Exhausted, please help, all input appreciated.

Yellow_donkey

New member
I am exhausted, I have read all day today for more than 16 hours and watched my fish. I have a female clown fish that was in AOK perfect health before this morning at 8AM. To complete the questions:

In order for us to provide the best possible help, please provide the following information. It will really help us and it will be information we need.

1. How old is this aquarium?
4 months old.

2. If less than six months old, what is ammonia level?
0, well cycled now, cheato is helping get to 0 Nitrates too. I did my full weekly test too which is Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, CA, Mag, Alk, High sensitivity Phosphate, Iron, Iodine, Strontium, Silicate, Potassium, salinity, TDS, O2, temp and I am sure something else I cant think of. Everything is right in line with best parameters for a reef tank after parasitic dosing 5 items, aside for Iron which I can never get to the Red Sea recommended 0.15 but everyone else is saying .06. With dosing I can typically only get it to about .02 or so. I just cant imagine having to pump 100 ML of something into a 30-gallon tank. Afraid to dose required I guess. Anyways, ALL parameters within reason are perfect.

3. What is SG of this aquarium? How measured?
1.025 on the button with help from ATO. Did 25% water change today and it remains at 1.025. measured first with vinegar cleaned swing arm and then back-ed up fractormeter, I like using both. Refractometer re-calibrated this morning too, was about 0.0005 off, 1/2 a tick and I adjusted that.

4. When was the last fish added to this aquarium?
10 days ago, Solon Wrasse.

5. Was it quarantined? If so, how? And how long? Was it prophylactically treated? How?
No, I have just setup my quarantine tank today, read everything I could find and it is almost ready. I only dosed ammonia to 0.25 and with seeded media should be down to 0.00 in 24 hours. Water for 8.5-gallon QT is the change water from the DT today, which is 30 gallons plus sump.

6. If you are using a copper based medication, which one? How often do you measure level? When?
I have not used any medications yet. Plan on shopping first thing tomorrow morning. Getting copper, and the 3 or 4 others comonly used, to have all on hand. I have not made my list yet.

7. If you are using hyposalinity, how did you calibrate your refractometer?
No yet, reading alot on freshwater dips for Flukes.

8. Please describe in detail, the appearance of the fish? If there is one or more pimples, are they lumpy? What color?
Onyx Clownfish. Female not large but she is not a little girl. She has always had a "whitish" chin from what I can remember. But today I will say that color loss or white has spread further around her fin/whiter. Also, using flash light and comparing to male I can tell she has significant overall orange loss. Her Color is way down and it is not looking good, I just don't know which way to proceed.

9. Please describe the behavior of the fish as best you can. Is it acting reclusive? Is it always up towards the top of the aquarium? Is it avoiding light? How active is the fish?
First evidence of condition change was rapid breathing this morning. She has always had a shut mouth stern jaw look at you. Today she has floated around under the Tonga Plateau, in the shade and swam in place with rapid breathing. Next, she did not eat breakfast and then did not eat dinner. She is always the first eater from the baster. About 6 hours ago I noticed tail fin fray which was only a very slight tail fin tear earlier today. And now tonight under the flashlight it is all out tail fin going away fast. Very frayed and tips missing, all in a matter of hours. And the color just looks like a sick fish/clown. What is most surprising is this is a 24 hour or less drastic change. I am not saying she has not had this ailment longer, but signs of her discomfort/injury have not shown at all until today.

10. Is the fish eating? What?
Stopped as of this morning. Ate huge amounts of brine coasted with Spirluna (spelling) and then mixed in PEC mysis.

Also, I don't know if it is related but the little male who came after her but has been in tank about 5 or 6 weeks, his mouth breathing has been elevated for some time bow and watching it daily that is the only sign I have worry with him about. BUT today, watching closely this breathing appeared much subdued.

I am ready to treat just about anything but after so much ready I dont know if I should dip to check for flukes (freshwater cant be good for a sick fish, no mater what i read!), put into QT and treat with meds, treat brook, what, which and why.

As for skin, no heavy mucus, no spots around mouth, gills, fins, body that I can see. Looking at all angles becasue it is hard with a 1/2 white fish. using flashlight looking at eyes and skin at sheer angels shows nothing. The only physical items are the whiter chin, overall color fade (could account for lighter chin) and now frayed tail fin.

I am leaning to the freshwater dip, 3 to 5 minutes to see if it flukes. The Solon Wrasee being the newest resident I suspect he/she has brought the culprit into the system I would suspect. I have looked him over close too but I am just not seeing anything.

Please help if anyone can with idea on next step. I am ready to go starting early morning/LFS open Sunday morning. 11am. Thank you.

I also fired up my hugely supersized UV tube. With the flow/unit size, this will kill anything in the water column. I had it off as I did not want to impact my pod production. My cheateo is under a grow light in the overflow and it is actually doing great. On a base weight of 30 grams of Cheato I am getting about 10grams a week growth. All I have to do is pick cheato up and swish it in the main water column every so often and I have so many pods now you can see them easily all over during full light without even trying. But I am hoping this huge UV may help save other fish if not too late from same condition. Again, more debate on this idea, /shrug, going to bed, huge headache, too much reading, too sad to keep going :( Hopefully, she is still ok in the morning. Otherwise I will be preping for triage for the other fish...thank you.
 
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So this morning I got up early and she was definitely on her way out. She had lost a lot of motor control and when was moving shot to the surface as if gasping for surface air. So that lends me to believe it was a gill impaction of some sort. Within 20 minutes of observing her and me preparing a temp/PH correct freshwater dip she was gone.

I did the dip to see if Flukes were the cause and although a saw a couple or 4 sall white pices of :dandruff" I would not call it an clear indication of Flukes. From what I have read it is easy to see a number of flukes exit the host. Or is this small few what could have killed her.

I took plenty of photos of her as I need to figure this out as I am sure the next victim will start to show sooner or later, and if I were to say anything, the new Solon Wrasse is acting a little weird with shooting motions but he did eat. Everyone ate.

Looking at everyone I don't see anything on any that I would consider a disease, they all good good and dot less.

The passed clown when examined up closer had a frayed tail and what I would think was an obvious reddening on the chest below the gills and that region.

My questions are please, should I post a couple of her post images?

What base medications should I have on hand as my QT/HT will be full time. Im pretty sure there is four or so of them I should have on me.


Yesterday morning with the first non-feeding, what would you'll have done. QT and what medications and why, please?

What I find amazing is that we went from a perfectly healthy and beautiful fish to death in less than 24 hours. With no trauma or obvious injury. I guess that is what happens, as it just did to me.

What steps should I take for tank mates at this point? Thanks everyone.
 
Sounds like velvet from the time line provided. Most likely the wrasse was sourced from a vendor that runs a low level of copper in their system. I guess you learned that quarantine is a necessity? You need to get chloroquine Phosphate and treat remaining fish.
 
Sounds like velvet from the time line provided. Most likely the wrasse was sourced from a vendor that runs a low level of copper in their system. I guess you learned that quarantine is a necessity? You need to get chloroquine Phosphate and treat remaining fish.

Ahh Velvet? Gezz, not the one I focused on, dont know why I did not focus on it, but didn't. I leaned more toward flukes which was not correct, and I would imagine would have been slower. Yes it was very fast.

Please see the following, this is 1st QT medicine cabinet purchase. I had read about chloroquine Phosphate earlier this morning but gave up when it was not easily found, I do see it in the "new Spectrum" product in the below list. Will this work, better source?

This will be coming on Tuesday, any chance anything is sold locally, Orlando so metro area, I have never noticed but have not looked into medications very much before:

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Can I remove anything from the list? I single ordered the New Spectrum product just now to make sure it ships if Amazon send out today at all which they do do sometimes on a Sunday. Thank you.
 
Rid Ich is useless. It would be desirable to have formalin; every new fish should get a formalin bath. Tank transfer is preferred over copper treatment, so pass on the copper related items.
 
Pimafix and Melafix are worthless IMO/IME. Better to purchase a proper antibiotic like kanamycin (Seachem Kanaplex) and/or nitrofurazone (API Furan-2).
 
Thanks everyone will adjust and order.

Also, the Solon Wrasse is the culprit. He has, sense day one looked dull. Well after all the reading this weekend and looking at fish it downs on me, he is not dull, its mucus! He is dull from something bothering him. Still not 1005 on what it is but leaning to Velvet I go ahead and do a 5 min freshwater dip on Solon Wrasse.

At the bottom on the container are roughly 5 very large flukes and then roughly 50 tiny, what I would assume to be, flukes, smaller.

So the Wrasse definitely brought Flukes into the system. But remember this morning after the 1st clown died I placed her in a freshwater dip and did not see the flukes like I saw with the 10 day added Wrasse. Does a freshwater dip not work on flukes if fish is not breathing? (I doubt this to be the case) Could Flukes have killed the clown and be bothering everyone else now?

Latest Male clown breathing heavy, and lawnmower, WHO JUST started eating MYSIS last week!, is flashing on the sand :(

So do I have flukes PLUS something else? Arggg, really got a headache now.

Thanks everyone.
 
So I canceled the three types/items from the order that was placed, the two API "fixes" and then Copper. I will use the tank transfer at the start of each quarantine with PraziPro and a separate Formalin dip, although I was reading the Formalin provides a meek outlook for a lot of fish, death within a couple years sort of cancer thing. Any truth to this? Makes me want to lean to quinolone antibiotics?

Also, on Amazon (Prime) I am only really seeing one listing for lab grade 37% formaldehyde at about $20.00. Will this work versus the Hordon Ick?

Thank you.
 
..., although I was reading the Formalin provides a meek outlook for a lot of fish, death within a couple years sort of cancer thing. Any truth to this? ...

It's total nonsense.
Even in humans formaldehyde is suspected only to cause cancer after long term exposure.


Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
So the latest this morning, with meds arriving tomorrow sometime:

Male clown is showing two large white spots on both side of rear fin and breathing continues. Blenny is flashing with sporadic erratic swimming, but he has always been a little"off". Regardless, more then usual with flashing. Solon Wrasses looks much brighter after yesterdays Freshwater dip, 6-line's rear fin is showing spots. All ate well this morning.

With no medications yet, my plan is to freshwater dip everyone today, aside from Solon Wrasse who got dipped yesterday. If not I am afraid the one more day my take out one of them?

And then tomorrow when medication comes do a formalin dip and place into QT with Prazipro in QT the next day? This should fight Velvet, if it is in there too, only reason I still think it maybe is that freshwater dip of dead clown showed no flutes, only Solon Wrasse yesterday showed flukes.

I guess the Freshwater dip of other guys today will tell me more?

Secondly, fish types, all are ok to Freshwater dip, Formalin dip and treat with Praziro in QT:

6-line - yes
Clown - yes
Lawnmower Blenny- OK?
Mandarin Dragonette - I have no idea, will have to grab at night, freshwater? Formalin? He will be leaving is heavily populated copepod tank for a bare tank. How in the heck do you feed a dragonette in QT?

Any suggestions, Im sure Im doing something wrong here. Thanks.
 
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