Flame Angel Hasn't Been Eating; Swimming Erratically

[RussKubes]

Hello,

I have a Flame Angel for about a month now in a 55 Gallon tank.

For the first three weeks, he has appeared to be very healthy. He was swimming all over the tank. He was eating great.

For the past week he has stopped eating. I have tried Mysis Shrimp, Brine Shrimp, Hikari Angelfish Food, Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 Flakes, Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 Pellets, and seaweed on a Veggie Clip.

Some of these foods he has no interest in at all; others he'll swim up to, get in front of his face, then just swim away from it. Although, when he stopped eating, he continued to pick at the rocks all the time.


I woke up today to find him stuck to the side of a powerhead. I turned off the powerheads and he "swam" away. However, he is swimming very erratically. He'll swim slowly, but "okay" for a few seconds to a minute, then he starts to float face up. After about 5 to 10 seconds of this, he shakes as if he woke up, then starts swimming again.

I shined a flashlight on him to see if I can see anything physical. With the light on him, he started swimming with more energy and turned upright. He may have been startled by it. However, I don't see any film over the eyes, any white spots, or any discoloration. He does not appear to be gasping for air. His lips may be turning white, but it is difficult to see.

Most notable is that his fins appear to have tears in them. This is most noticeable on his rear most fins. I'm not sure if this is a result of being stuck to the PH, or if it is indicative of something else.

--

His mates include a Yellow Tang, Azure Damsel, Percula Clown, Red Scooter Dragonet, a few snails, and a cleaner shrimp. They have all interacted positively, I have never observed any fighting or nipping.

I was going to go out today to get Garlic to see if I could entice him to eat; but I worry it may be too late at this point.

I'm really not sure if his swimming symptoms are because he's not eating, or the fact that he's not eating and now his swimming are both symptoms of something else.

 

[Deinonych]

Was this fish quarantined? If so, did you treat for any diseases prophylactically?

 

[RussKubes]

Thanks for your response.

I did not QT.

I have treated the water with NovAqua to add slime coat. I also have a UV Sterilizer. Other than that, there hasn't been additional disease prevention.

 

[RussKubes]

At this point the Pom Pom crab has grabbed ahold of him. Doesn't look like he's getting away. I don't have a spare tank to QT. If he doesn't even have the energy to get away from the Pom Pom, I don't think he's going to make it.

 

[Bent]

My first bet was that he had some kind of infection, be it parasitic, bacterial, or viral. The Stress of the move flared it up and got worse, he became weak, stopped eating and became weaker then the power head just became to much for him and sucked him in. He was probably injured from the power head which made him even worse.

The moral of this story is not to skip proper QT processes.

If you had QT'd him, the infection would have shown itself and without any real dangers, he would never have been injured by the power head and you could have treated him.

Bottom line (and I don't mean to sound like a jerk here) is that by not QTing him properly, you killed him. But we've all done it before, and just like you we learned the hard way.

Take the lesson and use it, and hopefully both you and your future residents can benefit.

Good luck!

 

[RussKubes]

I appreciate the response. I'd rather hear the straight truth than it be sugar coated.

I need to research and invest in a QT set up.

 

[Bent]

I appreciate the response. I'd rather hear the straight truth than it be sugar coated.

I need to research and invest in a QT set up.

All I've ever done is set up a 10gallon or 20gallon tank with some elbow fittings or extra PVC pipe for cover for the fish, a HOB filter like a penguin bio wheel, a piece of foam for bacteria colonization (fluval makes some) a heater, a air pump and air stone. You can get all of this if your thrifty for under 100 bucks easily. Cycle it as you would any other tank.

1: buy your fish, and float him in the QT for 15 minutes to match temp
2: open the bag and look at the clock, you have 20-30 minutes maximum to get the fish in QT before it dies.
3: test the bag water salinity and adjust your QT salinity to match it as close to exact as you can. Within .01 preferably.

Once the salinity matches, net the fish and place him in QT for whatever period of time you feel comfortable with. Some will do 2-3 weeks, some will do 90 days.

Prophylactic treatment is entirely up to you. Some will suggest prophylactic parasitic and bacterial treatments across the board. Watch your fish for signs of disease. After your time period and your sure the fish is healthy, slowly match the QT tank salinity and temp to the display, then net the fish and toss him in the display.

That's the method I've always used.

Don't let the mistake get to you, learn from it. Like I said, we've all done it. I killed an entire tank with velvet before by not QTing, it's what spurred me to be extra cautious about my QT procedures.

So again, I hope I don't come off as a jerk. Just trying to help.