Sick Imperator Angel

[Axolotl]

Long story short didnt qt him stuck him in my 75g with a 6 inch powderbrown who attacked him moved him to a qt 40g breeder with a powerhead sponge filter and a large biowheel. Within a day i saw the ich spots. Started hypo and am currently hold fast at 1.09. The eye started about 2 days ago and he hasnt ate since sunday. Anyone know what to treat him with its only one eye and im assuming it was from the spines of the powderbrown attack ( he was whacking him really good with that tail). Water parameters are at zero except nitrates are a little high but it is a qt tank. I forgot to mention i bought a cleaner wrasse to help w the ich ( it didnt) and it just got bullied and died and was in there for 2 days before i found it ( probably what caused the eye to flare up). I did a hypo water change w baking soda for the ph and everything is currently in check. I just dont know how to treat the eye and get him eating again!

 

[Axolotl]

Forgot to mention he is hiding in a large pvc pipe i have in the qt. He swims ok though but not eating. Also noticed when i did a water change last night that a 1 inch long whitish colored worm was on the bottom of the tank and his tailfin split yesterday too. Is this from one parasite or the worm the ich? Is there something i can mix in the tank to stop the fin from getting worse and fix his eye?

 

[sandwi54]

That's a fairly serious popeye. You should go grab epsom salt immediately and dose it in the QT to reduce the swelling, otherwise he may lose that eye. Hopefully he pulls through.

Also, your 75g is too small for both the powder brown tang and emperor angel. An emperor angel is a relatively hard species to keep and suffers greatly from confined environment. The recommended tank size is at least an 8-foot, 240g. Powder brown (especially a 6" one) should also be in a minimum of 6-foot tank.

 

[snorvich]

That's a fairly serious popeye. You should go grab epsom salt immediately and dose it in the QT to reduce the swelling, otherwise he may lose that eye. Hopefully he pulls through.

Also, your 75g is too small for both the powder brown tang and emperor angel. An emperor angel is a relatively hard species to keep and suffers greatly from confined environment. The recommended tank size is at least an 8-foot, 240g. Powder brown (especially a 6" one) should also be in a minimum of 6-foot tank.

This.

 

[Axolotl]

Ya. What is the dosage for epsom salt? Also would you use anything for the worm? What is maracyn? Ive heard of people using that.

 

[Axolotl]

Epsom salt dosage? Any other meds?

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

I agree with Sandwi and Snorvich - the tank is too small for either the angel or the tang, let alone both. You need to find new homes for both. Maybe it is time to buy a much larger tank.

The fish is going to keep hiding in the pvc until it feels better. Don't worry about that. Don't turn on any tank lights; room light will be sufficient, and not a lot of room light near the tank.

Make sure you maintain good water quality and keep up with regular water changes.

Is the emperor the only fish in the 40 QT?

Was the emperor eating before you put it in with the tang? It sounds like yes. If so, the emperor is just stressed from its beating and should start eating again in a couple of days. Feed PE mysis and other meaty foods like chopped scallop and shrimp fresh from the grocery store to get it eating, and then add a variety other foods, including flakes with spirulina. Just feed small portions until it starts eating again and remove uneaten food. I would add Vitachem and Selcon to the food.

The split tailfin is from the tang. They do that to disable other fish. It will heal by itself with good water quality and food.

Treat the eye with epsom salts as suggested to reduce swelling of the eye. I think a dose of 3 teaspoons per 5 gallons of tank water is a good start (24 teaspoons in your qt). If this doesn't seem to help after a few days, you may need to add some antibiotics. However, I would hold off on them for a while unless you see some clear sign of infection.

Once the emperor starts eating again, I would treat with PraziPro for flukes and worms.

Your DT now has ich and you will have to treat it and the fish in there.

 

[Axolotl]

Thanks doc. Quick question, do you have to drop the salinity in a 48 hour window for hypo to work. In my smaller qt it took me about 4 days. Will the ich go into hibernation mode now? Also you mentioned antibiotics if i think the eye is infected, it looks terrible now and i think he may lose it. Can you please recommend an antibiotic for me to use here?

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

Mardel Maracyn 2 is a good broad spectrum antibiotic used to treat popeye, among other things. Be sure to soak the food in vitamins and maintain water quality.

The swelling is addressed initially by the epsom salts, so get started with them if you haven't already. I know, putting salts in a saltwater aquarium seems strange.

I would follow these instructions to the letter: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1991470. I haven't tested hypo while dropping the salinity over 2 days and over 4 days, so I don't know if there is any difference. I would think not, but don't have experience to say.

Don't forget to deal with the ich that is in your DT now.

 

[kevonstl]

i didn't do hypo when my blue tang had ich and popeye like that. i treat with copper and mentrozoline (i think that how you spell it) by soak in the food and try to force it in his mouth. The popeye go away about 4 days and ich gone about a week. what ever you using just take it slow and good luck

 

[Axolotl]

* Does epsom salts effect the reading on a refracto or hydrometer?
* Can you force feed fishes over 6 inches to get them eating again?
* Can you treat with epsom and maracyn 2 antibiotic at the same time?

 

[fish042099]

Don't mean to veer OT, but a 75 gallon tank? No wonder he's sick!

 

[Axolotl]

He was only in it for a few minutes.

 

[Axolotl]

The hypo has seemed to go pretty well for the community qt tank. Except i went about a week and a half with no spots at all i then replaced half of my biowheel pads and the next day the baby panther grouper looks spotty and wont eat ( he eats everyday) is it possible the ich latched onto the filter media and i stirred it up by changing out the pads? I also noticed tiny white worms crawling all over the bottom of the glass. Any treaments i should do for those? Could they be harmful? They look like little white maggots.

 

[Axolotl]

Bump