Gill flukes? Maybe something else?

edm3d

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 23, 2026
Messages
26
Reaction score
4
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I want to start off this post by saying the following:

I have had 2 clownfish in my tank since Mid April, a Firefish goby since mid May, and a lawmmower blenny since about 2-3 weeks ago. Once I added the blenny, about a week later one of my clownfish started breathing rapidly, but the blenny was fine. I decided to do a last resort and dipped the clown in freshwater for 5mins, which I now believe that it helped due to gill flukes since I saw little specks in the water. The clownfish has since been healthy and eating fine. However, now my blenny has been breathing rapidly since yesterday, so I finally opted to treat the whole tank with PraziPro. Once I treated the tank, within 6 hours the blenny was again grazin and looking normal. However, this morning it was being lethargic, rapidly breathing, not grazing, and had a big white spot on one side of its bod (picture attached). I dipped it in freshwater for 4mins, and now I think its going to die.

That being said, my question is this. What could be causing the discoloration on the blenny, and for it to be changing in the way that it is acting so rapidly?
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,840
Reaction score
37,736
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I want to start off this post by saying the following:

I have had 2 clownfish in my tank since Mid April, a Firefish goby since mid May, and a lawmmower blenny since about 2-3 weeks ago. Once I added the blenny, about a week later one of my clownfish started breathing rapidly, but the blenny was fine. I decided to do a last resort and dipped the clown in freshwater for 5mins, which I now believe that it helped due to gill flukes since I saw little specks in the water. The clownfish has since been healthy and eating fine. However, now my blenny has been breathing rapidly since yesterday, so I finally opted to treat the whole tank with PraziPro. Once I treated the tank, within 6 hours the blenny was again grazin and looking normal. However, this morning it was being lethargic, rapidly breathing, not grazing, and had a big white spot on one side of its bod (picture attached). I dipped it in freshwater for 4mins, and now I think its going to die.

That being said, my question is this. What could be causing the discoloration on the blenny, and for it to be changing in the way that it is acting so rapidly?

Did you have sufficient aeration, not just circulation? Prazipro scavenges oxygen.

This also could be a secondary bacterial infection after the fluke damage.
 
OP
OP
edm3d

edm3d

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 23, 2026
Messages
26
Reaction score
4
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I want to start off this post by saying the following:

I have had 2 clownfish in my tank since Mid April, a Firefish goby since mid May, and a lawmmower blenny since about 2-3 weeks ago. Once I added the blenny, about a week later one of my clownfish started breathing rapidly, but the blenny was fine. I decided to do a last resort and dipped the clown in freshwater for 5mins, which I now believe that it helped due to gill flukes since I saw little specks in the water. The clownfish has since been healthy and eating fine. However, now my blenny has been breathing rapidly since yesterday, so I finally opted to treat the whole tank with PraziPro. Once I treated the tank, within 6 hours the blenny was again grazin and looking normal. However, this morning it was being lethargic, rapidly breathing, not grazing, and had a big white spot on one side of its bod (picture attached). I dipped it in freshwater for 4mins, and now I think its going to die.

That being said, my question is this. What could be causing the discoloration on the blenny, and for it to be changing in the way that it is acting so rapidly?

Did you have sufficient aeration, not just circulation? Prazipro scavenges oxygen.

This also could be a secondary bacterial infection after the fluke damage.
I have 2 Nero 3s pointed towards the water surface with what I think is good aeration. Here is a video of how the water looks.

My firefish goby and 2 clowns look perfectly normal since I have dosed the tank with Prazi.
 
OP
OP
edm3d

edm3d

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 23, 2026
Messages
26
Reaction score
4
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
He passed away 😔, but here are some pics of both sides of the fish.
96b93c46-93a9-4994-aa63-6136e670521c.jpg


a00ad436-7f5f-4621-86a8-123dd3e73d20.jpg
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,840
Reaction score
37,736
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
He passed away 😔, but here are some pics of both sides of the fish.
96b93c46-93a9-4994-aa63-6136e670521c.jpg


a00ad436-7f5f-4621-86a8-123dd3e73d20.jpg

The right side does look like an injury with possible secondary bacterial infection. The rapid breathing could have indicated a systemic infection, as did the quickness in which it died.
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
108,309
Reaction score
243,231
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
17   0   0
He passed away 😔, but here are some pics of both sides of the fish.
96b93c46-93a9-4994-aa63-6136e670521c.jpg


a00ad436-7f5f-4621-86a8-123dd3e73d20.jpg
I see bacterial and mouth open suggest possible low oxygen, a question Jay asked regarding circulation. Please post a picture or two of your tank using bright white light intensity, no blue lighting
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE, WOULD YOU HAVE AN LPS OR SPS DOMINANT REEF TANK?

  • LPS!

    Votes: 28 48.3%
  • SPS!

    Votes: 28 48.3%
  • Other (Please explain in the comments!)

    Votes: 2 3.4%

New Posts

Back
Top