Foxface issue diagnosis?

[Jyeef]

Hello all! I’ve looked through a few of these and also google searched, the only thing I can come up with is I need to put my foxface in a hospital tank (bringing it up now, 10g with bubbler and heater, making saltwater through a rodi system and matching salinity)

Looks like he may have some sort of disease or maybe flukes? He was swimming around Thursday when we brought him home, put him in an acclimation box for the night and let him out the next day before the lights came up. Was pretty shy but definitely moving, next couple days really shy hanging out behind the rock work. At the recommendation of the LFS I didn’t feed nori for a couple days seeing if he’d take that. I do auto feed pellets twice a day and feed frozen mix from LFS and frozen mysis at night. Looked like he was eating a little during the evening feed but not really picking at the rocks or glass during the day. He’s got a couple bright white spots behind his eyes (one each side) so I think that’s maybe camouflage? There’s nothing I would think would nip at him in the tank. You can see my build posted and let me know though.

As soon as the hospital tank heats up to proper temp I’m going to attempt to catch him and put him in. Any other ideas to help me figure this out?

I do have selcon and copper on hand but haven’t mixed anything with that yet. Pics/video attached!

 

[Jyeef]

Water parameters:
Temp 77.5
Salinity 1.026
Phosphate .18
Nitrate 4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite .1
PH 8.15
Calcium 400
Magnesium 1260
Alkalinity 10.15

 

[vetteguy53081]

Water parameters:
Temp 77.5
Salinity 1.026
Phosphate .18
Nitrate 4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite .1
PH 8.15
Calcium 400
Magnesium 1260
Alkalinity 10.15

I suspect API kit as you dont need to be concerned with Nitrites. Phos is getting up there but neither have to do with the fish. The fish has a gash and one that looks like a tail strike from a tang. What fish do you have in the tank with it?
This gash should heal on its own but Do keep an eye on it for infection/soreness. If it becomes infected, treatment will be Seachem Kanaplex in a separate tank

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hello all! I’ve looked through a few of these and also google searched, the only thing I can come up with is I need to put my foxface in a hospital tank (bringing it up now, 10g with bubbler and heater, making saltwater through a rodi system and matching salinity)

Looks like he may have some sort of disease or maybe flukes? He was swimming around Thursday when we brought him home, put him in an acclimation box for the night and let him out the next day before the lights came up. Was pretty shy but definitely moving, next couple days really shy hanging out behind the rock work. At the recommendation of the LFS I didn’t feed nori for a couple days seeing if he’d take that. I do auto feed pellets twice a day and feed frozen mix from LFS and frozen mysis at night. Looked like he was eating a little during the evening feed but not really picking at the rocks or glass during the day. He’s got a couple bright white spots behind his eyes (one each side) so I think that’s maybe camouflage? There’s nothing I would think would nip at him in the tank. You can see my build posted and let me know though.

As soon as the hospital tank heats up to proper temp I’m going to attempt to catch him and put him in. Any other ideas to help me figure this out?

I do have selcon and copper on hand but haven’t mixed anything with that yet. Pics/video attached!

What exactly are you concerned about?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hello all! I’ve looked through a few of these and also google searched, the only thing I can come up with is I need to put my foxface in a hospital tank (bringing it up now, 10g with bubbler and heater, making saltwater through a rodi system and matching salinity)

Looks like he may have some sort of disease or maybe flukes? He was swimming around Thursday when we brought him home, put him in an acclimation box for the night and let him out the next day before the lights came up. Was pretty shy but definitely moving, next couple days really shy hanging out behind the rock work. At the recommendation of the LFS I didn’t feed nori for a couple days seeing if he’d take that. I do auto feed pellets twice a day and feed frozen mix from LFS and frozen mysis at night. Looked like he was eating a little during the evening feed but not really picking at the rocks or glass during the day. He’s got a couple bright white spots behind his eyes (one each side) so I think that’s maybe camouflage? There’s nothing I would think would nip at him in the tank. You can see my build posted and let me know though.

As soon as the hospital tank heats up to proper temp I’m going to attempt to catch him and put him in. Any other ideas to help me figure this out?

I do have selcon and copper on hand but haven’t mixed anything with that yet. Pics/video attached!

Mine has the same white spots, they're just part of their coloration. Foxfaces are notoriously skittish ( I've had mine for over 3 years and it STILL freaks out at random times, hides, and goes camo. Also won't eat during this time. But other times let's me hand feed him.) If you can set up a camera or your phone and take a video of it while no one's in the room, you might get a better idea of it's "normal" behavior. Just because I can't see any obvious issues doesn't mean they aren't there, and if you feel that moving it to another tank is necessary, then do so. But if there's nothing obvious, just camo and freaked out behavior, moving him might make things worse...

Again, I apologize if I'm not seeing what you're concerned about in the pic and videos. Let me know if there's something else going on.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I suspect API kit as you dont need to be concerned with Nitrites. Phos is getting up there but neither have to do with the fish. The fish has a gash and one that looks like a tail strike from a tang. What fish do you have in the tank with it?
This gash should heal on its own but Do keep an eye on it for infection/soreness. If it becomes infected, treatment will be Seachem Kanaplex in a separate tank

Where exactly is this "gash"?

 

[Jyeef]

I suspect API kit as you dont need to be concerned with Nitrites. Phos is getting up there but neither have to do with the fish. The fish has a gash and one that looks like a tail strike from a tang. What fish do you have in the tank with it?
This gash should heal on its own but Do keep an eye on it for infection/soreness. If it becomes infected, treatment will be Seachem Kanaplex in a separate tank

I was pretty stressed last night trying to get the other tank setup and sorted. It heated up and we moved him into it, he died a few hours after. The other tank mates are Royal Gramma, 2 clowns, a Firefish, smaller shrimp/goby pair, and a cleaner shrimp. Also lots of various snails and crabs, including an emerald crab. Test kit is all salifert and Hanna for Phosphate. Phosphate has been at .30 for the last month and is coming down in the last week or so to the .18 just tested. The other parameters have been pretty stable where they are.

As for the behavior that made me suspect, he had been swimming and skittish for the past couple days that has been fine, but he was bobbing around yesterday and got stuck on a wavemaker a couple times. I put the wavemaker in feed mode and he would drift off it, hover in one spot on the bottom, and after a couple hours get back up there. When I did go to catch him there was no trouble at all. He was breathing super heavy and not eating at all. The tank can be seen from multiple rooms, we had been watching him quite a bit from a distance. Reading through this and looking through a bit more I will get some Kanaplex on hand for the future. Thanks all for the responses!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I was pretty stressed last night trying to get the other tank setup and sorted. It heated up and we moved him into it, he died a few hours after. The other tank mates are Royal Gramma, 2 clowns, a Firefish, smaller shrimp/goby pair, and a cleaner shrimp. Also lots of various snails and crabs, including an emerald crab. Test kit is all salifert and Hanna for Phosphate. Phosphate has been at .30 for the last month and is coming down in the last week or so to the .18 just tested. The other parameters have been pretty stable where they are.

As for the behavior that made me suspect, he had been swimming and skittish for the past couple days that has been fine, but he was bobbing around yesterday and got stuck on a wavemaker a couple times. I put the wavemaker in feed mode and he would drift off it, hover in one spot on the bottom, and after a couple hours get back up there. When I did go to catch him there was no trouble at all. He was breathing super heavy and not eating at all. The tank can be seen from multiple rooms, we had been watching him quite a bit from a distance. Reading through this and looking through a bit more I will get some Kanaplex on hand for the future. Thanks all for the responses!

Sorry, just seeing this now. The foxface was breathing really deeply and too fast. That can be due to water quality issues (you seem to have ruled that out) or gill disease. There are three main gill diseases of fish; flukes, protozoans and bacteria. Those are in roughly descending order of how often we see them. Rapid breathing can also be caused by viral disease, as well as some internal untreatable problems.

You need to observe your other fish (especially the royal gramma) for similar symptoms and if you see them, I would treat the tank with prazipro for presumed flukes.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I was pretty stressed last night trying to get the other tank setup and sorted. It heated up and we moved him into it, he died a few hours after. The other tank mates are Royal Gramma, 2 clowns, a Firefish, smaller shrimp/goby pair, and a cleaner shrimp. Also lots of various snails and crabs, including an emerald crab. Test kit is all salifert and Hanna for Phosphate. Phosphate has been at .30 for the last month and is coming down in the last week or so to the .18 just tested. The other parameters have been pretty stable where they are.

As for the behavior that made me suspect, he had been swimming and skittish for the past couple days that has been fine, but he was bobbing around yesterday and got stuck on a wavemaker a couple times. I put the wavemaker in feed mode and he would drift off it, hover in one spot on the bottom, and after a couple hours get back up there. When I did go to catch him there was no trouble at all. He was breathing super heavy and not eating at all. The tank can be seen from multiple rooms, we had been watching him quite a bit from a distance. Reading through this and looking through a bit more I will get some Kanaplex on hand for the future. Thanks all for the responses!

Water is still a concern and are you using Tap water at all? Appears fish was very weak

 

[Jyeef]

Water is still a concern and are you using Tap water at all? Appears fish was very weak

I have a 6 stage RODI system that tests 0TDI on the output. The fish did get really weak very quickly. I'm working on that phosphate issue now and we are going to hold off on any more fish until I can get that more reasonable.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a 6 stage RODI system that tests 0TDI on the output. The fish did get really weak very quickly. I'm working on that phosphate issue now and we are going to hold off on any more fish until I can get that more reasonable.

Good call- you got this

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

he died a few hours after.

Phosphate has been at .30 for the last month and is coming down in the last week or so to the .18 just tested. The other parameters have been pretty stable where they are.

but he was bobbing around yesterday and got stuck on a wavemaker a couple times. I put the wavemaker in feed mode and he would drift off it, hover in one spot on the bottom, and after a couple hours get back up there. When I did go to catch him there was no trouble at all. He was breathing super heavy and not eating at all. The tank can be seen from multiple rooms, we had been watching him quite a bit from a distance. Reading through this and looking through a bit more I will get some Kanaplex on hand for the future. Thanks all for the responses!

I'm sorry to hear that.
Your phosphate level is fine for fish. IME it's fine for corals too but some disagree.

 

[Jyeef]

Sorry, just seeing this now. The foxface was breathing really deeply and too fast. That can be due to water quality issues (you seem to have ruled that out) or gill disease. There are three main gill diseases of fish; flukes, protozoans and bacteria. Those are in roughly descending order of how often we see them. Rapid breathing can also be caused by viral disease, as well as some internal untreatable problems.

You need to observe your other fish (especially the royal gramma) for similar symptoms and if you see them, I would treat the tank with prazipro for presumed flukes.

Jay

A followup - I don't think that the royal gramma (or any other tank members) have been affected at all. I finally got some Prazipro. Should I treat the tank anyway? No corals yet, just a handful of fish/inverts and some chaeto in the sump.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

A followup - I don't think that the royal gramma (or any other tank members) have been affected at all. I finally got some Prazipro. Should I treat the tank anyway? No corals yet, just a handful of fish/inverts and some chaeto in the sump.

Don't treat with Prazipro unless you see symptoms. There is of course the cost issue, but any treatment has some risk to it. Also, when you dose prazi, a species of bacteria grows that eats prazi. Each time you dose it, the bacteria colony gets larger and the prazi gets eaten faster. Dosing prazipro when you don't need to makes that issue worse.

Jay

 

[nemotang2019]

After three rounds of prazipro in a qt, what’s the protocol to sterilize rocks and the tank? To make the qt ready for the next fish and avoid the bacteria vs prazipro issue.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

After three rounds of prazipro in a qt, what’s the protocol to sterilize rocks and the tank? To make the qt ready for the next fish and avoid the bacteria vs prazipro issue.

You pretty much need to strip the tank down and start over. I use a 500 ppm bleach solution for 24 hours, but finding bleach now days that doesn't contain surfactants and perfumes is difficult. You could soak in tap water and then air dry it.....

Jay