purple firefish

[franv]

i have a purple firefish for about a year. no probs, good eater, not shy....actually the most agressive fish i had!
then i added a randalls goby. there was some squabbling and fighting. then the firefish dissapeared for a week. when he came out again he was all skinnky and having problems swimming, staying on the bottom and spinning from the flow.
i've had him in qt ever since, nearly 2 weeks and hes hasn't eaten prob in a month. very skinny and bad swimmer, not spining but staying on the bottom.

any suggestions. im thinking swim bladder or brain damage. should i put him in the freezer?

thanks in advance

 

[snorvich]

firefish are highly susceptible to intimidation. If a fish does intimidate them, they hide and often starve to death. It does not sound good for your fish unfortunately.

 

[dkirchoff]

I just introduced a Strawberry Dottyback
(Pseudochromis porphyreus) with a Fire Fish
(Nemateleotris magnifica) both at the same time and are the only tank mates in my 120....firefish seems to be ok for now both are eating great and hope they fair better then franv's guy...sorry about the fish man....

 

[franv]

yeah they are a shy fish but like i said he was the bully! now the randalls goby shares a cave with the red firefish (the shyer one)....no agression issues there.
i know i should put it out of its misery but i'm just hoping he'll come back. looks unlikely

 

[oceanparadise1]

i did the same but i had a firefish and a purple pusdo in a 55 will lots of rock and they where fine untill my power head eat the purple

 

[franv]

he ate some plankton (small krill) tonight...but its like he's blind...only ate it when it landed in front of his nose. ill hold off on the freezer/big flusheroo for a bit!

 

[petoonia]

Try target feeding with a baster. I would also stick with smaller foods, soak all food in selcon, and feed several times a day. I hope your firefish pulls through!!!

 

[Chibils]

I overfed my firefish. They were my first fish in a 90G tank with an Octopus NW150 and plenty of live rock to deal with the uneaten food (not to mention dozens of hungry hermits and nassarius snails). They're shy, and spend most of their time still in the water column. They won't actively hunt down their food. I would try target feeding, but mine (after six months or so) still run from me when I get too close to the glass. They hide for hours when my hand goes in the tank. So try target feeding, then overfeeding (or keep a powerhead pointed at their usual "hang out" spot and drop the food into that jet ).