Is this fish okay?

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,891
Reaction score
37,817
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I lost 2 lionfish already and I’m just a little worried about this guy so I figured I’d check with everyone and see what they think.

That lion is very ill. It has some major gill infection, either protozoans or flukes.

How long ago did the other two lions die?
Have you treated with anything yet?
Any more history?
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I lost 2 lionfish already and I’m just a little worried about this guy so I figured I’d check with everyone and see what they think.

That lion is very ill. It has some major gill infection, either protozoans or flukes.

How long ago did the other two lions die?
Have you treated with anything yet?
Any more history?
My first one died a couple months ago. And the second that died, never made it home. This guy has been in here about a month now. How do you know his gills are infected?
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,891
Reaction score
37,817
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My first one died a couple months ago. And the second that died, never made it home. This guy has been in here about a month now. How do you know his gills are infected?

The breathing is wrong and the gills are red and flared.

Is it still eating? If so, I’d say this is gill flukes.
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I lost 2 lionfish already and I’m just a little worried about this guy so I figured I’d check with everyone and see what they think.

That lion is very ill. It has some major gill infection, either protozoans or flukes.

How long ago did the other two lions die?
Have you treated with anything yet?
Any more history?
I have some coppersafe, and some api general cure. I treated him for a couple weeks when I first got him, he was eating fine and swimming around good, I gave him a freshwater dip as a finale before releasing him into my display tank.
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My first one died a couple months ago. And the second that died, never made it home. This guy has been in here about a month now. How do you know his gills are infected?

The breathing is wrong and the gills are red and flared.

Is it still eating? If so, I’d say this is gill flukes.
He eats every 2 or 3 days. Missed a meal a couple weeks ago and ate twice the normal amount the next feeding.
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My first one died a couple months ago. And the second that died, never made it home. This guy has been in here about a month now. How do you know his gills are infected?

The breathing is wrong and the gills are red and flared.

Is it still eating? If so, I’d say this is gill flukes.
Can I use api general cure to treat the whole tank? My stock is a couple different kinds of common snails like Mexican turbos, 1 mandarin, 2 clownfish, 1 blue damsel, 1 chocolate chip starfish, 1 sand sifting starfish, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 diamond goby, and 1 dwarf zebra lionfish.
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
108,343
Reaction score
243,357
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
17   0   0
I lost 2 lionfish already and I’m just a little worried about this guy so I figured I’d check with everyone and see what they think.
Lion is labor breathing and what is your nitrate level?
Hard to see skin and body with amount of floating debris.
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
108,343
Reaction score
243,357
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
17   0   0
Can I use api general cure to treat the whole tank? My stock is a couple different kinds of common snails like Mexican turbos, 1 mandarin, 2 clownfish, 1 blue damsel, 1 chocolate chip starfish, 1 sand sifting starfish, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 diamond goby, and 1 dwarf zebra lionfish.
Im surprised it has not swallowed clowns or tried to. I would not enter general cure in a tank with inverts but rather treat in a separate tank and what are you treating, or trying to treat?
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Can I use api general cure to treat the whole tank? My stock is a couple different kinds of common snails like Mexican turbos, 1 mandarin, 2 clownfish, 1 blue damsel, 1 chocolate chip starfish, 1 sand sifting starfish, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 diamond goby, and 1 dwarf zebra lionfish.
Im surprised it has not swallowed clowns or tried to. I would not enter general cure in a tank with inverts but rather treat in a separate tank and what are you treating, or trying to treat?
Flukes or protazoans according to the other day
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Can I use api general cure to treat the whole tank? My stock is a couple different kinds of common snails like Mexican turbos, 1 mandarin, 2 clownfish, 1 blue damsel, 1 chocolate chip starfish, 1 sand sifting starfish, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 diamond goby, and 1 dwarf zebra lionfish.
Im surprised it has not swallowed clowns or tried to. I would not enter general cure in a tank with inverts but rather treat in a separate tank and what are you treating, or trying to treat?
This lionfish is super chill, and I added him to the tank last. Any time I move rock around I pull him out and wait a couple hours to let the other fish remake their homes before I put him back in.
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,891
Reaction score
37,817
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Can I use api general cure to treat the whole tank? My stock is a couple different kinds of common snails like Mexican turbos, 1 mandarin, 2 clownfish, 1 blue damsel, 1 chocolate chip starfish, 1 sand sifting starfish, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 diamond goby, and 1 dwarf zebra lionfish.

No, General Cure is not safe for invertebrates because it also contains metronidazole. Plain praziquantel is ok, so is Prazipro.
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
108,343
Reaction score
243,357
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
17   0   0
This lionfish is super chill, and I added him to the tank last. Any time I move rock around I pull him out and wait a couple hours to let the other fish remake their homes before I put him back in.
Treat in a separate tank. You can use hyposalinity (1.009) or Coppersafe at 2.20ppm
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This lionfish is super chill, and I added him to the tank last. Any time I move rock around I pull him out and wait a couple hours to let the other fish remake their homes before I put him back in.
Treat in a separate tank. You can use hyposalinity (1.009) or Coppersafe at 2.20ppm
I don’t have a way to measure coppersafe like that
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Can I use api general cure to treat the whole tank? My stock is a couple different kinds of common snails like Mexican turbos, 1 mandarin, 2 clownfish, 1 blue damsel, 1 chocolate chip starfish, 1 sand sifting starfish, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 diamond goby, and 1 dwarf zebra lionfish.

No, General Cure is not safe for invertebrates because it also contains metronidazole. Plain praziquantel is ok, so is Prazipro.
What should I use to treat my display tank?
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
37,891
Reaction score
37,817
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
How do I get my quarantine tank to have a ph of 8.1 if there’s no sand or rock?

For a fish-only hospital tank, any pH above about 7.5 is fine. If the pH drops much below that, you can use pH raising products to carefully adjust it (you do not want to raise the pH too fast). Baking soda can be used. However, the amount to use is not "set in stone", you need to dissolve a small amount of it in some tank water, then add it to the tank in small amounts, testing the pH an hour or so after each addition.
 
OP
OP
stephenxbog

stephenxbog

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 25, 2026
Messages
77
Reaction score
23
Location
Mountain View, Arkansas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
How do I get my quarantine tank to have a ph of 8.1 if there’s no sand or rock?

For a fish-only hospital tank, any pH above about 7.5 is fine. If the pH drops much below that, you can use pH raising products to carefully adjust it (you do not want to raise the pH too fast). Baking soda can be used. However, the amount to use is not "set in stone", you need to dissolve a small amount of it in some tank water, then add it to the tank in small amounts, testing the pH an hour or so after each addition.
I used api general cure in a 10 gallon tank for the lionfish, is that okay?
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

Back
Top