Fish not eating

[Jvesche20]

about 3 weeks ago I got a purple tang and a BPT. I put them in QT and they were in there for 2 weeks. Everything seemed to be fine. Both fish were eating there was no aggression. I didn’t have any copper or anything else in the QT. I had rock in there so I didn’t see the fish too often. They liked to hide. So I took the rock out and added pvc pipe so that way I could add copper to treat for any potential disease these fish could have. When I added it the PBT seems to be fine but my purple tang just sat in the bottom corner of the tank and didn’t swim. I didn’t see him eat anything. He was in the copper for 3-4 days. This morning I took him out and introduced him to my DT because I didn’t think he was gonna make it. When I did this I placed the fish in an acclimation box. The fish just proped him self against the wall and didn’t move. After about 45 mins of being in there I released him into the tank. He is swimming but slowly and stays at the surface of the tank. I went to work for about 5 hours and just got home and he’s doing the same thing. I fed my fish but he didn’t seem to eat. I placed some nori on a clip where he keeps swimming but he hasn’t touched it yet. The fish looks super skinny now. Not sure what to do. Any suggestions or help would be great

 

[EmdeReef]

Any spots on the fish or injuries? Can you post pics?

What test kit did you use for copper?

 

[Phlynamjax]

It is common for a fish to stop eating for few days in copper. Did you treat him for flukes? I wouldn’t add a fish like that to your DT. That defeats the purpose of quarantine.

 

[Jvesche20]

Any spots on the fish or injuries? Can you post pics?

What test kit did you use for copper?

No spots. The fish looks like the fins are a little rough. I don’t have a copper test kit I just read what the instructions said on the bottle of copper.

The spots in the pic are just things floating in my tank.

It is common for a fish to stop eating for few days in copper. Did you treat him for flukes? I wouldn’t add a fish like that to your DT. That defeats the purpose of quarantine.

I didn’t treat for flukes. I’m scared if I do a FW drip right now it will stress him out and cause him to die. I had a blue tang that got sick before and I had it in QT with copper and it wouldn’t swim or do anything and I treated it for flukes and it ended up dying later. I took it out of QT because I didn’t want it to happen again. Especially if I have an expensive fish

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

At a minimum he has HLLE which can be aggravated by stress. If the fish doesn’t survive a FW dip he probably wouldn’t survive anyways. TBH the DT is the last place a fish that isn’t eating belongs. QT is a quiet place to observe fish and have a low competition for food. I would recommend you remove him, FW dip him, place in QT and try some Nori on a clip or frozen mysis. Treat the mysis with GC and Focus to bind it with a little garlic to hide the taste of the meds.

 

[Jvesche20]

At a minimum he has HLLE which can be aggravated by stress. If the fish doesn’t survive a FW dip he probably wouldn’t survive anyways. TBH the DT is the last place a fish that isn’t eating belongs. QT is a quiet place to observe fish and have a low competition for food. I would recommend you remove him, FW dip him, place in QT and try some Nori on a clip or frozen mysis. Treat the mysis with GC and Focus to bind it with a little garlic to hide the taste of the meds.

I think the reason why he’s like this is because of copper and I still have copper in my QT wouldn’t this just make it worse?

 

[Jvesche20]

Just read this https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hlle-head-lateral-line-erosion.259916/
Says causes of HLLE are carbon, which I have no carbon in the QT, stray voltage is another. I don’t believe there’s any of that in my tank. Only thing that I know that’s in the tank is copper and it says that could be a cause

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Just read this https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hlle-head-lateral-line-erosion.259916/
Says causes of HLLE are carbon, which I have no carbon in the QT, stray voltage is another. I don’t believe there’s any of that in my tank. Only thing that I know that’s in the tank is copper and it says that could be a cause

Copper can cause it but it will usually heal afterwards and the benefits of copper keeping pathogens out of your DT outweigh the risk of HLLE.

 

[Jvesche20]

Copper can cause it but it will usually heal afterwards and the benefits of copper keeping pathogens out of your DT outweigh the risk of HLLE.

Well what do I do if he’s not eating or moving in QT. When he was in QT he was in the bottom corner of the tank just laying against the glass. But when I moved him into DT he started to swim

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Well what do I do if he’s not eating or moving in QT. When he was in QT he was in the bottom corner of the tank just laying against the glass. But when I moved him into DT he started to swim

What size QT was he in? It is somewhat normal for fish to have appetite suppression during meds. The biggest issue you’ll have now is if he wasn’t eating/swimming because of a parasite/illness then you will end up having to QT all your fish in the DT with him. I’m also assuming BPT is Powder Blue Tang? How is he eating/swimming?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

After looking at the pics more I seem to think I see pinched stomach which is usually an indication of internal parasites. These are treated with metro or GC mixed with Focus and garlic. If he has stopped eating because of that it’s going to be tough to get him restarted. Have you seen any white stringy poop?

 

[Jvesche20]

After looking at the pics more I seem to think I see pinched stomach which is usually an indication of internal parasites. These are treated with metro or GC mixed with Focus and garlic. If he has stopped eating because of that it’s going to be tough to get him restarted. Have you seen any white stringy poop?

I haven’t seen any white string poop. What do you mean by a pinched stomach?

 

[Jvesche20]

After looking at the pics more I seem to think I see pinched stomach which is usually an indication of internal parasites. These are treated with metro or GC mixed with Focus and garlic. If he has stopped eating because of that it’s going to be tough to get him restarted. Have you seen any white stringy poop?

This treatment you said I’ve never heard of metro. Also what does GC mean?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Here is a pic of a Naso with pinched stomach that’s pretty severe but it should give you an idea

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

This treatment you said I’ve never heard of metro. Also what does GC mean?

GC is short for General Cure, seems to be more popular because it contains metro and Prazi combined so it’s a two pronged attack on internal parasites

 

[Jvesche20]

GC is short for General Cure, seems to be more popular because it contains metro and Prazi combined so it’s a two pronged attack on internal parasites

How do I get the fish to eat if he won’t eat?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

How do I get the fish to eat if he won’t eat?

That’s the tough part, how big is the QT tank? Was there any aggression between the Tangs? I would at a minimum treat the QT with metro (double dose) and cross your fingers. I would try everything to entice him to eat. Have you tried garlic on the food?

 

[Jvesche20]

That’s the tough part, how big is the QT tank? Was there any aggression between the Tangs? I would at a minimum treat the QT with metro (double dose) and cross your fingers. I would try everything to entice him to eat. Have you tried garlic on the food?

55 gallons. No aggression that I saw. I made my own food and have garlic inside the food. He did try and eat a little bit of the algae that’s on the powerhewd cord that’s in the picture recently. But he got spooked when I got closer to the tank and stopped eating.

 

[Jvesche20]

How do I remove copper from my QT?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

How do I remove copper from my QT?

Do a large WC and use cuprisorb