Gem Tang Sick? Need Help

[CheifReeferNB]

So I’ve noticed in the past few days my Gem tang has been breathing rapidly and swimming somewhat “twitchy”. Aside from those two symptoms he’s been otherwise fine.

Still eating well, no lethargy, no flashing, no spots, no hiding.

He’s the only fish exhibiting those symptoms and the water quality is all normal.

What disease could this be or is this just something I should try to wait out maybe stress related?

He is relatively new to the tank at about 3 weeks.

I attached a video of him swimming/eating for reference.

Thanks for the help!

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I’ve noticed in the past few days my Gem tang has been breathing rapidly and swimming somewhat “twitchy”. Aside from those two symptoms he’s been otherwise fine.

Still eating well, no lethargy, no flashing, no spots, no hiding.

He’s the only fish exhibiting those symptoms and the water quality is all normal.

What disease could this be or is this just something I should try to wait out maybe stress related?

He is relatively new to the tank at about 3 weeks.

I attached a video of him swimming/eating for reference.

Thanks for the help!

This is one fish you want to quarantine which I see is not the case however it seems to be grazing well and may be intimidated versus having a disease issue. To see if intimidation is in play, next time you go to feed tank, set your cell phone on video mode for about 30 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a bully at feeding time.
Review the video and see if you notice aggressor.
Some foods to offer are : LRS Herbivore frenzy, plankton, mysis shrimp, veggie diet, chopped krill and TDO pellets

 

[CheifReeferNB]

So I’ve noticed in the past few days my Gem tang has been breathing rapidly and swimming somewhat “twitchy”. Aside from those two symptoms he’s been otherwise fine.

Still eating well, no lethargy, no flashing, no spots, no hiding.

He’s the only fish exhibiting those symptoms and the water quality is all normal.

What disease could this be or is this just something I should try to wait out maybe stress related?

He is relatively new to the tank at about 3 weeks.

I attached a video of him swimming/eating for reference.

Thanks for the help!

This is one fish you want to quarantine which I see is not the case however it seems to be grazing well and may be intimidated versus having a disease issue. To see if intimidation is in play, next time you go to feed tank, set your cell phone on video mode for about 30 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a bully at feeding time.
Review the video and see if you notice aggressor.
Some foods to offer are : LRS Herbivore frenzy, plankton, mysis shrimp, veggie diet, chopped krill and TDO pellets

Yes I should have quarantined…regretting not doing so. However he is actually a pretty voracious eater during feeding. Him and the yellow tang do get into little spats where they flare up, but nothing too major and it’s not during feeding.

His diet now is:
Daily- Julian Sprungs Green and Purple Nori (2 sheets), LRS Herbivore blend, Hikari Algae wafers, spirulina brine shrimp, hikari mega marine algae blend and live ulva from the refugium.

2-3 times a week I will soak the nori sheets or wafers in Selcon

I’ve been feeding particularly heavy to help alleviate any aggression.

 

[W31Olds]

Three weeks and no QT sounds about right for Flukes. Like Vette said, rule out some of the behavior issues first. Watch for any flashing and rubbing against rocks and sand.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes I should have quarantined…regretting not doing so. However he is actually a pretty voracious eater during feeding. Him and the yellow tang do get into little spats where they flare up, but nothing too major and it’s not during feeding.

His diet now is:
Daily- Julian Sprungs Green and Purple Nori (2 sheets), LRS Herbivore blend, Hikari Algae wafers, spirulina brine shrimp, hikari mega marine algae blend and live ulva from the refugium.

2-3 times a week I will soak the nori sheets or wafers in Selcon

I’ve been feeding particularly heavy to help alleviate any aggression.

Insufficient diet for this fish. Add some of the foods suggested

 

[CheifReeferNB]

Three weeks and no QT sounds about right for Flukes. Like Vette said, rule out some of the behavior issues first. Watch for any flashing and rubbing against rocks and sand.

This is what I’m suspecting. I will record their next feeding to catch if there’s some significant aggression I’m not seeing.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This is what I’m suspecting. I will record their next feeding to catch if there’s some significant aggression I’m not seeing.

I agree - the rapid breathing and twitchy behavior both indicate flukes. Flashing would confirm it.

You might consider a round of praziquantel:

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

 

[CheifReeferNB]

This is what I’m suspecting. I will record their next feeding to catch if there’s some significant aggression I’m not seeing.

I agree - the rapid breathing and twitchy behavior both indicate flukes. Flashing would confirm it.

You might consider a round of praziquantel:

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

I dosed prazipro to the display about 12 hrs ago. Carbon off and skimmer off with power heads close to water surface for increased agitation. When should I expect to see improvement if these are flukes and the prazipro works?

 

[W31Olds]

Prazi works fast, I would say by tomorrow. You should add an air stone also to be the safe side and UV should be off. The skimmer can act as an air stone but adjust it so you don't collect skimmate.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I dosed prazipro to the display about 12 hrs ago. Carbon off and skimmer off with power heads close to water surface for increased agitation. When should I expect to see improvement if these are flukes and the prazipro works?

Can you run the skimmer, just not collect the skimmate? Much better aeration that way.

You won’t see any immediate improvement, symptoms might actually get worse. The prazi causes the flukes to drop off, leaving holes in the fish’s skin. These need time to heal. In severe cases, fish can even bleed out when all the flukes drop off (I don’t think that’s a risk here though).

 

[CheifReeferNB]

I dosed prazipro to the display about 12 hrs ago. Carbon off and skimmer off with power heads close to water surface for increased agitation. When should I expect to see improvement if these are flukes and the prazipro works?

Can you run the skimmer, just not collect the skimmate? Much better aeration that way.

You won’t see any immediate improvement, symptoms might actually get worse. The prazi causes the flukes to drop off, leaving holes in the fish’s skin. These need time to heal. In severe cases, fish can even bleed out when all the flukes drop off (I don’t think that’s a risk here though).

Noted on the skimmer for more aeration. It’s been about 36 hours and it seems like symptoms have remained the same if not gotten worse. Water is pretty cloudy and pH took a 0.4 nosedive after the prazi was added. I’m hoping this ends up helping.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Noted on the skimmer for more aeration. It’s been about 36 hours and it seems like symptoms have remained the same if not gotten worse. Water is pretty cloudy and pH took a 0.4 nosedive after the prazi was added. I’m hoping this ends up helping.

Sorry, I was offline since yesterday.

A pH drop after adding prazi indicates a CO2 build-up. You aren’t carbon dosing are you? That will make it worse. The cloudiness is due to heterotrophic bacteria working on the glycol solvent used in Prazipro. You may need to do partial water changes, or at least increase the aeration.