Foxface in QT - can't tell if it's doing OK

[Muffin87]

This foxface has been in QT alone for about a week now. Coppersafe is at 2.20 ppm.

He does move to eat whenever I feed it, but otherwise he's often lying at the bottom of the tank not moving around much. It occasionally picks at the bottom of the tank, I'm assuming it's trying to eat some alge.

Its breathing seems a bit laboured, I'm attaching some vidoes.

The ammonia alert badge seems to read "safe".

Thanks a lot for all the help.
Not sure if he's being lethargic, or hes just not an active fish.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Muffin87 Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

• Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
  • How long have you had the fish with the condition?
  • Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
• Current water quality measurements
• Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

• CURRENT QT PROTOCOL LINK
• HOW TO ASK FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS HELP LINK

 

[JayM]

He looks ok to me. Mine was fairly inactive in QT as well. He became much more active after I started leaving nori in the tank for him to graze on. I'm assuming because they like to feed all day vs. only being fed a couple of times.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This foxface has been in QT alone for about a week now. Coppersafe is at 2.20 ppm.

He does move to eat whenever I feed it, but otherwise he's often lying at the bottom of the tank not moving around much. It occasionally picks at the bottom of the tank, I'm assuming it's trying to eat some alge.

Its breathing seems a bit laboured, I'm attaching some vidoes.

The ammonia alert badge seems to read "safe".

Thanks a lot for all the help.
Not sure if he's being lethargic, or hes just not an active fish.

Do you have another test for ammonia? The alert badges sometimes fail to "alert" like they should.

Does the tank have good aeration (not just circulation)? If so, then it may have gill flukes. I see it picking at food, so that's a good sign.

Jay

 

[Muffin87]

Do you have another test for ammonia?

I have the Hanna Ammonia checker, but isn't it unreliable with copper in the water?

I have a power head pointed at the surface. My air pump just broke, new one is arriving on Friday.

Can I take care of flukes with prazipro?

 

[JayM]

I have the Hanna Ammonia checker, but isn't it unreliable with copper in the water?

I have a power head pointed at the surface. My air pump just broke, new one is arriving on Friday.

Can I take care of flukes with prazipro?

I don't know about the Hanna, but yes, prazipro should take care of flukes.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have the Hanna Ammonia checker, but isn't it unreliable with copper in the water?

I have a power head pointed at the surface. My air pump just broke, new one is arriving on Friday.

Can I take care of flukes with prazipro?

Try a Hanna test. With copper power or Coppersafe, deduct 0.50 ppm from the reading (the amount of false ammonia given by those products) to get a true ammonia reading.

Flukes can be controlled with Prazipro, but it may be difficult to break the life cycle of egg laying fluke species. Two doses, 8 days apart, is the minimum dose for that.

Jay

 

[Muffin87]

Try a Hanna test. With copper power or Coppersafe, deduct 0.50 ppm from the reading (the amount of false ammonia given by those products) to get a true ammonia reading.

Flukes can be controlled with Prazipro, but it may be difficult to break the life cycle of egg laying fluke species. Two doses, 8 days apart, is the minimum dose for that.

Jay

Tested for ammonia twice in a row with the Hanna checker, it's 0.29 / 0.30.
If copper is making the reading higher, I guess ammonia isn't the issue? Especially since the Hanna tester never reads below 0.15 anyways.

The foxface showed stringy feces, and they looked light brown/white to me. Attaching video, maybe someone can tell me for sure. Are these intestinal worms?

Thanks for all help again!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Tested for ammonia twice in a row with the Hanna checker, it's 0.29 / 0.30.
If copper is making the reading higher, I guess ammonia isn't the issue? Especially since the Hanna tester never reads below 0.15 anyways.

The foxface showed stringy feces, and they looked light brown/white to me. Attaching video, maybe someone can tell me for sure. Are these intestinal worms?

Thanks for all help again!

Actually worms don't cause stringy feces - they tend to stay inside the fish and some release eggs that pass in the feces. Protozoans, bacteria, coccidia, viruses and dietary issues are the more common causes of stringy feces. Metronidazole helps with protozoan issues, and there are just no effective treatments for the other causes, so that's why I suggested trying metro....not much else to try really.

 

[Muffin87]

Actually worms don't cause stringy feces - they tend to stay inside the fish and some release eggs that pass in the feces. Protozoans, bacteria, coccidia, viruses and dietary issues are the more common causes of stringy feces. Metronidazole helps with protozoan issues, and there are just no effective treatments for the other causes, so that's why I suggested trying metro....not much else to try really.

Given the rapid breathing and the stringy white feces, do you think I should treat for both gill flukes (praziquantel) and internal parasites (metronidazole+focus-laced food)?

Potential ich/velvet sounds more dangerous to me than gill flukes or internal parasites.
If it keeps eating well, can I wait one of 3 weeks until the end of the copper treatment?

Should I start feeding it metro-laced food during the copper treatment?

Thanks again!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Given the rapid breathing and the stringy white feces, do you think I should treat for both gill flukes (praziquantel) and internal parasites (metronidazole+focus-laced food)?

Potential ich/velvet sounds more dangerous to me than gill flukes or internal parasites.
If it keeps eating well, can I wait one of 3 weeks until the end of the copper treatment?

Should I start feeding it metro-laced food during the copper treatment?

Thanks again!

Yes, the rapid breathing could be from flukes (but it could also be from a systemic infection that is causing the mucus feces). I think prazi would be a good idea.
Dosing medicated food properly takes some effort. You’ll need a gram scale. Metro is dosed in food as 1% by weight. Here is an article I wrote on the topic:

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods Jay Hemdal c. 2020 Oral medications are an excellent way to target internal diseases of fishes. Marine fish absorb aquarium water, so in certain cases, they “drink” enough medication from the water to effect a cure. However, freshwater fish actively export...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay