Firefish

[ashtoreth]

Hi,

I've had my firefish for 4.5 weeks now and just recently added some coral to my tank (it's been up for 3.5 months now). I don't have a QT tank so have not been able to QT anything. The firefish has been eating fine but was just very shy / never really left his hole under the rock unless my return pumps were fully off. However, since I introduced the corals, he was out and about more on the bottom. I'd originally assumed this was because the corals broke up the flow a bit more so the firefish felt comfortable coming out but today I noticed he rubbed himself against the sand a few times (kind of darted into the sand and then darted up). I'm not sure if this is flashing? He also yawned a few times (but he did that on and off previously as well). Coupled with the fact that he is suddenly out more in higher flow areas (still nowhere near return pumps and not swimming against the current), wanted to see if folks think this is indicative of a bigger problem (like velvet, ich or flukes)? He is still eating well and I've stared quite a while and can't decide if I'm actually seeing any really tiny tiny white spots. It is possible he has 3-4 tiny tiny white spots, but they aren't clear and it depends a bit on the angle of the light whether or not I seem to see them. He doesn't appear to be breathing heavily. I've checked water parameters as well and they all seem stable vs. the last few weeks:

Temp: 77
Salinity: 33.8
ph: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10-20ppm (looks like it's very close to 10 on the API spectrum)
Alk: 7.5
Calcium: 460
Mg: 1370

Given I have coral / shrimp in the tank, I don't think I can dose many things directly. If I had to quarantine, I would have to do it in a side 5 gal bucket, which I can try to manage but wanted to see what people think this may be / best treatment. I have two clowns in the tank as well so if it's clear this is a problem, I want to save them as soon as possible. But given how limited my setup is, I also don't want to overly stress the three fish out if it doesn't warrant drastic measures. (I also have a UV sterilizer running 24/7 but given it's a 30 gal AIO, I know the flow may not be 100% optimized.)

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This could be flukes. Rapid breathing and/or lack of appetite would be an emergency situation, but until then, you may have some time...
Some people have used Prazipro with invertebrates present- as long as you increase the aeration and turn your UV, you might be able to do that. Try searching prazipro and coral here to see if you can read any case histories....
Jay

 

[Davey-Jones’-Locker]

Just my personal experience. I introduced two fire fish together and it took months before they fully felt comfortable and remained out in the current. I’ve had them for over a year now. They used to dart back into the rocks every time someone walked by the tank, now they come out most of the day. The more hiding spots they have, the more comfortable they feel and will stay out in the open.
I also noticed mine flashing on occasion (totally freaked me out). I dosed a natural bacterial remedy which seemed to help with their slime coat, reduced the “flashing” and didn’t disturb the bio filter.

Look into Brightwells Fish Recovery. You will have to turn off your skimmer as it will make it go crazy. Good luck

 

[Davey-Jones’-Locker]

And you know without a doubt if it’s Ich, unless you’ve caught it very early in the feeding stage.

 

[ashtoreth]

This could be flukes. Rapid breathing and/or lack of appetite would be an emergency situation, but until then, you may have some time...
Some people have used Prazipro with invertebrates present- as long as you increase the aeration and turn your UV, you might be able to do that. Try searching prazipro and coral here to see if you can read any case histories....
Jay

Got it. If I need to increase aeration, do I need an airstone or just increasing surface agitation is enough?

Separately, I managed to get a few shots of my firefish in the open. I don't see anything in daylight that looks like the potential small white dots I may or may not have seen yesterday. However, when it's hanging out, its head is often pointed down (which I've heard is not a good sign) and it looks possible that its gills have an opaque white area (not sure if that 's normal). Should I try FW dips while I order medication to confirm whether it's flukes or try not to stress it out right now and wait a few more days if it's eating fine?

 

[ashtoreth]

Just my personal experience. I introduced two fire fish together and it took months before they fully felt comfortable and remained out in the current. I’ve had them for over a year now. They used to dart back into the rocks every time someone walked by the tank, now they come out most of the day. The more hiding spots they have, the more comfortable they feel and will stay out in the open.
I also noticed mine flashing on occasion (totally freaked me out). I dosed a natural bacterial remedy which seemed to help with their slime coat, reduced the “flashing” and didn’t disturb the bio filter.

Look into Brightwells Fish Recovery. You will have to turn off your skimmer as it will make it go crazy. Good luck

Thanks. Did you use Brightwells in a fish only tank or in a tank with coral as well? Did your firefish ever have periods where they have their head pointed down from time to time? My firefish seems to be oscillating between pointing its head up and down...

 

[Jay Hemdal]

If you have a protein skimmer, that will aerate well enough. Air stones are best, but if you can generate bubbles with a pump, that can also work.
I don’t see anything really alarming in your new picture. If the fish is eating well, you might just want to wait a few days to see how things go.
Jay

 

[Davey-Jones’-Locker]

My DT is pretty well stocked with coral and inverts, which is why I didn’t want to dose antibiotics. As far as the oscillating, I’ve never seen that behavior in my firefish but I have a pretty strong current through my tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The rocks gave fire fish hiding places which they favor
They generally always come out for a meal.
Follow Jay when he says act now on clowns. A freshwater dip seems to always help with clownfish. Prazi yes especially if you notice it’s poop is white
Have you noticed when looking at clowns any haziness to their color or bright orange?

 

[Super Fly]

My firefish disappears for days if not weeks at a time and he's been in tank for 3 yrs. Your fish looks healthy IMO, the white/clear specs around head is normal and part of firefish look, mine has same markings. I would observe more prior to doing anything drastic/treatments unnecessarily.

 

[ashtoreth]

My clowns have not shown any signs / seem to be swimming and acting normally. They had white stringy poop when they were first introduced 2 months ago but given I haven't seen any other signs since (except for a clear desire to overeat) and both have grown substantially, I chalked it up to getting used to a new place.