I am stumped... please help?!?

[water`bug]

To catch yall up... here is a post I made on 3/26:::

I have a question concerning our Blonde Naso Tang...

We have had her close to a year now. She survived Katrina and being in water temps in the 90's. She survived the seven and a half hour move to Dallas... and all of a sudden... she has stopped eating!

The only thing we can attribute this to is a new RBTA that we put in the tank earlier this past week.

The RBTA is ummm *huge* ... like at least 10" accross. I remember a while back when we tried rescueing a rose from a friend, Betty B. dove in for food and got stung. Her mouth went 90 mph but she never skipped a feeding.

She didn't eat last night nor today... though she is quite the lil fattie... I am very concerned. Her behavior is strange. She's not hiding but knowing her behavior...she is definitely stressed as she is not her normal color, her mouth is moving 90 mph again. She is swimming around, however... she will go to the opposite site of the tank looking towards the XL RBTA. Then she will swim the length of the tank but when she approaches the Anemone Island... she swims low and cautious... almost looks like she's trying to avoid it.

She loves eating out of my hand and won't even do that.

Just did a series of water tests and they all checked out. I know some of you may ask.

I don't see any visible spots, internal bumps, specs, cysts or anything to raise a red flag.

Any suggestions???

I'm just taking a stab at the whole RBTA thing because that's the only change we have had to the tank in the recent weeks.

I appreciate any help or input that yall may have.::::::::::::
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As of today, it's been 3 full days that she has not eaten. Yesterday, she tried... but it almost seemed she had a sore throat as she went after a piece of mysis but spit it back out... other than that one try...she hasn't even attempted to eat.

She is swimming around fine, patroling her tank... her mouth isn't moving 90mph any longer, no hiding, no eratic breathing, no glancing off the rocks, nothing unusual accept she watches the RBTA. The Rose moved to the other side of the island in the back corner of the tank. She'll stray over in that direction from time to time and swim high above the rose.

The other fish are all eating and seem fine. She's still fat but I'm very concerned.

Does anyone have any ideas? Could it be something internal that we can't see??

Please help!

Thanks!

 

[tjay]

Does anyone have any clue on this one?

 

[leebca]

Hmmmm

First, the fish that was eating well and stopped, can live without eating for several weeks. Don't worry about that part.

Your theory of the RBTA might be right. There is only one way to check it --- remove the RBTA for a few days and see if the tang 'comes back.'

You can try a huge water change (80%+) before removing the RBTA to see if that changes the fish's behavior any.

If you decide to remove the RBTA, then right after that, do an 80% water change with new water, properly aged and adjusted. I recommend this because it will help dilute any water traces of the RBTA that may remind the tang of its presence.

Was the RBTA quarantined? If it wasn't then there is a chance it may have brought in a fish disease or parasite. But I would still check out the fish vs. RBTA scenario first.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

I had an Iridis Wrasse that was like that. I tried putting some fake coral in my tank once [I have a Raccoon Butterfly, not reef safe] He stayed on one side of the tank..he would come out of the rock, look at the decor and go hide. I removed it, it looked tacky, guess my Wrasse thought so too After removing it he returned to normal




Hope Betty B starts feeling better! She survived Katrina, she'll surely survive the RBTA invasion! But I would remove it too, see if it helps

Good luck!

 

[water`bug]

Thank yall so much for your replies. As of today, I no longer think it's the RBTA.

Her belly looks lumpy. More on one side than the other. She is still swimming around the tank and very active.... but won't eat, of course.

Could it be something internally? Or is her belly lumping up due to not eating??

Please help...

water`bug

 

[leebca]

What did it eat during the last couple of days when it was eating?

 

[water`bug]

She ate what the others ate... mysis, squid, mussell...soaked in garlic and nori on a clip.

Nothing out of the norm and I thaw my foods every third feeding. She eats 2x's a day.

Any thoughts??

 

[Sk8r]

Try carbon just in case. Re lumps: You haven't had any styrofoam get loose in the water, have you?

 

[leebca]

I can't help on this one. Unless the fish ate something 'stray' or picked something up from the substrate, I don't know. The foods are definately too high in fish flesh content. That fish needs more green.

Are you sure its mouth isn't damaged? Does it show any interest in food? How long have you had this fish? Have you tried the large water change?

 

[water`bug]

Her mouth looks fine. She appeared to pick at a rock yeserday but won't eat anything else.

We did a large water change night before last.

I alternate Nori and emerald entree and have had her close to a year. You think she's not getting enough greens??

I'll see if I can get a picture of her...

Thanks!!!

 

[water`bug]

Okay, just took these pictures...

From the side, you can't see the lumps:::

Here is a picture of her mouth:::

Here's her left side, you can see the lumps:::

Got this picture right as she was swimming round the side of a rock.. it's blurry but really shows the lumpy belly:::

Hope these help!!???

Thank you, soo much!

 

[leebca]

Not enough greens in general. It needs around 65% of its diet as vegetation.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=785228

About the only thing I can think of is to treat for an internal disorder. I'm leaning towards what you suspected when you first saw the 'lumpiness' of the abdomen. The thing is, such a condition is often accompanied by listlessness in the fish. You've reported that it is still swimming around like it always did.

This is a reference to give you some ideas on internal problems that can happen:
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/internalinfections.html

You've got three options of treatments, depending upon the condition/cause of the internal problem (IF it's an internal problem).

Do you remember what the fish's excrement looked like the last time you saw it? Is the fish still defecating?

Does its anus look red or the wrong color?

Is the fish still very active?

For any of the suspected internal disorders, it is required the fish be moved to a quarantine/hospital tank.