Hippo tang sick and I’ve tried everything...

lba4590 · Dec 3, 2020

I’m at wits end with this hippo tang. He’s been in quarantine for about 7 weeks now. 30 days of copper power at 2.5ppm (checked daily, no cross contamination), 14 days of Kanaplex/Metroplex/Furan-2 and now using carbon and water changes to remove all meds. I also treated with 2 rounds of general cure at the beginning and have done 2 freshwater dips on him.

He had the same symptoms at the beginning of copper treatment and I thought it looked like velvet. It continued to get worse over a few weeks and then cleared up around week 3-4. Then it came back with a vengeance. Occasionally I’ll notice he’s only breathing heavily out of one gill which is pretty concerning. He’s also been extremely reclusive for the past few weeks. However, he’s eaten well every day (frozen, flakes, and nori).

He’s getting worse, but this has been going on for so long there is no way it’s velvet, or ich, or flukes, and I assumed viral but I figured that would be better by now too. I feel like I’ve thrown every medication I have at him and I don’t know what else to try, at least that I’m able to get. Any ideas?

fishguy242 · Dec 3, 2020

hi,lets call a dr. @Jay Hemdal

HB AL · Dec 3, 2020

Let me start by saying that I dont quarantine. Assuming you ran all medications at there therapeutic levels for all that time and the fish is disease free its possible that the water in your quarantine tank are less than ideal and not prestine so that is probably causing the issues with the hippo. If it were me I would immediately get the fish into your dt asap. Assuming the conditions in your dt are prestine the hippo will most likely look perfect with no issues in less than a couple weeks.

lba4590 · Dec 3, 2020

HB AL said:
Let me start by saying that I dont quarantine. Assuming you ran all medications at there therapeutic levels for all that time and the fish is disease free its possible that the water in your quarantine tank are less than ideal and not prestine so that is probably causing the issues with the hippo. If it were me I would immediately get the fish into your dt asap. Assuming the conditions in your dt are prestine the hippo will most likely look perfect with no issues in less than a couple weeks.

You know I’ve thought about just throwing him in there multiple times. But I’m just struggling because he looks sooo bad. The pictures don’t do him justice. It looks like a fine powder coating all over him with little white tufts that move in the current, and that darker spot is looking more like a wound. I would never be able to catch him once he’s in my DT.

Here’s another picture I took just a few days ago showing the tufts during a FW dip. Don’t really show out of the water.

lba4590 · Dec 3, 2020

Just decided to throw some Neoplex and Stressguard in the tank now that other meds have been removed.. Just rummaging through my medicine cabinet.. the only things I have left to try now are ruby rally reef and Hydroplex

Jay Hemdal · Dec 3, 2020

lba4590 said:
Just decided to throw some Neoplex and Stressguard in the tank now that other meds have been removed.. Just rummaging through my medicine cabinet.. the only things I have left to try now are ruby rally reef and Hydroplex

Your second pictures show me that this is an issue I've seen here lately on R2R, but I've not seen it in "real life". I do not know the cause of it, but these seem to be mucus plugs/cones generated by the fish due to some stressor. Could be viral, could be environmental. One person's fish had this recently and it died. In other cases, it seems to go away on its own. "Idiopathic mucus generation" is what I'll call it (grin).

The fish's breathing is probably unrelated, unless there is excess mucus production in the gills as well. The one-sided breathing is pretty common in emperor angelfish, and I've seen it in hepatus tangs as well, again, I don't know the cause, but in this cause, it is not a serious issue.

So - what to do? IDK - I see you just started neoplex, you might as well run that through a course. Moving the fish to your DT may well sort this out if it is an environmental problem. I would give the fish a precautionary FW dip when moving - just to be safe.

Jay

HB AL · Dec 3, 2020

Its very possible that putting it in your dt with a more natural environment and better or prestine water will cure the issue on its own especially since the fish is eating.

lba4590 · Dec 3, 2020

Jay Hemdal said:
Your second pictures show me that this is an issue I've seen here lately on R2R, but I've not seen it in "real life". I do not know the cause of it, but these seem to be mucus plugs/cones generated by the fish due to some stressor. Could be viral, could be environmental. One person's fish had this recently and it died. In other cases, it seems to go away on its own. "Idiopathic mucus generation" is what I'll call it (grin).

The fish's breathing is probably unrelated, unless there is excess mucus production in the gills as well. The one-sided breathing is pretty common in emperor angelfish, and I've seen it in hepatus tangs as well, again, I don't know the cause, but in this cause, it is not a serious issue.

So - what to do? IDK - I see you just started neoplex, you might as well run that through a course. Moving the fish to your DT may well sort this out if it is an environmental problem. I would give the fish a precautionary FW dip when moving - just to be safe.

Jay

Very interesting, thank you!! I feel extremely confident he at least is free of ich/velvet and hopefully anything contagious. I had a copperband with him for a month that did develop a bacterial infection but is all healed and in my DT now, never showed anything like this one.

I’ll keep him in the neoplex for a few days and if he doesn’t improve I’ll just put him in and hope he recovers. I was wondering if it was a weird reaction to the copper but surprised it would last so long.

lba4590 · Dec 3, 2020

HB AL said:
Its very possible that putting it in your dt with a more natural environment and better or prestine water will cure the issue on its own especially since the fish is eating.

I sure hope you’re right. I’ll try putting him in a few days and keep my fingers crossed

HB AL · Dec 3, 2020

If you end up putting it in your dt make sure you feed it as much as possible with quality foods preferably frozen.

lba4590 · Dec 3, 2020

HB AL said:
If you end up putting it in your dt make sure you feed it as much as possible with quality foods preferably frozen.

Will do! I always feed my DT twice or even 3 times a day frozen, mysis, LRS or Rods with Selcon. Trying to raise my nitrates lol and I have some fish that need a lot anyway.