CB Royal Gramma - sick, blind, or weird?

[beepboop]

Hi all,
I got a captive bred royal gramma from Biota ~3.5 months ago. At first, she hid in a little crevice and only came out briefly to grab food from the water column.

About a month ago, I found her hiding vertically in the back corner and she stopped coming out for food. I put her in an acclimation tank with some rocks and a qvc pipe for a few weeks to check for signs of disease, etc. She never really swam around, just sat in one spot between the rock and the side of the tank for 3 weeks. No signs of disease and she was eating well, but only if I dropped food right on top of her. Even then, it still took her a while to find and grab the pieces.

I released her back into the main tank a few days ago to see how she’d do, and she’s back to standing vertically in the back corner and not eating. No flashing or discoloration, fins look fine. There are a TON of available tunnels and caves. I’m almost wondering if she’s blind? The only abnormality is she *might* be breathing a little heavily now, but it’s questionable.

All other fish and corals are behaving normally. Tank is 70g with 20g sump and is 2.5 years old. Does she sound sick, blind, or maybe just a weird fish? Anyone heard of this before?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi all,
I got a captive bred royal gramma from Biota ~3.5 months ago. At first, she hid in a little crevice and only came out briefly to grab food from the water column.

About a month ago, I found her hiding vertically in the back corner and she stopped coming out for food. I put her in an acclimation tank with some rocks and a qvc pipe for a few weeks to check for signs of disease, etc. She never really swam around, just sat in one spot between the rock and the side of the tank for 3 weeks. No signs of disease and she was eating well, but only if I dropped food right on top of her. Even then, it still took her a while to find and grab the pieces.

I released her back into the main tank a few days ago to see how she’d do, and she’s back to standing vertically in the back corner and not eating. No flashing or discoloration, fins look fine. There are a TON of available tunnels and caves. I’m almost wondering if she’s blind? The only abnormality is she *might* be breathing a little heavily now, but it’s questionable.

All other fish and corals are behaving normally. Tank is 70g with 20g sump and is 2.5 years old. Does she sound sick, blind, or maybe just a weird fish? Anyone heard of this before?

That doesn't sound normal at all. Can you post a video under white lights?

 

[beepboop]

That doesn't sound normal at all. Can you post a video under white lights?

Please excuse the algae. This is after feeding this morning. Her breathing seems heavy to me.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Please excuse the algae. This is after feeding this morning. Her breathing seems heavy to me.

The breathing is very deep and rapid. The most common cause of that in royal gramma is gill flukes. However, low oxygen, high CO2 or internal infections can also cause this.

You can test for true blindness by moving your hand near the fish, but not touching the tank or making any vibrations. If the fish reacts, it isn’t blind.

 

[beepboop]

The breathing is very deep and rapid. The most common cause of that in royal gramma is gill flukes. However, low oxygen, high CO2 or internal infections can also cause this.

You can test for true blindness by moving your hand near the fish, but not touching the tank or making any vibrations. If the fish reacts, it isn’t blind.

Thanks for the quick reply. No other fish are breathing/acting abnormally, which makes me think it's not oxygen or CO2.

I'd treat the whole tank for flukes to be thorough, but I also have a mandarin who relies on the pods... do you think treating the gramma in a hospital tank over a few weeks would be sufficient if it's flukes? I've never seen her scratching

 

[W31Olds]

I would treat him for Flukes. You may have got them as eggs in your Tank as hitchhikers on a rock or coral, fish, etc.

 

[beepboop]

I would treat him for Flukes. You may have got them as eggs in your Tank as hitchhikers on a rock or coral, fish, etc.

I think you're probably right. Would you recommend treating the display tank or a QT? I have mini feather dusters and brittlestars and heard prazipro can be rough on them

 

[W31Olds]

It's always preferrable to treat a sick fish separately as it's easier to control the environment.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the quick reply. No other fish are breathing/acting abnormally, which makes me think it's not oxygen or CO2.

I'd treat the whole tank for flukes to be thorough, but I also have a mandarin who relies on the pods... do you think treating the gramma in a hospital tank over a few weeks would be sufficient if it's flukes? I've never seen her scratching

Praziquantel can be used in your display and won't harm your pod population. Don't use General Cure though, you need something that is only praziquantel:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dosing-praziquantel-pzq.1105700/

 

[beepboop]

Praziquantel can be used in your display and won't harm your pod population. Don't use General Cure though, you need something that is only praziquantel:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dosing-praziquantel-pzq.1105700/

Okay I did a fresh water dip while waiting for meds. She tolerated it okay, but didn’t show any improvement in symptoms.

Today I put in an air stone and dosed PraziPro, planning on a second dose in about 8 days. The royal gramma is still breathing heavily and hiding in the corner. If it is flukes, when should I expect symptoms to improve? Any other ideas in case she doesn’t improve?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Okay I did a fresh water dip while waiting for meds. She tolerated it okay, but didn’t show any improvement in symptoms.

Today I put in an air stone and dosed PraziPro, planning on a second dose in about 8 days. The royal gramma is still breathing heavily and hiding in the corner. If it is flukes, when should I expect symptoms to improve? Any other ideas in case she doesn’t improve?

Fluke treatments don’t provide immediate relief - in fact, after the flukes drop off, the fish may look worse for a few days. In severe infections, fish can even bleed out and die due to all the flukes dropping off, leaving holes in the fish’s skin.

 

[beepboop]

I’m sad to say she didn’t make it. :(

None of the other fish show signs of flukes. Should I still plan to redose the prazipro in a week to break any potential life cycle? I’m still not certain that’s what she had

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I’m sad to say she didn’t make it. :(

None of the other fish show signs of flukes. Should I still plan to redose the prazipro in a week to break any potential life cycle? I’m still not certain that’s what she had

Sorry to hear.

I would finish up the treatment, just to be sure...

 

[Aqua Ultraviolet]

Hi all,
I got a captive bred royal gramma from Biota ~3.5 months ago. At first, she hid in a little crevice and only came out briefly to grab food from the water column.

About a month ago, I found her hiding vertically in the back corner and she stopped coming out for food. I put her in an acclimation tank with some rocks and a qvc pipe for a few weeks to check for signs of disease, etc. She never really swam around, just sat in one spot between the rock and the side of the tank for 3 weeks. No signs of disease and she was eating well, but only if I dropped food right on top of her. Even then, it still took her a while to find and grab the pieces.

I released her back into the main tank a few days ago to see how she’d do, and she’s back to standing vertically in the back corner and not eating. No flashing or discoloration, fins look fine. There are a TON of available tunnels and caves. I’m almost wondering if she’s blind? The only abnormality is she *might* be breathing a little heavily now, but it’s questionable.

All other fish and corals are behaving normally. Tank is 70g with 20g sump and is 2.5 years old. Does she sound sick, blind, or maybe just a weird fish? Anyone heard of this before?

The behavior sounds more concerning than simply being a “weird fish.” A royal gramma can be shy, but consistently staying vertical, struggling to locate food, and now refusing food suggests an underlying problem.

Vision impairment is possible, but I’d also consider neurological issues, internal disease, or significant stress. Since she was eating when food was placed directly in front of her, that could indicate difficulty seeing or tracking food rather than a complete loss of appetite.

I’d move her back to a quiet observation/quarantine setup, keep the environment stable, and closely monitor respiration and feeding. If breathing becomes clearly rapid or labored, that would make illness more likely. I’d also verify ammonia, temperature, salinity, and oxygenation rather than assuming the display is fine because the other fish are unaffected.

Given that she was captive-bred and has had this persistent abnormal behavior for weeks, I’d contact Biota with the timeline and ask whether they have seen similar cases.