Fish dying...

[AmandaRaeJean]

Okay so I'm frustrated as hell! I've had 2 mandarins die and now a tomini tang die in my 30 gallon cube. It's been established for over 8 months with live rock, and even some coral. I have a snowflake clown that has been in the tank from the beginning and he has never showed any signs of sickness.

The tang was only about 2-3 inches, and planned on moving him over to my 300 gallon later on once he got bigger.

Water parameters are as normal. Picture to show.

I don't get it.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Okay so I'm frustrated as hell! I've had 2 mandarins die and now a tomini tang die in my 30 gallon cube. It's been established for over 8 months with live rock, and even some coral. I have a snowflake clown that has been in the tank from the beginning and he has never showed any signs of sickness.

The tang was only about 2-3 inches, and planned on moving him over to my 300 gallon later on once he got bigger.

Water parameters are as normal. Picture to show.

I don't get it.

Any pictures of the fish in question? It could have been an illness of some sort, tangs are very susceptible to ich, but that was way to fast to be ich, velvet could be another possibility, keep a close eye on that clown. Did you notice any bullying by the clown at all?

 

[Big G]

Sorry for your loses. Has anything "wet" ie. fish, corals, inverts, etc. been added into the tank in the last 30 days or so? What symptoms have the fish shown before passing?

 

[MaiReef]

What did you feed your mandarins? Live baby brine is a good food. There are not enough pods in a 30 gallon to feed one mandarin. They will deplete the population in a quick manner. A Tomini would need a good amount of algae and mysis and other foods and 30 gallon is really on the too small size.

 

[Myk]

Agreed. Need a little more info. to go on.

Have you checked for electricity leaks in the system? Old heater, bad pumps, etc?

 

[AmandaRaeJean]

I jumped the gun I guess, he was resting on the bottom, went to get him out, gave him 5 minutes to change his mind about dying. He is alive, but looks miserable. There is a grounding probe in back, and the heater and pump are brand new from Living Reef out of Orlando. That is also where we got the fish. We have bought plenty from them all healthy. No bullying from the clown whatsoever. The coral banded shrimp never touched him. I havent added anything new in 1 month except for him. As far as feeding, after he finished off the algae in tank, I tried veggie clips, pellets, flakes, frozen mysis, doesn't seem to be interested in anything. Feeding of the Mandarin (s) , I had a rotating supply of pods that I was adding. We were growing pods in a other tank to supply. Can he be saved?

 

[Sycoticrealm]

Keep Nori Strips in the tank at all times. Let it eat all day everyday for a whole month.

Mandarin can be tricky i find a mysid shrimp is best at keeping them fed. They multiple fast and if you have a sump with some chaeto the supply is endless after about a 3-6 months to let them establish in great numbers.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I jumped the gun I guess, he was resting on the bottom, went to get him out, gave him 5 minutes to change his mind about dying. He is alive, but looks miserable. There is a grounding probe in back, and the heater and pump are brand new from Living Reef out of Orlando. That is also where we got the fish. We have bought plenty from them all healthy. No bullying from the clown whatsoever. The coral banded shrimp never touched him. I havent added anything new in 1 month except for him. As far as feeding, after he finished off the algae in tank, I tried veggie clips, pellets, flakes, frozen mysis, doesn't seem to be interested in anything. Feeding of the Mandarin (s) , I had a rotating supply of pods that I was adding. We were growing pods in a other tank to supply. Can he be saved?

Could be HLLE, but that doesn't account for the mandarins. Going to have to call in the #reefsquad @Humblefish @4FordFamily

 

[Myk]

He is looking pretty rough. Not sure if he would be able to handle a fw dip at this point, but if it is parasitic it may provide some fast relief. I would still check the tank for stray voltage with a multimeter.

 

[Big G]

Take a good long look at the tang at an angle with some light. Look for a dusting like coating on it. Is the fish breathing heavy? Is it avoiding light?

 

[AmandaRaeJean]

Take a good long look at the tang at an angle with some light. Look for a dusting like coating on it. Is the fish breathing heavy? Is it avoiding light?

Just ran to store I'll check for coating. Since we got him, rarely came out. Just thought it was a anti social one. Made sure he was eating, and he was constantly picking at the algae on rock. He even ate a little flake that I hand feed the clown. (This clown is a picky one) so avoiding light, I'd say yes. Breathing heavy, not so much. Sometimes I feel like he has a dorsal twitch, but then twitches his whole body. Not sure if he is going to make the day.

 

[Brew12]

Have you noticed any white stringy poo from any of your fish?

Also, take a close look at his eyes and see if they look cloudy or clear.

Velvet seems like a possibility (which is what will look like dust or salt) so I'm curious what you will see when you take a close look.

I also agree with a FW dip. If the fish cannot survive a 5 minute FW dip odds are that it isn't going to make it anyway. At this point I believe it is worth the effort.

 

[Myk]

Def. looks like the eye is cloudy in the pic.

 

[Brew12]

Def. looks like the eye is cloudy in the pic.

I think so too, but sometimes that can be a trick in the photo. It is one reason I suspect it might be a bad case of flukes and why I think a FW dip is critical.

 

[Big G]

Here's a quick video on Freshwater Dips: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/video-how-to-do-a-freshwater-dip.286639/
Hope this helps.

 

[AmandaRaeJean]

Def. looks like the eye is cloudy in the pic.

For sure is cloudy

 

[Big G]

Treatment advice for Flukes from Humblefish:

Flukes:

Symptoms - Flukes are parasitic flatworms which harbor mainly inside the gills. Physical evidence of flukes is usually not visible; however at least one genus likes to target the face & eyes, so you may notice visible symptoms in those areas. Behavioral symptoms such as yawning, head twitching, scratching (targeting the gill area) and lethargy are much more common. As the disease progresses, the worms move to the eyes, and this is when you may see visible symptoms (cloudy eyes). However, you can confirm the presence of flukes at any time by performing a freshwater dip. At around the 3-4 minute mark, you will see tiny white worms fall out of a fish (especially out of the gills) if a fish has flukes. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well. A dark/black bucket is preferred for the freshwater dip, as that makes the white flukes easier to see.

Treatment options - Prazipro. Performing a freshwater dip will provide temporary relief, but two rounds of Prazipro (5-7 days apart) is usually required to eradicate flukes. Formalin may be used as an alternative treatment.

 

[Brew12]

Treatment advice for Flukes from Humblefish:

Flukes:

Symptoms - Flukes are parasitic flatworms which harbor mainly inside the gills. Physical evidence of flukes is usually not visible; however at least one genus likes to target the face & eyes, so you may notice visible symptoms in those areas. Behavioral symptoms such as yawning, head twitching, scratching (targeting the gill area) and lethargy are much more common. As the disease progresses, the worms move to the eyes, and this is when you may see visible symptoms (cloudy eyes). However, you can confirm the presence of flukes at any time by performing a freshwater dip. At around the 3-4 minute mark, you will see tiny white worms fall out of a fish (especially out of the gills) if a fish has flukes. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well. A dark/black bucket is preferred for the freshwater dip, as that makes the white flukes easier to see.

Treatment options - Prazipro. Performing a freshwater dip will provide temporary relief, but two rounds of Prazipro (5-7 days apart) is usually required to eradicate flukes. Formalin may be used as an alternative treatment.

Thanks for posting this stuff! I should get better about that.

With as severe an infestation as it would take to cause this kind of health problem it will be very obvious a few minutes in if it has flukes, just like in the video.

Flukes are translucent until exposed to the fresh water for a few minutes, that is when they turn white and become much easier to see. Very hard to diagnose without a FW dip until they become a major problem.

 

[Big G]

You could also use API General Cure for treatment. It contains both Praziquantel (like Prazipro) & Metro which would treat other internal parasites. I find GC to be a bit more gentile on the fish than Prazipro. Same dosage two rounds 5-7 days apart. It is a powder and needs a bit of help dissolving into the water column. I use a brine shrimp net. Put the net into the water, dump in the GC. Massage the GC into the water to help it disperse. It's normal for some undissolved powder to fall to the bottom of the quarantine tank.

 

[AmandaRaeJean]

I am making some water now, its going to have to rise in temperature though, its so cold in Florida right now, lol. I have a small heater in bucket with water. My RO should produce enough water to suffice in about 15 minutes. Catching him is going to be difficult. He is settling behind all the rock...rarely coming out.