Dispar Anthias falling apart

Albertoinbox · Jan 24, 2021

Good morning.

I got a dispar anthias from liveaquaria last wednesday (20/01), it arrived looking healthy but with a couple of scars on the right side which I thought were just blemishes. Day after day these scars are getting bigger and today I can say that there is definitely something wrong with this fish. His scars are big now and his fins are falling apart. It must be itching a lot since he cant stay away for very long from the cleaner/fire blood shrimps to get picked on.

He's eating ok. No aggression from other fish. All livestock doing well, including a Blue Gudgeon Goby that arrived together with him. Water is fine.

I wonder if this fish will eventually die and if it is a disease that can spread and kill everything else in my tank. And of course if there is something I can do about it besides complaining to Liveaquaria.

Thank you.

fishguy242 · Jan 24, 2021

@Jay Hemdal

CMMorgan · Jan 24, 2021

I'd get this little guy out of your tank in to QT ASAP. Those more experienced than I can tell you how to treat but there is no way I'd leave that in there.

Idoc · Jan 24, 2021

How about posting some pics without the blue lights? That will also help ... along with all water parameters.

DeniseAndy · Jan 24, 2021

Get that baby out and into a hospital tank. Looks like could be brooklynella or a bad infection. Need some pictures with whites. May not survive long. How long has it been like that?

Deezill · Jan 24, 2021

Idoc said:
How about posting some pics without the blue lights? That will also help ... along with all water parameters.

+1 on removing the blues. This community loves helping people but we don't have orange gel filters built into our eyes lol. WOuld be nice to see a clear visible pic of the little guy to help and give proper direction

Jay Hemdal · Jan 24, 2021

Plus one on needing pics under white light. Moving it to a treatment tank is fine, as long as a treatment plan is immediately implemented.
Are there any other fish in with it? Even under blue light, I think I can see damage from being attacked by something.
My understanding is that liveaquaria drop ships from a major LA importer on 104th street. I worry that some of their fish could be double bounced- imported by them, and the reshipped a day or so later, this can really stress delicate fish like dispars.
Jay

ca1ore · Jan 24, 2021

If the ‘stripes’ develop into ulcerations then uronema is a possibility.

Dal-Reef · Jan 24, 2021

Anthias are notorious for getting bacteria infection be can over come with a really good diet and has worked for me. He is eating so that's good. I have two Lyetail and one got pretty bad bacteria infection when I got them. I soaked food(mini mysis, fish eggs, LRS, Rods, PE) in Selcon. I feed through out the day. He got really skinny but now he got a pot belly and his color is getting much darker. Anyway that is what worked for me. Good luck

Albertoinbox · Jan 24, 2021

It took him a while to get used to the bright white lights and come out so I could take pictures. I'll leave the lights like this in case you need more. Thank you all.

Albertoinbox · Jan 24, 2021

DeniseAndy said:
Get that baby out and into a hospital tank. Looks like could be brooklynella or a bad infection. Need some pictures with whites. May not survive long. How long has it been like that?

Since the day it arrived last wednesday (4 days today), they were just two tiny (0.5-1mm) spots on the right side. I noticed right away but thought it could be just scars.

Albertoinbox · Jan 24, 2021

Pieces of what looks like skin floating in the tank, including this big piece. Never seen this before and I dont know what it is but I would suspect its coming off of the Anthias.

DeniseAndy · Jan 24, 2021

It is still alive, so guessing not brook. Looks more like a bacteria infection. Very pretty. I would treat with a triple cure type antibiotic. Do you have a microscope to look at that item you found to confirm what it might be?

Jay Hemdal · Jan 24, 2021

Under white light, it looks even more like it has been attacked by other fish. I s that a midas blenny in with it? Those can be kinda of nasty. Don't be surprised if you don't see fighting - while you are watching your fish, they stop fighting and watch you! Also, it only takes a few bites each day to cause damage like this and you'll likely never see it happen. That doesn't mean that the fish may not have something else going on with it. That angled stripe on the right side could be Uronema. Secondary bacterial infection is also a risk here. Isolating it and treating with an antibiotic would be once course of action you could take.

Jay

Albertoinbox · Jan 25, 2021

Yes, that is a Midas Blenny. He nipped on the anthias the first couple of hours but seems to have backed up before I could see any damage and they constantly swim together now. Sure, he might still be aggressive when I'm not around.

I didnt have another tank so I went and setup one, a 20 gallon:

I have never treated a fish before and I dont know what medicine to get. There are many on the market and some of them dont say if they're antibiotic or not, some say fungus and fin rot and things like that but I would rather ask if you can reccomend a specific antibiotic or at least the best active ingredient.

The next step would be figure out how the heck am I going to catch this fish...I've used a fish trap before but that can take days since I can only try when its feeding time, which happens only twice a day.

Thank you for your help.

Albertoinbox · Jan 25, 2021

DeniseAndy said:
It is still alive, so guessing not brook. Looks more like a bacteria infection. Very pretty. I would treat with a triple cure type antibiotic. Do you have a microscope to look at that item you found to confirm what it might be?

I sold my microscope last year when I moved. I didnt use it much but understand the importance, if I need one I'll get it but really want to tone down on all the clutter from all the aquarium gear. Besides, I had to get a 20 gallon tank yesterday!

Jay Hemdal · Jan 25, 2021

Albertoinbox said:
Yes, that is a Midas Blenny. He nipped on the anthias the first couple of hours but seems to have backed up before I could see any damage and they constantly swim together now. Sure, he might still be aggressive when I'm not around.

I didnt have another tank so I went and setup one, a 20 gallon:

I have never treated a fish before and I dont know what medicine to get. There are many on the market and some of them dont say if they're antibiotic or not, some say fungus and fin rot and things like that but I would rather ask if you can reccomend a specific antibiotic or at least the best active ingredient.

The next step would be figure out how the heck am I going to catch this fish...I've used a fish trap before but that can take days since I can only try when its feeding time, which happens only twice a day.

Thank you for your help.

I would use a true antibiotic, not a “tonic”. Not sure what you might have, but two choices would be Neoplex or Maracyn 2. Any broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic should work except tetracycline.
Jay

Albertoinbox · Jan 26, 2021

Today I woke up and saw this:

Too late to save her

Didnt have time to get her out of the tank and into the quarantine tank, setup just for her and treat her. Paid fast shipping to get the trap and the Neoplex here tomorrow for nothing...what a shame. Poor thing.

Not going to comment on getting a sick fish from Liveaquaria or not.