MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
(TLDR at the bottom)
I wanted to chronicle a recent incident with my Mandarin Dargonet (Synchiropus splendidus), hopefully to give some anecdotal information should any others encounter a similar situation. I was able to find a few reports of similar symptoms, but the few posts i did find were very old, and most had no definitive resolution.
The vast majority of the Mandy problem threads were with new fish, that I would assume were either purchased sick, injured, or malnourished. Most examples I found were in their new homes less than a month, the majority of said examples ending in the death of the fish.
First a little background. Our Mandy (Mushu) has been with us just over a year. She came in a bit skinny, but not critical, and through supplemental feedings with a variety of food (Nutramar Ova, frozen Cyclop-Eeze, newly hatched baby brine shrimp, etc...) as well as a great pod population with no direct food competitors, she has blossomed, gaining weight nicely, and has become quite the stunning addition to the tank.
I tend to dote over her quite a bit, monitoring her weight and food intake, trying to keep an eye out for any potential aggression, etc...
About three weeks ago on Sunday evening, we came home from being gone for the day, and were watching the tank for a bit as we got settled in. Typically if you watch for more than a few minutes, she floats in to view at least once. We didn't see her at all for a bit. Then worryingly, we couldn't find her.
We started checking in the rock work with a flashlight, and my girlfriend was able to locate her, tucked away in to one of her bed time spots, but not moving. no fluttering from her typically ethereal fins, and no foraging. It was getting late, but still far earlier than would be usual for her to be in bed. Worried, i used a long piece of rigid airline tubing to gently touch her on the tail. She moved, but only a little, so a bit worried i made up a large batch of fresh water for a water change, and we let the lights go out.
The next day, the story was worryingly the same. We found her out when we got back from work, but very little movement. Again, no fluttering side fins, and she was not actively eating, which is VERY strange for a dragonet. There has not been a time to date that I have observed her not pecking as she floated around.
She was laying on the sand bed, not moving, just breathing. All the other tank mates were acting normally. I tried feeding her some Nutramar Ova, which she always accepts with gusto, but she showed no interest. I could not see any external injuries, and her overall physical appearance looked normal. No obvious swelling, etc...
I ran my typical panel of water tests, and reviewed the temperature and salinity logs on my Apex, nothing out of the ordinary. Checked for stray voltage, nothing. The only thing I had noticed was that my skimmer pump must have been a bit clogged up, because it was not producing bubbles. I cleaned out the collection cup and pump, and got it producing bubbles and skim regularly again.
At this point at a loss, I added a large amount of SeaChem GAC to the sump. Roughly around 4 - 5 cups, rinsed well in RODI water prior to addition.
Called my LFS and talked the situation through with them. They agreed carbon and a water change were probably the best I could do under the circumstances.
I had run a little long on my last water change, but not extremely long. My schedule usually slips a little in the summer while we're busy with other things, at this point it had been two weeks since my last change. I try to change 15% every week, but during summer months two weeks is a fairly typical period.
There have been no new additions to the tank in several months. The last thing i had added was a new coral, which had been dipped and quarantined, in accordance with my usual protocol. Approximately 8 weeks prior to this event. No other fish showing any signs of stress or disease. All eating normally, and acting normally.
My tank is a 75 gallon, with a fairly large rubbermaid sump with about 25 gallons of actual water volume in it. Tank itself is over two years old, sump system has been part of it for about 18 months. My light cycle runs from 11am to 10pm, including the 2 hours ramp up time for my LEDs. All observations were therefore made after about 5pm when I usually get back from work.
Day 3, a slight change in the right direction. She was still mainly laying motionless in two spots in the tank, but was showing a little more movement. Still not eating, still not fluttering, still extremely lethargic. I did a large water change, about 25 gallons, siphoning out as much nuisance algae and detritus as I could.
Day 4, massive improvement. She was finally starting to move about again, and I observed her feeding, albeit not with the normal frequency or vigor. Fed more Nutramar Ova, seemed to be more interested.
Day 5, continued improvement. Movement around the tank had increased, feeding frequency increased as well. Much less lethargic at this point.
Day 6, almost appears back to normal. Feeding well and moving around well.
Day 7, as good as or better than new. Foraging all over the tank, even in areas she typically would not venture such as near the top, up the glass, upper corners, and right up front. Very energetic, enthusiastically accepting Nutramar.
And so it continues. It's been nearly three weeks since her initial lethargy, and she seems better than new. I still have no idea what the problem was. Maybe as I've heard PaulB say she 'ate a bad pod'.
Barring the loose relationship between correlation and causality, she did seem to start improving after I added the GAC, and seemed to further improve with the large water change. If this did help, it suggest potential contamination, although with what I couldn't say. Others had suggested potentially low o2 levels due the skimmer not functioning, but I'm not convinced of this scenario. I would suspect the tang and the wrasse to exhibit stress or lethargy first in a low oxygen situation, and they seemed unaffected the entire time.
We had been using some kind of scent warmer for a few hours the day before we noticed her lethargy. We've used this before though with no apparent ill effects, so not sure if that was related or not either, however we've decided to discontinue the use of it, just in case. Granted this was in a different room, and I do run a HEPA filter in the tank room, but in the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to mention it, in the event it could potentially be a common thread with anyone else.
At any rate, I am beyond relieved that she appears fine now. Hopefully we won't have a scare like this again.
Has anyone else ever had a similar experience with their dragonet?
TLDR; Mandarin was acting lethargic, seemed almost dead. Checked temp, salinity, parameters, stray voltage, nothing amiss. All other tank mates were fine. Added a large amount of GAC, did a large water change, and hoped for the best. After several days of seeming to be scarily near death, she rebounded, and now seems better than ever. No cause identified.
I wanted to chronicle a recent incident with my Mandarin Dargonet (Synchiropus splendidus), hopefully to give some anecdotal information should any others encounter a similar situation. I was able to find a few reports of similar symptoms, but the few posts i did find were very old, and most had no definitive resolution.
The vast majority of the Mandy problem threads were with new fish, that I would assume were either purchased sick, injured, or malnourished. Most examples I found were in their new homes less than a month, the majority of said examples ending in the death of the fish.
First a little background. Our Mandy (Mushu) has been with us just over a year. She came in a bit skinny, but not critical, and through supplemental feedings with a variety of food (Nutramar Ova, frozen Cyclop-Eeze, newly hatched baby brine shrimp, etc...) as well as a great pod population with no direct food competitors, she has blossomed, gaining weight nicely, and has become quite the stunning addition to the tank.
I tend to dote over her quite a bit, monitoring her weight and food intake, trying to keep an eye out for any potential aggression, etc...
About three weeks ago on Sunday evening, we came home from being gone for the day, and were watching the tank for a bit as we got settled in. Typically if you watch for more than a few minutes, she floats in to view at least once. We didn't see her at all for a bit. Then worryingly, we couldn't find her.
We started checking in the rock work with a flashlight, and my girlfriend was able to locate her, tucked away in to one of her bed time spots, but not moving. no fluttering from her typically ethereal fins, and no foraging. It was getting late, but still far earlier than would be usual for her to be in bed. Worried, i used a long piece of rigid airline tubing to gently touch her on the tail. She moved, but only a little, so a bit worried i made up a large batch of fresh water for a water change, and we let the lights go out.
The next day, the story was worryingly the same. We found her out when we got back from work, but very little movement. Again, no fluttering side fins, and she was not actively eating, which is VERY strange for a dragonet. There has not been a time to date that I have observed her not pecking as she floated around.
She was laying on the sand bed, not moving, just breathing. All the other tank mates were acting normally. I tried feeding her some Nutramar Ova, which she always accepts with gusto, but she showed no interest. I could not see any external injuries, and her overall physical appearance looked normal. No obvious swelling, etc...
I ran my typical panel of water tests, and reviewed the temperature and salinity logs on my Apex, nothing out of the ordinary. Checked for stray voltage, nothing. The only thing I had noticed was that my skimmer pump must have been a bit clogged up, because it was not producing bubbles. I cleaned out the collection cup and pump, and got it producing bubbles and skim regularly again.
At this point at a loss, I added a large amount of SeaChem GAC to the sump. Roughly around 4 - 5 cups, rinsed well in RODI water prior to addition.
Called my LFS and talked the situation through with them. They agreed carbon and a water change were probably the best I could do under the circumstances.
I had run a little long on my last water change, but not extremely long. My schedule usually slips a little in the summer while we're busy with other things, at this point it had been two weeks since my last change. I try to change 15% every week, but during summer months two weeks is a fairly typical period.
There have been no new additions to the tank in several months. The last thing i had added was a new coral, which had been dipped and quarantined, in accordance with my usual protocol. Approximately 8 weeks prior to this event. No other fish showing any signs of stress or disease. All eating normally, and acting normally.
My tank is a 75 gallon, with a fairly large rubbermaid sump with about 25 gallons of actual water volume in it. Tank itself is over two years old, sump system has been part of it for about 18 months. My light cycle runs from 11am to 10pm, including the 2 hours ramp up time for my LEDs. All observations were therefore made after about 5pm when I usually get back from work.
Day 3, a slight change in the right direction. She was still mainly laying motionless in two spots in the tank, but was showing a little more movement. Still not eating, still not fluttering, still extremely lethargic. I did a large water change, about 25 gallons, siphoning out as much nuisance algae and detritus as I could.
Day 4, massive improvement. She was finally starting to move about again, and I observed her feeding, albeit not with the normal frequency or vigor. Fed more Nutramar Ova, seemed to be more interested.
Day 5, continued improvement. Movement around the tank had increased, feeding frequency increased as well. Much less lethargic at this point.
Day 6, almost appears back to normal. Feeding well and moving around well.
Day 7, as good as or better than new. Foraging all over the tank, even in areas she typically would not venture such as near the top, up the glass, upper corners, and right up front. Very energetic, enthusiastically accepting Nutramar.
And so it continues. It's been nearly three weeks since her initial lethargy, and she seems better than new. I still have no idea what the problem was. Maybe as I've heard PaulB say she 'ate a bad pod'.
Barring the loose relationship between correlation and causality, she did seem to start improving after I added the GAC, and seemed to further improve with the large water change. If this did help, it suggest potential contamination, although with what I couldn't say. Others had suggested potentially low o2 levels due the skimmer not functioning, but I'm not convinced of this scenario. I would suspect the tang and the wrasse to exhibit stress or lethargy first in a low oxygen situation, and they seemed unaffected the entire time.
We had been using some kind of scent warmer for a few hours the day before we noticed her lethargy. We've used this before though with no apparent ill effects, so not sure if that was related or not either, however we've decided to discontinue the use of it, just in case. Granted this was in a different room, and I do run a HEPA filter in the tank room, but in the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to mention it, in the event it could potentially be a common thread with anyone else.
At any rate, I am beyond relieved that she appears fine now. Hopefully we won't have a scare like this again.
Has anyone else ever had a similar experience with their dragonet?
TLDR; Mandarin was acting lethargic, seemed almost dead. Checked temp, salinity, parameters, stray voltage, nothing amiss. All other tank mates were fine. Added a large amount of GAC, did a large water change, and hoped for the best. After several days of seeming to be scarily near death, she rebounded, and now seems better than ever. No cause identified.
