Clown died in qt :(

[CStrickland]

Hi all.
I got this clownfish from bluezoo a week ago. He was really active always right up to the glass looking at the world pretty much 24/7. I started metronidazole with focus 3 days ago (1 measure each to a tablespoon of frozen food). Last night he started to slow down and lay on the bottom but I thought he was finally taking a nap. This morning he was dead.

The ammonia badge was reading zero, and nobody else looks funny. There's a chalk bass and a pair of firefish in there too but I haven't seen any aggression (it looks like there's a chunk gone from the clowns tail). The chalk bass is about an inch long. There's enough hiding places for everyone to rest but the clown never did until he died.

His eyes are clear; mouth closed; gills open and intact, they look kind of red like the inside of a persons nose if you look way up in there; there is a faint cloudiness on his skin but idk how long he was dead for overnight, can't be sure it wasn't there before; there's also a slight red blush at the base of his tail that idk if it was there.

What do you guys think happened?

 

[CStrickland]

Pic 2

Ps he was eating well too. Seemed like a pretty happy fish overall

 

[CStrickland]

Omg you guys the ywg just died. Ugh. This is the worst hobby ever.

Do you think they were too small to have the metro in all of their food? That's how seachem says to do it, but there are some wetwebmedia articles that say just one feeding per day should be medicated.

The goby shipped with the clown but was already in the dt with his shrimp. Same deal, active and eating then belly up. He was frisky last night tho, not sleepy like the clown was.

 

[MitchSutherland]

What's the nitrite reading? Def not as toxic as ammonia, but still can potentially kill if expose for long periods of time.

 

[Deinonych]

What's the nitrite reading? Def not as toxic as ammonia, but still can potentially kill if expose for long periods of time.

Nitrite would have to be extremely high (hundreds of PPM) to have any effect on marine fish. It's a non-issue for most practical considerations in marine aquaria.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php

To the OP: given the rapid onset of mortality, you might be dealing with marine velvet. What were you treating with metro?

 

[CStrickland]

I wasnt treating anything. The plan was to give them the metro in their food for a week, then after another week dose prazipro. I was given to understand this was a fairly gentle approach if the fish were eating well.

I can't say whether the clown had any white on him before he died, it was just the slightest cloudiness around his belly when I took him out. It wasn't a speckly white, like an even cloudiness without defined borders. Also, was a tank raised clown if that makes a diff. The goby def didn't have any whiteness, and he was never in my qt tank. Nobody else looks groggy, and I don't see any white on them.

Sorry it took a little while to get the tests sorted, it's annoying to keep all the vials separate.
QT
- temp 78
- sg 1.026 (up from .022 over 6 days)
- ph 7.8
- Am 0
- nitrate 0
-alk 9

DT
- T 80
-sg 1.026
- ph 8.2
- A 0
- N 0
- Alk 8

 

[MitchSutherland]

Nitrite would have to be extremely high (hundreds of PPM) to have any effect on marine fish. It's a non-issue for most practical considerations in marine aquaria.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php

To the OP: given the rapid onset of mortality, you might be dealing with marine velvet. What were you treating with metro?

Sweet. Did not know that about nitrite, shows I was worrying for nothing.

 

[CStrickland]

Day 2

Day 2

I haven't given any more of the medicated food. The survivors (starry blenny, 2 firefish, chalk bass) seem vigorous and ate well.

Is there anything else I should be doing, or watching for?

 

[Sapelo]

I wondered about velvet too but had no real basis for jumping to that conclusion....

 

[Deinonych]

I haven't given any more of the medicated food. The survivors (starry blenny, 2 firefish, chalk bass) seem vigorous and ate well.

Is there anything else I should be doing, or watching for?

Personally, I don't like using antibiotics like metro unless I have a reason to treat. The only med I use prophylactically is Prazipro, as it is gentle on fish in general, and fluke infestations can often go unnoticed until they are severe.

It could have been coincidence that the YWG died right after the clown. If the other fish are eating and behaving normally, then I would continue to monitor them. If you notice any avoidance of light (hiding), piping at the surface, or rapid breathing, you should be prepared to take action.

 

[CStrickland]

Will do, thanks!
Do you think a week of monitoring, then prazi, then another week of watching sounds reasonable going forward?

PS do you guys think the red blush on both fish's skin was anything?
It didn't break the skin like a uromema sore (and neither had that rigid kissy-face mouth thing), but I thought it odd they both had a blotch on them. Or is that common to dead fish?

 

[Deinonych]

I always treat for flukes (Prazipro) and Cryptocaryon (TTM) for new acquisitions, along with 1-2 weeks of observation. Are you planning to treat for crypto? If not, an extended observation period (8-10 weeks) is required to be reasonably sure the parasite isn't present. TTM only takes 12 days.

Hard to say about the reddish mark on the fish without seeing it firsthand.

 

[CStrickland]

I hadn't decided yet on ich. Im leaning toward ttm after all the prazi and stuff. I thought it would take longer to get them settled and eating but I also have copper in case they broke out with spots before then so I could move quicker if needed. TBH my first fish weren't qt'd cause I didn't know, so there's always that tempting voice saying "your tank probably has it anyway, why bother?"

Bluezoo sends a sample packet of the food they were eating at the warehouse, it's a nice touch. That seems to ease the transition.

 

[shirls34]

how would it be ich if there is no signs of white spots or gills not inflame?

 

[CStrickland]

how would it be ich if there is no signs of white spots or gills not inflame?

It wasn't ich that killed these. But part of qt is keeping out ich also, and I had not decided which way to do that for the rest of the fish.

 

[Deinonych]

how would it be ich if there is no signs of white spots or gills not inflame?

Crypto does not need to be visible to be present.

 

[ThRoewer]

Crypto does not need to be visible to be present.

Sure, but when it's not visible it's also not likely to cause fatalities.