Scales missing on damsel

[StrategicReef]

I have got a starcki damsel, Yellow and Blue coloration. (beautiful fish)
He was eating and healthy at the LFS.. It's been a few days, he is still shy hiding in the back from the current.. I saw my fireshrimp cleaning him once in a while. I saw one blue scale gone missing and now it's expanding to adjacent scales. Is the shrimp doing this? Or is it from swimming in and out of tight caves which he does alot.

It does not look like Ich.. and does not look like a wound, from what I can tell, the missing blue scale area shows yellow which is his other color.

He will come out if I turn off the pump, eats dry and frozen food like a champ.
I am puzzled, seems like a healthy fish except very skittish and shy for a damsel


Thanks in advance

 

[Hattie B]

where is the scale missing from?

if it missing then it would be like a wound where you see flesh.

Can you take a pic of it?

how long have you had the fish?

 

[StrategicReef]

It's missing behind the gills on one side, only had it for 5 days.
It started to be one missing then now it's more, like 7. Now that I can see more, i guess it's kind of fleshy looking..

It had became less shy and swiming out front. Eating even more than before.

Water quality is good, just changed water just in case.

 

[Hattie B]

Open sores can get infected, I am not sure whats causing it but you could always start with an antibotic treatment to be on the safe side.

Something like Maracyn 2 or Nitrofurazone.

Does the spot resemble the sore like this fish has on its fin

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1083925

 

[Scooter12ga]

Take a look at these pics as well. Turned out to be a vibrio infection that killed it after only a few days. Without a pic I can't say for sure, but it sounds like a bacterial infection - I would start Nitrofurazone ASAP if I were you.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1057482

 

[StrategicReef]

It looks similar to your chromis, except it's expanding faster..

can you tell me how to use medication..?

Will it spread to other fish?

 

[StrategicReef]

I got some pictures, 1st picture is 2 days after arrival, spending a lot of time in the back with the fire shrimp. and I first noticed this.

In the next day (Yesterday) I noticed more scales missing, almost overnight.. However, at the same time it has started to swim outside more often, and less time hovering in the back with the shrimp, and it has not progressed worse. The 2nd picture is taken today but not worse than the day before.

It looked like the scales were clipped off by something, wouldn't a open sore look more red and spread slower, and not a spot here and a spot there?

There was a Nitrofurazone drug by API which is like $8 (Maracyn 2 is about $19!!) but it says Nitrofurazone is known cause cancer so I didn't pick it up yet. And I also don't have anything beside a heater and 5 gallon bucket right now as far as hospital tank goes. I might end up doing it worse if it's not sick.

 

[StrategicReef]

After more observation he is definitely having a problem with his gills, that side doesn't seem to move as much as the other. I have a hospital setup ready but not been able to get him out.

 

[Hattie B]

Problems with the gills can lead of course to worse problems.

If you think he is starting to have trouble breathing and maybe more like Scooter12ga fish then try to get an antibotic like
Erythromycin or Neomycin.

That would help if your leading towards Vibrio.

Is he still eating? I know you said a hospital tank you have but having a hard time catching him, if it is Vibrio, like Scooter said it can be the demise of a fish quite fast.

Try using 2 nets, maybe 2 people, one to move him to one side of the tank and not past another side.

However you do it, I once did a qucik drain on my 135 to get 3 damsels out that I was gifting to another person.

Good luck
HB

 

[StrategicReef]

I tried a couple times of catching him tearing down some rocks of the tank, he's too smart unlike my tank bred clown fish.

Unfortunately I might have to let nature take its course

 

[StrategicReef]

He is still eating..

is baterial infection always fatal? Any chance it might just recover on it's own?

 

[StrategicReef]

Hattie B thanks for your suggestions, I couldn't stand the thought of seeing him die slowly, so I drained 90% water and still had to take out 70% of rocks to catch him. he finally swimmed into the net by accident.

Now he's extrememly stressed, just sitting on the bottom of the bucket. I think his gills could not handle this kind of chasing around.

I have a 5 gallon bucket with heater and aqualifter to oxygenate the water. I just applied Furan-2. A Nitrofurazone product. I am very skeptical, but I did what I can..

Now back to aquascape my tank..

 

[TerryB]

I would use nitrofurazone considering the species of fish and the probablility of the particular strain of vibrio it is most likely to be.

Terry B

 

[StrategicReef]

He died less than 24 hrs in treatment..

Is it safe to add another same fish.. would it get infected by the same problem?