Fish not looking so hot.

cginter

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My fish always greet me when I look at the tank, until this week. I've been super busy at work (14hr) daysz. But I recently lost my purple tang who was a beast! His stomach was enlarged on one side and he lost his appetite as well, breathing seemed normal. No white spots or anything like that. I took a good look over it when I removed him. Now most of my fish are acting weird. Hiding more than normal, some times swimming fast around the tank.

This isn't a nutrient or Param problem, something is getting at my fish and I'm leaning towards flukes or some kind of bacterial infection. I've had most of these fish for years and I would hate to loose them. NO white spots. Breathing is ok, not scratching on sand or rocks, just being really abnormal...

If it is flukes how would I go about treating a whole tank (180g)? If it's not flukes, what else could it be. Any advice would be awesome and appreciated.

Thanks.
 

Humblefish

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When was the last livestock added to the tank? Fish, coral, invert... even rock/sand (if it was live)?

Trying to establish a timeline to narrow down the list of possibilities. Also, do you QT?
 
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cginter

cginter

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When was the last livestock added to the tank? Fish, coral, invert... even rock/sand (if it was live)?

Trying to establish a timeline to narrow down the list of possibilities. Also, do you QT?

The newest addition was a copperband and a blue spot jaw fish nov 19th. They were qt at my buddies shop for a week and half before I picked them up. and I just received 5 frags from wwc last Friday. They were dipped in Bayer before adding to tank. Fish showed no signs that I noticed until 4-5 days ago... Same time I added coral I guess you could say.

Also the jaw fish made a home and I have yet to see it since. Assuming it's dead, cleaned up by the clean up crew?
 

Humblefish

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The hiding/swimming fast around the tank makes the velvet alarm go off in my head. But you should also be seeing heavy breathing. Any chance you could catch one of the fish to do a check for flukes (see below)?

Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes, Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.

How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.

Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.

For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.

Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.

Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.
 
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cginter

cginter

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The hiding/swimming fast around the tank makes the velvet alarm go off in my head. But you should also be seeing heavy breathing. Any chance you could catch one of the fish to do a check for flukes (see below)?

Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes, Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.

How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.

Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.

For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.

Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.

Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.


I'll have to scoop up a black bucket and try the FW dip. Could I also do the dip with a dead fish to see if flukes are the cause.

Back to the purp tang. With in a day I'd say he stopped eating and had a bulge on one side of his belly. A noticeable bulge. Any idea what may have caused that?

Thanks for your quick and helpful response Humble. Greatly appreciate it.
 

Humblefish

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Could I also do the dip with a dead fish to see if flukes are the cause.

Yes, but for a postmortem fish you can just use tap water instead of RODI.

Back to the purp tang. With in a day I'd say he stopped eating and had a bulge on one side of his belly. A noticeable bulge. Any idea what may have caused that?

Many possibilities: Internal infection, tumor growth, constipation, swim bladder disorder, etc.
 
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cginter

cginter

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Well humble I'm stumped. I was finally able to catch a fish and give it a fw dip. Nothing I noticed was visable. The copper band died as well. All the other fish left are fine now and swimming as normal as can be. No noticeable visual signs.

It couldn't have been MV, cuz all my fish would have passed. But anyway thanks for the advice.
 

Humblefish

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Sorry to hear about the CBB. If I were in your shoes, I would just sit, wait & watch. And hope whatever it was has passed.
 

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