Emperor help

[Msmith2813]

I just got home from a few days out of town and noticed a couple fins on my emperor looked tattered. He was fine when I left. He still seems fine tonight, swimming around great and eating like a pig as usual. I haven't seen any other fish picking on him. Here's a pic of my fish. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[Humblefish]

Could be aggression from another fish or a slight bacterial infection (fin rot). For now, I would just soak his food with vitamin supplements (Selcon, Zoecon, Vita-chem) to give the immune system a boost. If his condition worsens, you may need to QT and treat with antibiotics.

 

[Msmith2813]

Ok. I haven't noticed any of the color fading or spots that are typically associated with flukes. All of the other fish in the tank look fine. My lfs stocks brightwell products so I soak the food in vitamin c, garlic, and liquid sponge contraption for angelfish every couple of nights, so I'll step that up.

 

[Badspstank]

I have had crabs do that to larger fish

 

[Msmith2813]

Upon further inspection this morning with all the lights on it may be flukes. I'm not sure how it got into the tank, everything is treated before adding. Plus, I have had this fish in my system for about a year. So where do I go from here? Is prazipro the option? From reading I do believe it's completely reef safe? Is there a possibility of it harming anything....corals, fish, inverts, algae?

 

[Humblefish]

Prazi is mostly reef safe, except for any ornamental tube worms/feather dusters you may have in your tank. The real risk is an ammonia spike due to a massive bristleworm die-off or if you have tons of those tiny feather dusters in your rocks.

If I may ask, why do you think this fish has flukes?

 

[Msmith2813]

I finally had the time to do some extra tank maintenance today, and I was checking him out extra close. It seems as though he has developed spots on his eyes along with the tattered fins. His eyes used to be completely black, but it looks like there are a couple of white spots on them. I couldn't get a clear enough picture with my phone so I took a couple with my camera. I just didn't have enough time to transfer and upload them before I came to work tonight. Ill take care of that tomorrow when I wake up. If it is flukes, what type of time frame am I dealing with? Hes still swimming around fine and eating a ton as usual, so no real signs of anything taking effect yet

 

[watdachuck]

FWIW I would give it a few more days of observation before making any moves especially if he is eating well and does not appear stressed. They do have an immune system and could likely fight whatever it is off naturally.

 

[Humblefish]

Mortality time frame is difficult to determine when it comes to flukes. I've seen fish last anywhere from a few days to a few months. As was suggested above, it may even be another manageable disease as ich sometimes is. But I wouldn't take that risk - especially with a beautiful Emperor angel. The only way to confirm flukes is by performing a FW dip. It seems many here have had bad experiences when doing a FW dip - but I've never lost a fish. It's very important to take all necessary precautions - temp/pH matching with the source water, as well as aerated for 30 mins - 1 hr beforehand.

If you determine the angel has flukes, you can treat in the DT with Prazipro. It is reef safe, except for tube worms/feather dusters. Also, if you have a large population of bristleworms or tiny feather dusters, the resulting die-off can trigger an ammonia spike.

 

[Msmith2813]

here is a better picture. One side of his body definitely shows more issues than the other side. Your opinions. I have had this fish for over a year now, so Im also not sure at which point in time he should start changing into his adult colors or how hell look when those changes begin to happen.

 

[sawdonkey]

Is he twitching? I had flukes about 1.5 years ago and my fish were twitching. Three doses of prazi did it. I still have plenty of bristle worms and feather dusters.

Regarding the fish changing, here's mine after he started. He's a full blown adult now:

 

[Humblefish]

Those splotches could be just what you think... him beginning to change into an adult. Could also be from a disease. Impossible to say... especially with this fish.

I would observe for more subtle symptoms - head twitching, scratching, heavy breathing. Both are symptoms of either ich or flukes.

 

[Msmith2813]

Thank you for the help. Hes my favorite fish, so im extra protective haha So far I haven't seen any twitching or any loss of appetite. Its just the tail fin issue and the splotches you can see. He did go up to my cleaner shrimp for a little extra attention this afternoon. Ill keep an eye on him. I was just worried about waiting too long in case it is something, I don't want anything to happen to him.

 

[Msmith2813]

Is he twitching? I had flukes about 1.5 years ago and my fish were twitching. Three doses of prazi did it. I still have plenty of bristle worms and feather dusters.

Regarding the fish changing, here's mine after he started. He's a full blown adult now:

When your emperor went through its changes, how long did it take to go from looking like mine to your first picture? Ive looked it up and done research, but at what size/age did your emperor start changing?

 

[sawdonkey]

When your emperor went through its changes, how long did it take to go from looking like mine to your first picture? Ive looked it up and done research, but at what size/age did your emperor start changing?

When I got him, he was further along than yours. The first signed will be this forehead and upper fun starting to show a yellow hugh. Then the horizontal lines will start to show while the circular ones will fade. Mine probably took about a year from the start of change to full adult. Mine was probably a little smaller than my palm when he started to change.

 

[watdachuck]

I need a bigger tank so I can have another Emperor....so jealous.

Here is picture of the last juvenile I had before I sold my larger tank.