Help with my sick firefish in QT

[kelp47]

I bought a firefish from my LFS on Tuesday. I had set up a QT earlier in the day, but it was filled with water from my display (and about 1/4 new SW) and I put a seeded filter (from my fuge) in the HOB filter. Yesterday I added an airpump with an airstone because I didn't think the HOB provided enough oxygen exchange. I also dosed with Melafix because he has a tear in one side fin, and the fin is a little red at the base. This is the only treatment given. But here is the main problem:

He is currently just resting on the bottom of the tank and breathes rapidly. Upon close inspection, it looks like he has a little something on his sides. It kind of looks like when you can barely see a cobweb on a light colored wall. I hope that makes sense.

Also, yesterday I was able to give him some finely chopped frozen (raw) shrimp. One piece was a little too big, and he had a difficult time with it, but eventually spit it back out. But I tried to feed him just now, with pellets and with more shrimp, but he wasn't interested. I'm about to try to remove this leftover food.

SG is 1.025 measured with a refractometer
Ammonia and nitrates are 0.
PH is 8.0

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Can you get a pic and post it? How was it acting at the LFS? Is it possible to do a FW dip on him?

 

[kelp47]

I can try to get a pic, but I don't think you'll see anything. I can barely see the "cobweb" when I'm 4 inches from the glass. But I will give it a shot.

I was bad buyer and did not observe the fish at the LFS. It had gotten really busy and I was also trying to decide what coral to buy. Shame on me.

I was just reading about FW dips. Yes, I could do this, but I'm not sure where I would put him after the dip. Can I put him back in QT, or would he just get reinfected? This would be a great, easy solution if you think I should give it a shot!

 

[kelp47]

Here is a pic. This is the side with the torn fin. And you can just barely see the "cobweb" I described, about a third of the way down his body. It's very light. And looking at him again, it kind of looks like peeling skin. I think he has some on his face as well. I really don't want to lose this guy!

I'm going to start filling a bucket with RODI in case someone recommends a dip.

 

[kelp47]

I went ahead and tried a FW dip. I used RO/DI water at the same temp as the QT (78) and the same ph (or at least within 0.1). I didn't realize how bad off he was until I tried to catch him and he didn't dart around much trying to get away. Once I put him in the dip container, he just rested at the bottom like he did in the QT, but then he start to lay over on his side, which he did not do in the QT. So I removed him after only about 1 minute for fear I would make it worse. I was encourage by his flipping around when I tried to get him back out of the dip container.

I will pick up some meds tonight--I read you can get Quick Cure at Walmart--and start it tomorrow morning.

Any further advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks ahead!

 

[kelp47]

Where did I go wrong?

Where did I go wrong?

My poor fish did not make it through the night. Please look over the details below and see if there is anything that I should have done differently. I'm really discouraged that this fish died when I feel I was being so careful.

1) The quarantine tank:

• 10 gallon tank, but only filled about 80-90% to allow water flow from HOB to break surface more
• HOB filter with filter seeded in fuge for 2 weeks or more
• Pump with airstone for better oxygen exchange (I didn't think the HOB provided enough even with a lower water level
• Low wattage heater (cheap Petco heater)
• 80% water from the display and 20% fresh saltwater (estimated)
• No decor, just a few pieces of PVC for hiding
• No lights other than daylight or room lights when I came in the room to check on him

I believe the only thing I could do better here is paint or vinyl the sides of the tank to cut down on reflection. But obviously this is not what killed my fish. I do wonder about the heater, though. When I first cut it on in the tank (before I put the fish in), I could see a lot of heat coming off of it. Could the heater put out too much heat when it clicks on? The temp was a steady 78, but I wonder if there was a lot of fluctuation going on to keep it at 78. ???

2) Acclimation:

• I know the SG of my water is close to my LFS (only off by 0.001), but I still drip acclimated until the water volume in the bag was almost doubled
• Once drip acclimated, I floated the bag for at least 30 min to adjust temp
• Netted fish and put him in QT
• Didn't feed first night, but offered finely chopped shrimp (raw, frozen and thawed) the next day. He took the shrimp but seemed to get choked on a larger piece. But he eventually spit it out and I removed it from the tank.

Anything wrong here? Could the shrimp incident have anything to do with the fish's demise?

3) Parameters and treatment:

• Temp: 78
• SG: 1.025
• Ammonia: tested .25 or less the first morning and did small water change just in case. Then tested clear 0 after that
• Nitrates: 0
• Ph: 8.0, same as display
• Gave Melafix for torn fin with redness at base. Dosed on the second and third day.

My parameters looked great. I dosed Melafix as instructed, but I did give the full 10 gal dose even though my QT had 1-2 gallons less. I wouldn't think that would be lethal, though. Any other thoughts?

It was Thursday that I really noticed he was going downhill. You can read the description of his symptoms earlier in this thread. I suspected Brooklynella after reading up on a few RC posts. I tried a FW dip that evening, but it seemed to distress the fish, so I pulled him out after only about a minute. I put him back in the QT hoping maybe some parasites had fallen off in the dip and provide a little relief. Then I headed to Walmart because I had read that you could get some meds there... not at my Walmart. Then this morning I found him dead.

I know this was long, so here's a million thanks to anyone who reaches this line!!! I would appreciate any thoughts on what I can do to avoid this next time. I hate having a fish die in my hands.

 

[Deinonych]

Sorry for your loss. Really hard to say what the cause of death was, although it could be brook based on your description of the peeling skin (was not apparent in the photo, however). I don't see any evidence of fin rot from the photo - its pectoral fin just looks like it got nipped. IME, Melafix is worthless and is not effective for treating disease, although I doubt it caused any harm.

Ammonia of 0.25 is cause for concern. You might want to boost the biological filtration with a product like Bio-Spira in addition to the seeded media just to make sure. Also, I have found that frozen mysis shrimp are a better starter food for new acquisitions.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Sorry about the fish..it really sucks to lose one. Hard to tell what happened. I'm not sure of brook because other than that one spot his skin looked pretty good. Given that you got him Tuesday and he died Thursday you would have seen mucus and other symptoms when you got him. I'm wondering if he did have flukes. The dip you did was not long enough. Most fish will sink to the bottom and lay there. It's when they flip out and jump is when you need to move them out. Do you have any Prazipro on hand? Given the predilection for flukes during the summer months it's a good chance a new fish will have them.
Two weeks of seeding a sponge for filter is not long enough. You need more like six weeks. Be sure you have Prime or something to lock the ammonia.
Your QT setup looks fine. I don't think it was anything you did. He was just in bad shape when you got him.

 

[kelp47]

Thanks for the feedback (and reading my dissertation!). I will take all of this and improve my process where I can. Also, I really don't have any meds on hand, but now I see where it's good to have them for a late night diagnosis that needs immediate treatment. Is there a standard list of meds that are good to have on hand?

 

[Newsmyrna80]

There is a thread with recommended meds to keep on hand. I didn't have time to look for it..sorry. I keep Prazipro, Metronidazole, Quick Cure, Nitro Green and CP in a fish medicine cabinet I'm not a big fan of copper so I don't have keep it.

 

[kelp47]

That's okay, I don't mind the legwork. I'll find it. Thanks again!