Mandarin not looking well

[Toronto78]

Any advice?

Mandarin not doing well. Keeping to one spot for past 24-36hrs, seems to struggle to breath. Has a single white spot on it’s back but it seems to be on the skin (not sure if it is a sand particle sticking to it or a sore)

been in tank for 5 days. First few days was doing fine, exploring the tank and eating. Have a ton of pods in the tank (seeded tank two months ago

65 gal tank,
Temp: 77.5
Sal: 1.024
Nitrates: 0
Phosphates: 0.7 (have always been this high)
Alk: 9.6
Ph: 8
Ammonia: 0

have a skimmer and good water agitation so oxygen should be ok.

Aquarium mates; watchman goby, clownfish, various hermit crabs, shrimp (goby pair), snails

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sorry - I couldn't get any of your videos to play. One thing that works is to post to YouTube and then put a link up here.

Rapid breathing and lack of appetite in a new Mandarin, with the other fish and invertebrates in the tank being fine points to a probably protozoan infection. Trouble is, they are difficult to treat, even in a quarantine tank...they don't handle copper well and simply don't get enough to eat in a bare QT. It's a long shot - but you could try dosing Ruby Reef Rally Pro right in the DT. It doesn't always work, but seems to have helped some fish with velvet for other people.

Jay

 

[Toronto78]

Sorry - I couldn't get any of your videos to play. One thing that works is to post to YouTube and then put a link up here.

Rapid breathing and lack of appetite in a new Mandarin, with the other fish and invertebrates in the tank being fine points to a probably protozoan infection. Trouble is, they are difficult to treat, even in a quarantine tank...they don't handle copper well and simply don't get enough to eat in a bare QT. It's a long shot - but you could try dosing Ruby Reef Rally Pro right in the DT. It doesn't always work, but seems to have helped some fish with velvet for other people.

Jay

Thanks Jay,

he did not make it. Could not see anything else wrong except for the white patch at the base of the dorsal fin. Seems like what you describe. Hope rest of tank would be ok, first fish I have not quarantined. Have a UV running and will do a water change. So far the rest all looks ok.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Just watch for rapid breathing in any other fish, or loss of appetite. Some gill diseases are highly contagious, and some are not....

Jay

 

[Toronto78]

Just watch for rapid breathing in any other fish, or loss of appetite. Some gill diseases are highly contagious, and some are not....

Jay

My clownfish got sick too. Heavy breathing, dorsal fin flat, colour off. Based on forums gave it a fresh water bath for 5 mins, saw white things come off it, i think it was flukes based on some youtube vids.

good news: breathing back to normal, no more funny colour patches and fin seems normal

bad news: think i messed up the freshwater bath because he spent all night at the water surface, and this morning he is diving into the tank but swimming upside down/vertical. Only read after that clownfish should be in fresh water for shorter period

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My clownfish got sick too. Heavy breathing, dorsal fin flat, colour off. Based on forums gave it a fresh water bath for 5 mins, saw white things come off it, i think it was flukes based on some youtube vids.

good news: breathing back to normal, no more funny colour patches and fin seems normal

bad news: think i messed up the freshwater bath because he spent all night at the water surface, and this morning he is diving into the tank but swimming upside down/vertical. Only read after that clownfish should be in fresh water for shorter period

No, clownfish are fine with FW dips if done for 5 minutes. What happens is giving a FW to a fish that is severely ill may push them over the edge. The truth of the matter is, if that happens, the fish was close to death anyway. One other issue with FW dips - if the fish had a heavy fluke infestation and the dip knocked them all off, that leaves hundreds of holes n the fish’s skin and it can bleed out...but again, you can’t leave the flukes on the fish, so it is just a risk you need to take.
Jay