I lost my pipefish today. I had him for a month. Was eating frozen. Stopped eating and began breathing heavy two days ago. Tonight he was just laying on the bottom of the tank staring straight ahead. He began twitching violently then rolled over and died. Any help to figure out what happened would be appreciated. There is still a pipe and two mandarins in the tank so I need to kn I w if I need to treat them.
Lost my pipefish
- Thread starter Naiad
- Start date
ThRoewer
New member
Which species was it and what is the survivor?
Behavior fits Brooklynella or Amyloodinium.
Did you do prophylactic formalin dips on your pipefish? They are prone to both of the above parasites and it is best to assume they have at them when you get them. I had fresh blue stripes that looked like the living dead and where breathing heavily, but after a 45 minute formalin bath they got better quickly. One that that I treated a day after getting it died similar to yours.
Also, with pipefish I would recommend to set up a tigger pod culture. It is dirt simple and doesn't require much space.
Behavior fits Brooklynella or Amyloodinium.
Did you do prophylactic formalin dips on your pipefish? They are prone to both of the above parasites and it is best to assume they have at them when you get them. I had fresh blue stripes that looked like the living dead and where breathing heavily, but after a 45 minute formalin bath they got better quickly. One that that I treated a day after getting it died similar to yours.
Also, with pipefish I would recommend to set up a tigger pod culture. It is dirt simple and doesn't require much space.
Bogue Chitto
New member
That's a shame, I really like pipe fish, Had them years ago and hope to again soon. I hope you find the cause.
They are a pair of dragonface pipes. I am new to pipefish. I did try a formalin dip the day before he died. I couldn't find an exact time for these guys so I only did 15 min. It may have just been too little too late. Should I try to catch the other pipe and dip him? Also are the mandarins at risk? They are showing no symptoms?
Bogue Chitto
New member
I really can't say about the other or mandarins, maybe some other guys will give some input.
ThRoewer
New member
Unless you got something really nasty and your water parameters are bad I wouldn't worry too much about the mandarins.
If that pipefish died in your display, whatever parasite he may have had - if any - is in there now.
So if you dip the other one you would need to transfer it to an uninfected tank. In this case I would also treat and transfer the mandarins. You would need to leave the display tank fallow for a minimum of 6 weeks to let brook and velvet die out.
The other option is to take a chance and do nothing and trust the fish's immune system. In a healthy tank that actually has a quite decent success rate as healthy and strong fish can build up immunity to many, if not all ectoparasites. Just don't add anything new for a good while.
When you add something new later, set up a QT with water from the display and observe the new fish for a minimum of 6 weeks. Should the new fish show signs of infection treat it accordingly (just don't use copper) and keep it for another 6 to 12 weeks in a QT set up with newly mixed saltwater. All research I could find on immunity indicate that fish will build up sufficient or even full immunity within that period.
Going the immunity route bears some risks, so you need to make a decision whether to go with it or not based on your skills and experience level.
If that pipefish died in your display, whatever parasite he may have had - if any - is in there now.
So if you dip the other one you would need to transfer it to an uninfected tank. In this case I would also treat and transfer the mandarins. You would need to leave the display tank fallow for a minimum of 6 weeks to let brook and velvet die out.
The other option is to take a chance and do nothing and trust the fish's immune system. In a healthy tank that actually has a quite decent success rate as healthy and strong fish can build up immunity to many, if not all ectoparasites. Just don't add anything new for a good while.
When you add something new later, set up a QT with water from the display and observe the new fish for a minimum of 6 weeks. Should the new fish show signs of infection treat it accordingly (just don't use copper) and keep it for another 6 to 12 weeks in a QT set up with newly mixed saltwater. All research I could find on immunity indicate that fish will build up sufficient or even full immunity within that period.
Going the immunity route bears some risks, so you need to make a decision whether to go with it or not based on your skills and experience level.
He did die in the display. I have some fish in qt now that were supposed to go into the dt in two weeks. Would taking water from dt and using it in their qt work as a test? I would of course extend thetime in qt in order to monitor for a new outbreak. If I see any sign on these fish or the other three in dt show symptoms then go fallow on dt? [emoji33] catching mandarins out of a 220 is going to be a nightmare.
I do know he was a juvi based on size and development of markings but you are right about the rest! I will keep an eye on everything. Anyone know a good source of hand collected dragonface pipes?
ThRoewer
New member
Anywhere outside the Philippines and Indonesia. Singapore is just a hub so I would be careful with fish from there too.
Africa, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Australia, Fiji, Solomons, Hawaii are all good places to get hand/net caught fish.
