New Trigger suffering from something (Pic Intense)

[Gtownguy487]

I have a Blue Throat trigger that has been in my tank for over 24 hours now. It is not eating and it is not swimming. It stays tucked in rocks head first. When i put my finger to guide him he doesnt really move he just floats around. Everywhere he ends up he just stays and doesnt move his fins or anything. I feel he will be gone in the morning if I dont find out what to do with him soon.

Here are some pictures sorry for the water having so much debris but i just tried to put food in front of him to see if he would eat food that has been soaking in garlic guard.

You would think I would learn to stop buying fish from Petco :headwally:

I have:

1) a cooler with a heater and fresh RO/DI water at 78 degrees ready for freshwater dip if needed

2) Organi-Cure - Fast relief for Ick and protozoan parasites, (ingred. Tri-chelated copper & formalin)

3) AmQuel Plus (water conditioner) by Kordon

4) AmQuel Plus (ammonia detoxifier) by Kordon

5) KanaPlex by Seachem

6) Metronidazole by Seachem

7) ParaGuard by Seachem

8) Coppersafe by Mardel

9) Maracyn-Oxy by Mardel

10) Focus by Seachem
Please help!!

 

[MrTuskfish]

Is it just my eyes, or is this fish very under-nourished or even deformed?
One big item missing from your list is a QT. If this fish has something contagious; your whole tank will have problems. How did you acclimate this fish? 24 hrs is not nearly enough time to expect any fish to act normally; and this is a shy species. Triggers can wedge in the rock for days when introduced. I don't see anything you can do, other than leave him alone and let him get used to things. If you lose this fish now; I'd expect acclimation---not getting SG, PH, temp, etc in line with what he was used too. All the handling sure isn't helping him at this point; he has to be stressed beyond limits and BJs don't handle stress well.

 

[tmz]

I can't tell if the fish has spots or lesions from the pictures due to the debris in the water; soit's hard to guess what's killing it.

If it's that listless, it may not survive very long. I agree quarantine is a necessary step for new aquisitions, no matter where they are purchased.

Leaving him alone may be the best course but it may be near death.

Alternatively,if you prefer,

as firststeps:
.A fresh water dip might kill it in it's current condition but might be worth a try anyway in hopes of some immediate relief. Moving it to a quarantined environment and treatment with the metranidazole since it has both anti protozoan and anti bacterial qualities might also be helpful.

Do not use the bound copper medications with ammonia detoxifiers ;it's a lethal combination.

 

[humaguy]

I'm thinkin it was only in the tank for 24 hours...leave him alone...hopefuly he is just being a trig...I would not play with him or touch him...lights off...lots of light feedings...give him a few days...hope it works out...always qt new livestock...
cuprimine...never coppersafe...also prazipro....

 

[macman7010]

I find it unlikely this fish will survive. Tangs, especially when first introduced are very shy and often hide immediately. The fish is showing emaciation and is malnourished likely suffering from an internal parasite. As Tusk recommended you need a QT tank. If this fish has an internal parasite, poops in your tank and another fish consumes that they could possibly consume the parasite as well and become ill as well.

 

[Tat2demon]

It looks just fine to me. Blue throats will hide up for up to a couple weeks before they come out and eat. If anything I would guess all your grabbing and poking will kill it long before anything else. My first blue throat stayed wedged in a rock for 6 days before he came out. After that he was the most social fish I ever had.

As far as what others have said about it looking thin or deformed, I don't think it looks bad. I actually think its a very good looking example of a blue throat. May just look like it due to having its spines erected.

 

[alprazo]

I agree with tat2demon. Looks like a normal trigger to me, just expanding its fins to wedge itself. Assuming you put the fish through a normal acclimation, I would recommend leaving it alone. They may hide for days.

 

[tmz]

Well, I don't know how folks can tell so much about it from those pictures.
I can tell it's not a tang as noted in one post. Beyond that ,color looks good . Maybe there is some damage on the visible pectoral fin. Does it have spots or lesions? There appear to be some but that may just be debris in the water or spots on the glass. What about spots in the eyes? Is it breathing hard? Maybe it's just playing dead but I've kept Bluethroats(Xanthichthys auromarginatus) and never had them just lie still when handled. I agree they can be reclusive for a while. and will do better if it's not poked or handled. Need a bit more info to be more helpful.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I guess it does look alright; my eyes aren't what they were (just pics, don't tell the FAA); the next-to-last pic just had a weird angel, I guess. My daughter has great pic eyes and she corrected me too.

 

[Gtownguy487]

Awesome news, The trigger has come out of its lil hole and swimming freely, I havent seen it eat since Ive had it and its been 6 days. Getting freaked out about that. Been tryind to feed him a lil of everything. Holding baster right over him or close to his mouth and he just watches the food fall to floor lol

 

[tmz]

Good news I hope it's healthy. Watch it closely , if it was ich it will be back and likely be much worse than the first infestation.

 

[Tat2demon]

Any updates?

 

[Gtownguy487]

The fish swims around the tank almost all day, doesnt show any aggression towards any of my other fish, and no one messed with him. I have seen him eat a little however he doesnt eat as much as my old trigger did. I have seen white dots on the fish for the last 3 days now so i continue to feed him as much as possible. I thought about catching him while he was asleep and doing a dip on him to kill the ich however I think it would do more stress to him so I will try to just feed him as much as possible to fight it.

 

[humaguy]

did you try live clams?
was the fish in a qt before dt?

I would recommnd never using Coppersafe but rather Cupramine...

 

[Gtownguy487]

This trigger is a plankton eater. I have clams in my tank but he dont mess with them. I have seen triggers eat clams but not this one..