Fish medics

[kevgib67]

My son has had this flame angel for 6 months. Over the last three days it has been losing color and stopped eating. It shows interest in food but won’t eat. It is active and swims normally. No flashing or rubbing against rocks. Breathing appears normal. No other fish in his aquarium are showing signs of illness. Thoughts on diagnosis and treatment? Thanks in advance.

 

[B&CinB.C.]

#fishmedics

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My son has had this flame angel for 6 months. Over the last three days it has been losing color and stopped eating. It shows interest in food but won’t eat. It is active and swims normally. No flashing or rubbing against rocks. Breathing appears normal. No other fish in his aquarium are showing signs of illness. Thoughts on diagnosis and treatment? Thanks in advance.

Not much to go on other than the fish is pretty pale.

We really need more info and a video. This post explains all that:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[kevgib67]

Not much to go on other than the fish is pretty pale.

We really need more info and a video. This post explains all that:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks Jay, I tried to get my son on here because I knew there would be more questions. I’ll do the best I can to get the information you requested in the article.

 

[kevgib67]

Not much to go on other than the fish is pretty pale.

We really need more info and a video. This post explains all that:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

It’s in a55g with two Blennys, three gobies, yellow tailed damsel, cardinal, two clown fish and a wrasse . Doing worse this morning. I’m not sure if he keeps a parameter journal like his dad but I’m waiting for a text back as he’s at work. Video to follow.

 

[kevgib67]

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for the video - I know it's a pain to do that....

In addition to the pale coloration, the angel is breathing a bit fast and has some tattered fins. That is a general sign of "ill health", but you knew that already.

There are a few non-treatable causes for this - internal coccidia for example. The only match I have for something that is treatable would be Gyrodactylus flukes. Those usually cause scratching, or at least fin flicking and darting (which I didn't see in the video).

It might be worth trying to treat it with praziquantel for flukes - that can be done in a reef tank, so you wouldn't need to move the fish. I'm not 100% on that diagnosis, but in case you want to pursue that, here is a post:

Dosing Praziquantel (PZQ)

Using Praziquantel (PZQ) to treat flukes Overview In the early 1990’s, a researcher at the New York Aquarium published a paper on using Praziquantel (PZQ) to help control flukes, a parasitic flatworm. Also known as monogenean trematodes, these fish parasites can cause significant mortality in...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[kevgib67]

Thanks for the video - I know it's a pain to do that....

In addition to the pale coloration, the angel is breathing a bit fast and has some tattered fins. That is a general sign of "ill health", but you knew that already.

There are a few non-treatable causes for this - internal coccidia for example. The only match I have for something that is treatable would be Gyrodactylus flukes. Those usually cause scratching, or at least fin flicking and darting (which I didn't see in the video).

It might be worth trying to treat it with praziquantel for flukes - that can be done in a reef tank, so you wouldn't need to move the fish. I'm not 100% on that diagnosis, but in case you want to pursue that, here is a post:

Dosing Praziquantel (PZQ)

Using Praziquantel (PZQ) to treat flukes Overview In the early 1990’s, a researcher at the New York Aquarium published a paper on using Praziquantel (PZQ) to help control flukes, a parasitic flatworm. Also known as monogenean trematodes, these fish parasites can cause significant mortality in...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks Jay for taking time out of your day to address this. I will share the info with my son and try the treatment.