My Midas Blenny is looking poorly :( - please help.

[Bongobasher]

My Midas Blenny has been with me for over 3 years and was a mature fish when i introduced him to his new home. He has always had a good appetite and has been a very good boy towards his other tank mates. I noticed about 4 weeks ago that he was beginning to look a little thin and malnourished. His belly was extended leading me to suspect that he had some form of internal parasite but he also had additional red markings on his side. I treated him for internal parasites during the first two weeks and then later for Hemorrhagic Septicemia the next two just in case. He is still eating well but i have noticed that he is sharing his hiding hole with rather large bristle worms ☹. Today i see, what looks like, 3 or 4 fine bristles sticking out of his side and now he cannot seem to settle back in his hiding hole anymore. Could he just be getting old (he is swimming more slowly around the tank) or could the bristle worms be the problem. My impression is that his condition is getting worse and i don't know what to do next. I do have a quarantine tank up and running just in case things get worse but at present I really don't want to cause him extra stress by trying to catch him. Any advice to help my little fish would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GoReefin]

Try covering up the hiding hole forcing him to find a new place to sleep away from the worms?

 

[Bongobasher]

Try covering up the hiding hole forcing him to find a new place to sleep away from the worms?

Thank you - i will try this tonight. I hope he is ok

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The bristleworm issue notwithstanding, the fish's history and symptoms all point strongly to a Mycobacterium (fish tuberculosis) infection. Are the other fish in the tank symptom free? If so, that pretty much confirms it in my opinion. There is no treatment for this though, sorry!

Jay

 

[Bongobasher]

The bristleworm issue notwithstanding, the fish's history and symptoms all point strongly to a Mycobacterium (fish tuberculosis) infection. Are the other fish in the tank symptom free? If so, that pretty much confirms it in my opinion. There is no treatment for this though, sorry!

Jay

Dear Jay,

Thank you for your kind response. The other fish appear to be in good health and are behaving as they ordinarily would. This makes me very sad knowing that i cannot make things better. I will monitor his progress over the next few days and continue to target feed him. I wish i could help him further

 

[Bongobasher]

I am sorry to say that my little fish passed away this morning. It is very upsetting and i wish i could have done more to have helped him. Thank you to those that responded to my post.