Sudden loss of apetite on an established fish?

[Mr. Wiggles]

Hi all,

I noticed a few days ago that my Bangaii Cardinalfish seemed to be refusing to eat the frozen food that normally this fish went nuts for. I have had this fish for about 18 months and haven't added a new fish to my system for 8-10 months. The other fish in the tank are an orange firefish and a McCosker wrasse, both of which are doing well.

Along with the hunger strike it looks like the cardinalfish has white stringy poop which made me wonder if this was an internal parasite. My other thought was that perhaps the cardinal ate something and is having a tough time digesting or passing it. I don't know how an internal parasite would have made it in with no new fish additions, maybe on a coral frag (is this even possible)?

What is my best course of action to keep the cardinal and the rest of my community safe?

1) Pull the cardinal and treat with metro, and also feed metro soaked food to my DT fish

2) Leave all fish in the DT, and feed with metro soaked food

3) Leave all fish in the tank and feed as normal and hope that this is a temporary hunger strike and will resolve itself.

4)other

Thank you for the help!

 

[HumbleFish]

1) Pull the cardinal and treat with metro, and also feed metro soaked food to my DT fish

This option gets my vote.

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

Alright this sounds like a plan. A couple quick questions though.

What brand of Metro should I look for?

Can I treat the cardinal's water if there is low apetite or must it be administered to the food?

And just to check the Metro food is reef/invert safe to dose in my SPS mixed DT. Are there any precautions, like turning the skimmer off or running carbon or something?

Thank you

 

[HumbleFish]

For the cardinal, you'll probably need to pull and treat the entire QT since he's not eating. I really like API General Cure for this purpose, as it contains both metronidazole and praziquantel.

As for soaking metro in fish food for your other fish, what I'm about to tell you is not from my own actual experience - just what I know others have done. You can use a product such as Metro+ or Seachem also makes a metronidazole product. Supposedly it's reef safe, so long as you use it conservatively.

I know a guy who always does this regimen when dealing with intestinal parasites in his DT: He takes "tasty" frozen food like mysis, lets it thaw and then mixes Seachem metro & focus in following the Seachem directions. Re-freezes it and the fish always eat it. Focus is useful for treating internal infections that may have occurred from the internal parasites.

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it. I have a couple more questions:

How long should I keep the cardinal in the hospital tank? (I am assuming the usual setup with some Prime and an airstone here, or is it just until the fish seems to eat and poop normally)

How long should I feed the Metro food to the DT to ensure I have gotten rid of the"bug"?

 

[HumbleFish]

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it. I have a couple more questions:

How long should I keep the cardinal in the hospital tank? (I am assuming the usual setup with some Prime and an airstone here, or is it just until the fish seems to eat and poop normally)

How long should I feed the Metro food to the DT to ensure I have gotten rid of the"bug"?

If you use API General Cure on the cardinal, you may need to do up to 4 doses at 48 hour intervals. Do a large WC/run carbon before beginning dose 3, as per the instructions on the packaging. When soaking, feed for about a week or two, and then see if the stringy white poop symptoms disappear.

I would be wary mixing Prime (or any dechlorinator) with any medication.

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

I found the API General cure locally but not the Metro+/Fusion/Prazi.

I pulled the cardinal out and have him in a 5g bucket with an airstone, PVC tube and a fake plant, and no Prime. I will try to feed tomorrow and see if he eats. If I understand the instructions on the box correctly I will add another dose in 48h. Instead of the 25% water change I was considering changing the fish out into another bucket almost like the TTM and then do another round of two doses 48h apart to try and avoid any ammonia issues. Does this seem reasonable?

Also since I didn't find the meds to soak the food in I was planning on observing the fish still in the DT to see if their poop and behavior remain normal before medicating the food. I don't know if this is a risky plan, but I don't want to destroy the beneficial bacteria. What do you think the best course of action is?

Thanks!

 

[HumbleFish]

Instead of the 25% water change I was considering changing the fish out into another bucket almost like the TTM and then do another round of two doses 48h apart to try and avoid any ammonia issues. Does this seem reasonable?

Sounds like a good plan! :thumbsup: Just be sure to crank that airstone for extra gas exchange (a good idea when using any medication IMHO).

Also since I didn't find the meds to soak the food in I was planning on observing the fish still in the DT to see if their poop and behavior remain normal before medicating the food. I don't know if this is a risky plan, but I don't want to destroy the beneficial bacteria. What do you think the best course of action is?

That should be fine. Just watch very closely. Intestinal parasites are not as "waterborne" as some other diseases, so you have that going for you.

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

A quick update:

After pulling and treating the cardinal last night I tried to feed this evening. The fish struck a small piece of LRS food, but spat it back out. I tried mysis and a high protein ocean nutrition food (all foods this fish previously ate). Even though he didn't eat tonight, I am hopeful and will try again tomorrow morning and evening before the second addition of medicine.

The poop I saw off the bottom of the fish didn't look as thin and looked tan in color as opposed to white in color. Hopefully this means that whatever the problem was that it is being cleared. I really hope that I can get the fish to eat tomorrow and then run a second round of Gen Cure in a couple days.

How long does it typically take for the fish to start feeding again?

Also once the fish is eating again how long should I wait before reintroducing the fish to the DT?

 

[HumbleFish]

How long does it typically take for the fish to start feeding again?

If you're soaking metro in the fish food, it can sometimes take 2-3 days. My Powder Blue Tang tells me that metro doesn't taste too nice... so the fish has to get hungry enough to eat it.

Also once the fish is eating again how long should I wait before reintroducing the fish to the DT?

I would wait at least a month from the last time you saw white stringy poop come out of a fish in the DT. When soaking metro in fish food, be conservative about it and only do it once daily so as to not get too much of it in your water column. Also, it's a good idea to run carbon (in the DT) while soaking food in it.

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

I thought I would post an update in case anyone finds this thread in the future.

I am happy to report that the cardinal ate a little frozen food last night and seemed more active. I did another dose of General Cure last night and will try to feed again this evening.

I also started to feed mysis shrimp treated with Metro and Focus to the fish in the DT. I did a little lighter dose of the medication and only fed what the fish could eat in a couple minutes with the pump off. I also added some fresh activated carbon (ROX 0.8) to the tank to pull any meds in the water column out.

Overall I am very hopeful that I can beat this. It just goes to show what a great community RC is and the great advice given out freely!