Is my Purple Firefish sick?

[Snowywood]

I do have two questions and feel a bit dumb, sorry in advance!

Firstly, I have a Purple Firefish that has been flicking his body on the sand. It’s just started today, does it now and again. I can’t see anything on his body, I will see if I can up load a video of him in action, not sure if it’s worked? t’s from a distance, he isn’t very cooperative when he sees the phone. He does also harassing the other fish, this has been on and off since I’ve got him, doesn’t nip fins, just darts at them and back again. Just a bit worried it could be an illness occurring?

Second question, I am treating the tank with melafix after my clown’s trip up the pipe on Saturday, want to make sure he doesn’t get an infection, but should the protein skimmer be switched off when dosing the tank?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I do have two questions and feel a bit dumb, sorry in advance!

Firstly, I have a Purple Firefish that has been flicking his body on the sand. It’s just started today, does it now and again. I can’t see anything on his body, I will see if I can up load a video of him in action, not sure if it’s worked? t’s from a distance, he isn’t very cooperative when he sees the phone. He does also harassing the other fish, this has been on and off since I’ve got him, doesn’t nip fins, just darts at them and back again. Just a bit worried it could be an illness occurring?

Second question, I am treating the tank with melafix after my clown’s trip up the pipe on Saturday, want to make sure he doesn’t get an infection, but should the protein skimmer be switched off when dosing the tank?

Thank you in advance!

Hi, welcome to Reef2Reef!

Yes, you should discontinue skimming when using melafix, but the best way to do that is instead of just turning it off, run it without collecting any skimmate - that way the aeration benefit is retained. That said, I’m not a fan of melafix, it is more of a tonic than a true antibiotic.
For the fire fish, the scratching could be behavioral or it could be from flukes. Do you have any praziquantel based medications in England?
Jay

 

[Snowywood]

Hi, welcome to Reef2Reef!

Yes, you should discontinue skimming when using melafix, but the best way to do that is instead of just turning it off, run it without collecting any skimmate - that way the aeration benefit is retained. That said, I’m not a fan of melafix, it is more of a tonic than a true antibiotic.
For the fire fish, the scratching could be behavioral or it could be from flukes. Do you have any praziquantel based medications in England?
Jay

Hello!
Thank you for the info, I’ll have to look at the skimmer then, it’s temperamental.
I’ve looked for anything that is praziquantel based, not having any luck. I can see fluke meds, but it’s knowing what is worth buying and going to help, as I don’t want to lose an fish :,(
Annie

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello!
Thank you for the info, I’ll have to look at the skimmer then, it’s temperamental.
I’ve looked for anything that is praziquantel based, not having any luck. I can see fluke meds, but it’s knowing what is worth buying and going to help, as I don’t want to lose an fish :,(
Annie

If you find a fluke med and it lists the ingredients, let me know and I'll see if I have that listed in my formulary.

Jay

 

[Snowywood]

If you find a fluke med and it lists the ingredients, let me know and I'll see if I have that listed in my formulary.

Jay

Sorry, I’ve had a look at meds over here for flukes and really only one shows up called NT labs marine anti fluke and wormer, but I can’t find the ingredients, looked at serval sites, nothing, feel in a pickle, as I can’t find much and the one I have found, can’t be used with snails and crabs in the tank. Feel like crying :,( thought I was doing everything right.
Thank you for your help again, hate being a pain, just confused over this one.
Annie

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sorry, I’ve had a look at meds over here for flukes and really only one shows up called NT labs marine anti fluke and wormer, but I can’t find the ingredients, looked at serval sites, nothing, feel in a pickle, as I can’t find much and the one I have found, can’t be used with snails and crabs in the tank. Feel like crying :,( thought I was doing everything right.
Thank you for your help again, hate being a pain, just confused over this one.
Annie

That contains flubendazole, I’ve not used it, but it is a valid fluke medication.
Jay

 

[Snowywood]

That contains flubendazole, I’ve not used it, but it is a valid fluke medication.
Jay

Thank you! Looks like it’s the only thing over here, had another look, but I get the feeling U.K. is limited. I know they have a lot of ingredients you could say, that isn’t allowed over here, wondering if praziquantel is one of them. But I’ll grab some of this stuff and fingers crossed it works, I’ll be upset if I lose my firefish. Not sure how easy it is to fix.
Annie