Sargassum Trigger (Xanthichthys Ringens)

yalpal

New member
Hi there, well here it goes... I finally got my hands on the centerpiece to my 180, a Sargassum (Ret Tail) Trigger from liveaquaria. It is about 4 3/4" and I have had it in qt for two and a half weeks in a 28 nanocube. He is an absolute pig and will eat anything I place in the tank. He looks exceptionally healthy, and doesn't flash or scratch. For the first two weeks I simply observed and only treated him with prazipro for more precautionary reasons, although his eyes may have looked slightly cloudy.

My concern is that after about a week, I started to see some white spots appearing on his fins that looked like Lymph... I noticed that doing smaller water changes, and keeping up my water quality made the spots start to subside, but they were still there. Along with those spots, he started to get white small patches over his body that were not consistent in size. They looked a little like velvet or brook but after watching them closely, I would see some fall off and others pick up particles in the water. They appear almost cotton-like and I am having trouble figuring out what it is. About a week ago I gave him a fresh water dip, and did not see much of a change.

On friday night, I decided to run copper, so I added Mardel Coppersafe, and followed the directions. He looks the same, but is still active and happy. I really do not think it looks like ich, as I have dealt with that before, and from what I've read about velvet is that it kills pretty quickly, so I think I've ruled that out too. Although I am not very good at diagnosing diseases.

From reading articles by Bob Fenner and many others on wetweb, it seems like more problems are caused by keeping species belonging to the Xanthichthys genus in a small qt for long duration of time. What I'm wondering is if what I'm seeing are simply stress related from being in a tank that is too small. Or could it be some type of bacterial infection? I've been tentative to treat with an antibiotic as I had a bad experience in the past with Kanaplex.

Also, I have a small trio of zebra barred dartfish in there with him that aren't showing any symptoms at all (I really don't like qting fish alone).

I apologize for the length, just wanted to make sure I gave you all as much information as possible.. This really is one awesome fish!

Thank you so much in advance,
Jordan

P.S. hope you can see the picture... it was the best I could take on my phone.
 

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Many fish develop color blotches, minor scratches, etc.that may just be due to acclimation stress and I suspect that's whats going on. Fish with velvet act very sick and leave no doubt that something is wrong. I would not use an antibiotic unless you are quite sure there is a bacterial infection (I see nothing in the pic) and I would never use it with copper in the tank. I have a lot of respect for Fenner; but also know his position on a QT. I doubt he would suggest that you put the trigger in the DT before a standard QT regimen is up. This fish can certainly handle your QT for 8 weeks or so. As long as he's doing fine, I'd let the copper treatment continue and just closely observe him for two weeks after Cu is removed. BTW, these are wonderful fish, mine is a favorite
 
they are great fish...I agree with you and think a 28 gallon is too small for this fish to qt in...so, he might be reacting to that...also when he is out of the qt- I would recommend taking the lr out of your qt tank and adding a few pcv pieces...the lr is going to absorb some of the cu you added...hard to properly dose with the lr...keep checking those levels...love triggers and red tails are really wonderful fish...good luck!
 
Many fish develop color blotches, minor scratches, etc.that may just be due to acclimation stress and I suspect that's whats going on. Fish with velvet act very sick and leave no doubt that something is wrong. I would not use an antibiotic unless you are quite sure there is a bacterial infection (I see nothing in the pic) and I would never use it with copper in the tank. I have a lot of respect for Fenner; but also know his position on a QT. I doubt he would suggest that you put the trigger in the DT before a standard QT regimen is up. This fish can certainly handle your QT for 8 weeks or so. As long as he's doing fine, I'd let the copper treatment continue and just closely observe him for two weeks after Cu is removed. BTW, these are wonderful fish, mine is a favorite

Thank you! I wanted one of these for a long time, and it is definitely my favorite fish already.
 
they are great fish...I agree with you and think a 28 gallon is too small for this fish to qt in...so, he might be reacting to that...also when he is out of the qt- I would recommend taking the lr out of your qt tank and adding a few pcv pieces...the lr is going to absorb some of the cu you added...hard to properly dose with the lr...keep checking those levels...love triggers and red tails are really wonderful fish...good luck!

Thank you for the input and advice, I eventually will do that with my qt. I figured since I already ruined the rock a while ago with adding copper, I might as well keep it in for now. I'm still learning so much about this hobby! I'll stay on top of the levels.. Really can't wait to see it swimming around in my DT. Thanks again!
 
you will love her...such great triggers...love them too....check out my 130 x 36 x 36 incoming thread or my rhinecanthus cinereus thread...
 
you will love her...such great triggers...love them too....check out my 130 x 36 x 36 incoming thread or my rhinecanthus cinereus thread...

Yeah I already do, its really unique. I've actually already checked them out and I'll keep following!
 
Any updates on the fish? This is one of my HOLY GRAIL fish, even though its not THAT rare or expensive. Just something about them that ive always admired. I should actually be getting mine on Sunday. A fellow reefer is vacationing in the Bahamas and he said he sees them all the time. So im keeping my fingers crossed that he can catch one for me this time. He already has one is his tank from his last trip. I would consider this a "SPECIAL ORDER/CUSTOM ORDER" lol.
 
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