Need advice Fish acting very strange not looking good

[joeboots82520]

I dont know what has happened but my fish seem to be taking a turn for worse one by one. I have two female lyretail anthias that out of no where on friday were breathing extremely heavy and hiding. Both have patches that appear the scales are shedding and one had half of its tail missing. At the same time my solar wrasse and coral beauty have displayed long stringy poop. This morning I came home and see my lemon peel has half its tail missing and appears to have red irritation at its gill openings and is breathing heavy and swimming very differently. It seems as if I having a catastrophic event of multiple infections????? The tank has been running for over three years I added the anthias plus one male almost 5 months ago the lemon peel has been in the system two years and up until friday they were fine eating swimming active? If this is something bacterial is there anything I can do to treat them in the display tank without destroying the countless pieces of coral I have as taking the tank apart to try and find the anthias and sneaky lemon peel is not an option. Any advice input would be appreciated as I hate to watch these fish suffer.

 

[joeboots82520]

One other piece of information my clownfish appear to not be the least bit affected by any of this no abnormal behavior or change in breathing nor signs that the other fish have

 

[melypr1985]

You can feed antibiotics in their food while they are in the display but I think there is something more happening with them besides the bacterial infections. The heavy breathing and hiding is indicative of velvet, but I would think you'd have seen signs before now - of course brook is also possible. Can you pull one out for a freshwater dip? Can you please take a few clear pictures of the worst of them?

 

[NeptuneGarden]

Sounds like Fin Rot. Bacterial infection.

 

[joeboots82520]

Yes I will try to get a picture as soon as my lights go on as they are all still just waking up. The lemon peel is way to fast to grab and hes is very skiddish whenever im in the tank. The two smaller anthais are as well and one that Ive been able to keep an eye on is wedged in the rockwork with just his head poking out. Is it possible for diseases of that magnitude to lay dormant for so long?

 

[joeboots82520]

as far as antibiotic feeding would it be wise to just start some sort of treatment i know there are different type gram neg gram point of sale and wide spectrum is there something specific that i have to use in the display?

 

[melypr1985]

as far as antibiotic feeding would it be wise to just start some sort of treatment i know there are different type gram neg gram point of sale and wide spectrum is there something specific that i have to use in the display?

I would prefer if you could get them all out and into QT. For any treatment. It will be faster and work better in QT. KAnaplex, furan 2 and metroplex combined would be the widest spectrum of antibiotics I can recommend. I've used the combo many times with great results. However I do believe you have another issue underlying the infections. That's why I want you to try for a freshwater dip on one of the fish. It will rule out/confirm flukes, which is a good first step to identifying what this is. Plus a freshwater dip can provide relief for the infected fish and buy you time.

 

[joeboots82520]

This is going to be a disaster. I understand and know getting them out into QT is the best path but I have tried before to catch/trap this fish when I first got it as it was eating my soft corals and for over a week of trying traps and nets I could not get him out so since then I have stopped buying soft corals. I'm afraid spending alot of time trying to get him out at this point will be way too much stress as i will have to take apart my entire rockwork. I know I'm expecting too much thinking its possible to treat them where they are its just much easier said then done.

 

[joeboots82520]

I am going to have to try and grab one of the small anthais thats my only chance.....

 

[joeboots82520]

I will continue to try and get pictures as Ive been trying since posting originally and cant get close enough before the peel is back in the caves.....

 

[joeboots82520]

one other question as a last resort if I cannot get any of the fish out would treating with metro or kana with focus absorbed in a pellet be the safest way to treat them in the display?

 

[joeboots82520]

just found one of the anthias with extremely labored breathing and most of his tail is gone I feel so bad

 

[joeboots82520]

I took a picture of the lemonpeel the breathing is not labored at all just a slight red tint around the gill opening and no other fish are showing any other symptoms except the female anthias with the labored breathing I cant get the red to show very well.

 

[Humblefish]

Sounds like Fin Rot. Bacterial infection.

^^This; although I suspect a parasite or worm infestation is at the root of the problem.

To the OP: You can soak Kanaplex and/or Metroplex ("API General Cure" contains both) in the fish food, but you must also use a binder such as Seachem Focus to prevent the medication(s) from leaching out and harming your corals. Dr G's makes a Anti Bacterial Frozen Fish Food that already contains these two medications: http://www.drgsmarineaquaculture.com/frozen-antibacterial.cfm

But it sounds as though the infection afflicting your fish is pretty advanced, so I doubt anything short of dosing meds directly into a QT is going to save them at this point. When you soak antibiotics in food it takes a while for it to build up in a fish's system, so I only recommend it for mild or infections in the early stages.

 

[joeboots82520]

I have focus and kanaplex on hand and it looks as if the anthia is past saving but would it be worth a shot feeding the rest of my fish with the medicated food to possibly combat the issue since none are showing any other outward signs of the infection yet?

 

[Humblefish]

just a slight red tint around the gill opening

Is this red tint coming from inside the gills (normal) or outside (which could mean ammonia burn)?

 

[Salty1962]

Definitely looks like fin root. If it's advanced I sorry to say I've never gotten any fish infected to recover, ime. Have you had any ammonia or nitrite spikes?

 

[joeboots82520]

the color looks like its right on the edge of the gill plate i tested ammonia this morning 0ppm that was my first thought....

 

[joeboots82520]

another thing ive noticed is the fish have been "yawning" more than normal my male anthia lemonpeel and one clownfish (female) i dunno if this has any bearing on anything

 

[Eaj1001]

^^This; although I suspect a parasite or worm infestation is at the root of the problem.

To the OP: You can soak Kanaplex and/or Metroplex ("API General Cure" contains both) in the fish food, but you must also use a binder such as Seachem Focus to prevent the medication(s) from leaching out and harming your corals. Dr G's makes a Anti Bacterial Frozen Fish Food that already contains these two medications: http://www.drgsmarineaquaculture.com/frozen-antibacterial.cfm

But it sounds as though the infection afflicting your fish is pretty advanced, so I doubt anything short of dosing meds directly into a QT is going to save them at this point. When you soak antibiotics in food it takes a while for it to build up in a fish's system, so I only recommend it for mild or infections in the early stages.

That's if the sick fish will even eat, usually effects how willing they are to accept food.