias borbonius

[mudbone]

I was wondering if anyone has any adive on this fish. I adding him about three weeks ago to my tank and all he dose is hide in my live rock. I have not seen him eat anything over the time he has been in there. All of my other fish and coral are doing fine. I have other fish that have been shy and would hide until they got use to the tank but this seems like a very long time

 

[namxas]

IME, they can be a bit skittish at first, but once they become used to the tank they can be quite bold. we've had a trio of them for just over a year, and they are doing wonderfully. they do like to bicker amongst themselves (typical anthias behavior), and at feeding time, i've even seen the male challenge the adult male fuzzy dwarf lion once or twice.

we feed them frozen mysis, BS+, and they will also snatch small pieces of shrimp and fish from a feeding stick.

 

[mudbone]

thanks for the reply namxas. i just worried cause he has not eaten since being in the tank. He just stay wedge between different rocks

 

[ccombs70]

They aren't very hardy I know that. We were scraping the back of a large tank. Nothing too terrible. The system is over 1000g. It nuked 8 of those little guys within 30 minutes. Everything else was fine. Sad day. They are a deep water species. Hard to adapt to the bright lights.

 

[namxas]

is it having bouyancy problems?

deepwater fish can suffer decompression problems which typically affect the swim bladder and/or the eyes. if the swim bladder is affected, the fish can't maintain its place in the water column and will wedge itself in the rockwork to keep from floating around.

 

[mudbone]

namxas bouyancy could be a factor, not sure at this point. All know is he stays wedge in my live rock and seems to move from place to in it. How can I tell and correct this if this is the case?

 

[namxas]

have you seen the fish swim at all? the "wedging" comment is what suggests a DC issue to me as i've seen blotchies as well as other anthias (particularly sunbursts) with buoyancy issues.

i honestly don't think there's much you can do, altho i can tell you that for edema/buoyancy trouble in SH, we've used Diamox baths with excellent results. since borbonius aren't cheap or common, it may be worth a shot. it won't harm the fish, altho they will sometimes go off their feed during treatment.

here's the protocol we use for SH:

ACETAZOLAMIDE (immersion) Dosage and Preparation Instructions for a 10g/38L Hospital Tank
Active Ingredient: Acetazolamide
Indication: gas bubble disease, edema, popeye
Brand Name: Diamox
Dose at 250mg per day for 3 days.
Replace the medication in ratio to the amount of water changed daily as needed to control ammonia.
Day 1 of Treatment
• Crush one 250mg tablet into a fine powder.
• Use a mini-blender or small hand-blender to thoroughly mix the powder with about 1 cup of marine
water.
• Allow the mixture to set for a few minutes.
• Gently pour off the dissolved portion of the mixture and discard any residue that has settled at the
bottom of the container. (Do NOT add the residue to the hospital tank).
• Pour the mixture into a high-flow area of the hospital tank.
Days 2 – 3 of Treatment
• Perform 50% water change.
• Repeat "Day 1" instructions.

 

[SPStoner]

I have a few questions, Mudbone. What other fish do you have in the tank? What size tank is it? What have you tried feeding it? Did you see it eat at the store before you bought it, and if so, what did it eat?


Thanks,

Tony

 

[mudbone]

I have a clown and two Damsel in the tank whick is 90 gallons. As far as feeding I give the other fish pellets and mysis shrimp

 

[namxas]

ours pretty much eat anything, but see if you can entice it with BS+ or frozen cyclopeeze. you may need to use a baster to get the food closer to the fish.