Help! What is wrong with my fish?

[mr.madge]

My emperor angel has the following symptoms:

1) Twitching his head a lot.
2) Discolouring. Almost looks like bleached spots all over that vary in size.
3) Swimming erratically and close to the top of the tank.
4) Eyes look foggy and/or have little things on them.

He's still eating, but not as much as he usually does. Just started noticing this in the past two days. A few people I have talked to have suggested that it might be flukes. Thinking about doing a FW dip but just want to make sure that is the right option. I have added a picture of it, and was hoping for some advice/confirmation from those more experienced.

He's in a 60 gal. tank, and I have had him for over a year with no problem. Tank has had a high nitrate and phosphates recently. So also could be stressed out. He wasn't quarantined when I got him. .

I read up on how to treat in the Marin Fish forum (i.e. 'Fish Disease Treatment') but just wanted to see if it is indeed flukes. What do you guys think? Flukes?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

PS: I know he needs a bigger tank now that he is getting bigger. Just want to treat this first before I figure that out. Thnx.

 

[HumbleFish]

Sounds like flukes to me. Read this: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2388423

You can do a FW dip to confirm flukes or dose Prazi to treat. Prazi is reef safe, except for "worms" (ex. tubeworms, bristleworms). A large die off of either can potentially trigger an ammonia spike.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

If those spots are on the fish and not on the glass (it doesn't appear that it is) those are flukes. If you are going to do a FW dip as Humblefish suggested don't go more than 2-3 minutes. I say this because this fish is inundated with them. You will need to remove a few at a time as opposed to all at once. It has been reported that a fish will bleed out if there is a suddenly and total extrication of the flukes' hooks.
I would suggest dosing Prazi but start with half the dose and see how the fish reacts. Then dose the other half once you feel comfortable. Also be prepared to do a water change. Your tank is going to look like a snow globe.
If you can post a pic after dosing the Prazi or the dip. It can help others identify flukes. Thanks

 

[snorvich]

If those spots are on the fish and not on the glass (it doesn't appear that it is) those are flukes. If you are going to do a FW dip as Humblefish suggested don't go more than 2-3 minutes. I say this because this fish is inundated with them. You will need to remove a few at a time as opposed to all at once. It has been reported that a fish will bleed out if there is a suddenly and total extrication of the flukes' hooks.
I would suggest dosing Prazi but start with half the dose and see how the fish reacts. Then dose the other half once you feel comfortable. Also be prepared to do a water change. Your tank is going to look like a snow globe.
If you can post a pic after dosing the Prazi or the dip. It can help others identify flukes. Thanks

Excellent advice. Almost certainly flukes.

 

[mr.madge]

Update!

Update!

Hey all,

So after doing lots of research and visiting several of my LFS most people thought it was flukes. So I bought some PraziPro and gave him a 20 minute 'bath'. Took me 2 hours to get him out of the tank, but he seemed pretty stressed before trying to catch him so didn't feel comfortable doing the FW dip.

I put him back in the tank and he has been hiding for the most part since in my little cave of rocks and occasionally comes out. He isn't eating much but from what I understand this PraziPro makes them lose their appetite a bit.

Since he has spent most of the time hiding I can't tell how his 'bleached spots' are looking, but he hasn't gone to the top of the tank once gasping for air. So I'll take that as a positive. I did the bath about 6-7 hours ago, and I just saw 2 little white worms swimming around in my tank. Hard to get pictures of them but I will keep trying.

What should I do next? I'm assuming if these are indeed flukes I need to PraziPro my tank since most likely the other fish are infected. But from what I understand PraziPro doesn't kill the flukes it just shocks them and makes them spasm which makes them release from their host. Then they float around the tank?

I'm thinking next step is to PraziPro the tank, wait a few days, water change, then PraziPro again, wait a few days, water change.

Any other suggestions?

Do these small (1 mm) swimming worms mean that is indeed flukes????

 

[Newsmyrna80]

If you have the ability to set up a QT then I would do so. The family of flukes you are dealing with, neobenedenia, can be rather difficult to eradicate from the fish without the added difficulty of the main. All fish will need to be treated with Prazi.
Without going into the scientific detail basically, yes, the fluke spasms uncontrollably while in the presence of Prazi. This can cause the fluke to detach but not always. So if the fluke is no longer being exposed to Prazi it can live.
Standard protocol is to dose wait 7 days do a water change (be sure to siphon as many dead flukes as possible) then dose again.
Keep an eye out for a secondary bacterial infection which is common with flukes.

 

[mr.madge]

Thanks for suggestions. How would I go about setting up a QT? And what symptoms would show with a secondary bacterial infection?

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Deinonych]

There's a sticky at the top of this forum with tons of information on setting up a QT. Should have all the information you need, and more.