Help! First QT and new reefer....Coral Beauty laying on bottom...

gunflintcamper

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HELP

First quarantine fish....small captive bred coral beauty.

20g with HOB filter and wavemaker for air. Used main tank water. Added Dr Tim’s and 3 seeded bioballs from LFS instead of filter carbon. An hour before slowly acclimating fish including water swaps over 1:20 cuz bagged water was 1.027 and tank was 1.024.

Was fine yesterday...even ate a bit. Still happy early this morning.

Around 10 am this morning 8 found it in an upright 4” pvc tube laying down...thought maybe trapped ammonia or something in there.

It’s been free since then and was randomly swimming a bit. Very weak.

Ammonia .1? (red sea kit) seachem Badge is yellow (safe)
Nitrites .2
Nitrates 4

Display is barely cycled but clowns are all fine in there last 3 weeks.

Update at noon....talked to LFS and and a friend...did 30% water change. LFS said it was in the store a month so likely not a disease and if it’s stressed, not to move it or disturb it any more after doing the water. But how long?? It’s in the laundry room so I did the water change and left the lights off and door shut. ☹️

Retested water just now...ammonia looks lowered but since day 1 we’ve never been able to determine it’s a zero with any clarity...lighting and coloring problems...even compared to freshly mixed water.

Fish is just laying on the bottom....still gasping...no discoloration at gills or anything unusual.

CB72905B-E774-4B98-80EA-BDB55F1D2D76.jpeg E7CDDF60-E75E-4878-BD76-269DBD67F365.jpeg
 
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threebuoys

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check pH and salinity and temp. Could be stress, I had that problem with a coral beauty. Needs a place to hide.
 

Jay Hemdal

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I couldn’t tell for sure, are the clownfish in with it? If so, they are fine? The rapid breathing could be lack of aeration- remember you need something that breaks the surface tension with bubbles.
What is that material on the bottom of the tank? Uneaten food needs to be removed promptly.
Jay
 
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gunflintcamper

gunflintcamper

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I couldn’t tell for sure, are the clownfish in with it? If so, they are fine? The rapid breathing could be lack of aeration- remember you need something that breaks the surface tension with bubbles.
What is that material on the bottom of the tank? Uneaten food needs to be removed promptly.
Jay
We did suck that stuff out with another 50% water change tonight but I think it was residue from the matrix and Dr Tim’s that I put in the HOB filter.
No other fish in there.
Still laying on its side and still breathing. Ammonia is zero now for sure.
 

Dark_Knightt

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Is 20g just the QT tank? Or is it the actual display tank? Because 20g is too small for a CBA.
 

Jay Hemdal

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20g quarantine tank

110g display
The QT tank size is fine for a little guy like that. I really don’t have a good diagnosis for you. The store had it for a month and it was apparently doing well for them, so I keep coming back to something with the QT...ammonia is ruled out, what about the oxygen issue
Jay
 
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gunflintcamper

gunflintcamper

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The QT tank size is fine for a little guy like that. I really don’t have a good diagnosis for you. The store had it for a month and it was apparently doing well for them, so I keep coming back to something with the QT...ammonia is ruled out, what about the oxygen issue
Jay
Thanks for trying to help!!
I had the HOB filter with a long enough drop to make noise and bubble quite well....and a small wave maker pointed at the surface and another forum someone said too much flow?? Turned off the wave maker tonight. Hopefully the little guy snaps out of it. It’s sounding like just massive stress. Which I’m probably not helping going in there checking on him constantly. ☹️
 

Jay Hemdal

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As long as bubbles are being produced, I don't think it is lack of aeration. I just don't see another obvious cause for this, nor a good outcome. These little guys don't have much in the way of energy reserves, and lack of food for even a short while is tough on them.

Jay
 
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gunflintcamper

gunflintcamper

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As long as bubbles are being produced, I don't think it is lack of aeration. I just don't see another obvious cause for this, nor a good outcome. These little guys don't have much in the way of energy reserves, and lack of food for even a short while is tough on them.

Jay
Thank you for trying to help!
He is the same today....breathing but laying on the bottom.

Is there anything I should attempt to add to the water?
 

Jay Hemdal

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I’m stumped and cannot offer you any advice that wouldn’t be a pure guess, and I don’t like to do that, sorry!
Jay
 

Jay Hemdal

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In your last picture, the fish's mouth is open. Is it like that all of the time, or did the photograph just catch it in that position?

Jay
 
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gunflintcamper

gunflintcamper

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In your last picture, the fish's mouth is open. Is it like that all of the time, or did the photograph just catch it in that position?

Jay
Her mouth was open for quite a while, and she still laid down a few times...but this morning her mouth is mostly closed and she’s darting in and out of her ‘cave’. Still haven’t gotten her to eat mysis or pellets...hopefully she’s nipping the algae when we aren’t scaring her.
 

Sam816

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I keep a wyze cam near my QT. This way I can monitor the fish without stressing them. Also, I always keep an aerator/air pump. A fish lying down or hugging a walleans it is trying to hide in the dark area. You should add more pvc pieces and direct the wavemaker to flow water through it to avoid accumulation of food.
 

schuby

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When I have an especially skittish fish in my QT tank (sits on kitchen counter corner with two walls), I'll block the two, visible sides of the tank with cardboard, leaving a few inches of water visible at the top. This lets the fish get more "privacy" and it can choose to look out by going higher than the cardboard. After the fish regularly looks over the top, I'll take away the cardboard from once side and then the other, a day or two later. I also initially reduce lighting to try to lower the stress-level. I think using an airstone helps the fish recover faster from shipping (lack of fresh oxygen).

For hiding, I have a shipwreck in my QT tank. I think it offers more hiding places than just a piece or two of large pvc.
 
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