Blue Hippo Help with ID

[SaltlifeHokie]

Just got this Blue Hippo in today and his body has a weird sunken shape and his skin seems wrinkled. I have him in QT right now but have not started any medications and looking for some help

 

[vetteguy53081]

Just got this Blue Hippo in today and his body has a weird sunken shape and his skin seems wrinkled. I have him in QT right now but have not started any medications and looking for some help

From seeing HLLE, the fish has likely underfed and getting wrong foods
Maintain good water quality and diet feeding foods such as:
LRS herbivore diet
Rods original formula
Mysis shrimp
Spirulina brine shrimp
Small plankton
Formula 2 frozen
TDO pellets

 

[Reef By Steele]

If he came with a warranty I would be contacting the seller. Hippo tangs according to my LFS when I bought mine often starve from not eating. Sunken gut I would maybe think internal parasite.

Might try prazipro or kanaplex.

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

If he came with a warranty I would be contacting the seller. Hippo tangs according to my LFS when I bought mine often starve from not eating. Sunken gut I would maybe think internal parasite.

Might try prazipro or kanaplex.

He comes with a 14 day stay alive guarantee so I’ll of course do everything to fatten him up and get him healthy but I certainly wish he would have came in better. I guess that’s the price you pay vs buying online and not locally where you can see the fish. Unfortunately I don’t have a great LFS and have to drive an hour and a half to the best one.

 

[vetteguy53081]

He comes with a 14 day stay alive guarantee so I’ll of course do everything to fatten him up and get him healthy but I certainly wish he would have came in better. I guess that’s the price you pay vs buying online and not locally where you can see the fish. Unfortunately I don’t have a great LFS and have to drive an hour and a half to the best one.

This will be an easy fix

 

[Reef By Steele]

He comes with a 14 day stay alive guarantee so I’ll of course do everything to fatten him up and get him healthy but I certainly wish he would have came in better. I guess that’s the price you pay vs buying online and not locally where you can see the fish. Unfortunately I don’t have a great LFS and have to drive an hour and a half to the best one.

I have to drive 2 1/2 so I feel your pain. I get fish from reefbeauties.com and they have a 14 or 15 day guarantee, but I alert them if something like this happens, but they are usually really good and will say they didn’t ship as it wasn’t optimal health. I would get with them up front because if that fish dies in 18 days it is still due to what they shipped you.

 

[Reef By Steele]

This will be an easy fix

I will trust in you as I have never seen you give anything but good advice. When I bought mine at the LFS the person helping me said hippo’s were notorious for this. I got three that weren’t pinched but lost two within a week or two the third is still going strong and it’s been a year.

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

From seeing HLLE, the fish has likely underfed and getting wrong foods
Maintain good water quality and diet feeding foods such as:
LRS herbivore diet
Rods original formula
Mysis shrimp
Spirulina brine shrimp
Small plankton
Formula 2 frozen
TDO pellets

So other than healthy foods no medications? I was planning on starting the normal QT procedure and start copper Saturday. Do you agree with going ahead and starting that?

 

[vetteguy53081]

So other than healthy foods no medications? I was planning on starting the normal QT procedure and start copper Saturday. Do you agree with going ahead and starting that?

Quarantine acceptable but often good water quality and diet will improve the fish

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So other than healthy foods no medications? I was planning on starting the normal QT procedure and start copper Saturday. Do you agree with going ahead and starting that?

I would start coppersafe/copper power right away. Don't take too long in getting to a 2.25 ppm dose, but do measure it accurately.

That little hepatus has pretty well gone through the wringer before you got it. Feed it multiple times a day with meaty foods to try and build up body mass. Skip the nori/algae for now, those are filling but low in calories and baby hepatus are more plankton feeders.

Of course, monitor the ammonia in the quarantine tank.

Jay

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

I would start coppersafe/copper power right away. Don't take too long in getting to a 2.25 ppm dose, but do measure it accurately.

That little hepatus has pretty well gone through the wringer before you got it. Feed it multiple times a day with meaty foods to try and build up body mass. Skip the nori/algae for now, those are filling but low in calories and baby hepatus are more plankton feeders.

Of course, monitor the ammonia in the quarantine tank.

Jay

He was eating like a pig this morning so I went ahead and started copper. Thank you

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

His appetite didn’t seem to good today so I did a 5 min FW dip and he has flukes (sesame seed ones) how should I proceed? Should I stop copper and treat with Prazi or what?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

His appetite didn’t seem to good today so I did a 5 min FW dip and he has flukes (sesame seed ones) how should I proceed? Should I stop copper and treat with Prazi or what?

Those sound like Neobendenia flukes. I should have suspected that. One symptom of this is cloudy eyes (your fish didn't seem to have that) but the other symptom is that the fish just look "ragged" and shopworn. I said the fish looked like it had "gone through the wringer" -

Can you estimate how many flukes fell off?
The FW dip bought you some time, so the question is - do you continue the copper against more swift killing protozoans, or do you change course and deal with the flukes?

Prazi does not kill their eggs, so it is difficult to treat them with that. One option would be to switch to a hyposalinity treatment. That will kill Neobenedenia and marine ich, but will not work against Brooklynella or Velvet.

Jay

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

Those sound like Neobendenia flukes. I should have suspected that. One symptom of this is cloudy eyes (your fish didn't seem to have that) but the other symptom is that the fish just look "ragged" and shopworn. I said the fish looked like it had "gone through the wringer" -

Can you estimate how many flukes fell off?
The FW dip bought you some time, so the question is - do you continue the copper against more swift killing protozoans, or do you change course and deal with the flukes?

Prazi does not kill their eggs, so it is difficult to treat them with that. One option would be to switch to a hyposalinity treatment. That will kill Neobenedenia and marine ich, but will not work against Brooklynella or Velvet.

Jay

There were roughly 4-6 flukes on him. I did a roughly 30% water change and dosed GC.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

There were roughly 4-6 flukes on him. I did a roughly 30% water change and dosed GC.

O.k. dose GC again after 8 days. Change some of the water prior to the second dose as well.

Jay

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

O.k. dose GC again after 8 days. Change some of the water prior to the second dose as well.

Jay

Thank you. I’ve got heavy aeration as well. We should be good. I’m not as concerned with ich or velvet as I haven’t seen anything so I’ll treat for these flukes then do copper after

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

Thank you. I’ve got heavy aeration as well. We should be good. I’m not as concerned with ich or velvet as I haven’t seen anything so I’ll treat for these flukes then do copper after

@Jay Hemdal I spoke to soon. I woke up this morning and he looks like he has ich or velvet. How do you suggest I proceed? He ate some bloodworms and shrimp this morning. He doesn't appear to be covered "yet" so thats why im not sure if its ich or early stages of velvet. Should I do a water change and start copper? I started GC on sunday so there is metro and prazi in the water currently. If a bloom is the only concern should I just go ahead and bring the copper level up to therapeutic without a water change?

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

Perhaps they are Bacterial Tufts and Viral Nodules?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Perhaps they are Bacterial Tufts and Viral Nodules?

This species is prone to developing mucus plugs when they are stressed or have skin damage. The trouble is, ich can cause the exact type of skin damage that also causes mucus plugs, so the fish can have both at the same time!

Can you post a picture?

It would be better if you could hold off dosing copper for now, but if it is ich, you will need to do that.

Jay

 

[SaltlifeHokie]

Not great pictures but mostly visible on his black