Neon Dottyback Struggling

NicksTanks223 · Apr 22, 2020

I just got my tank started about 3 months ago now and everything is going good. Last night when I was feeding my neon dottyback and my 2 clownfish, I accidentally dropped in 2 pellets that were stuck together. The dottyback got it and ate it. Now I wake up in the morning and he is laying on the substrate breathing hard and hasn’t moved very much all day. I think maybe the pellets are stuck in his throat. I’m not sure because I feed the pellets about 18 hours ago and I would think they would have gotten to a point were he could at least spit them out or swallow them. My tank parameters are at Nitrates 0-5ppm, ammonia 0-0.25ppm, ph 7.8-8.0, nitrites 0ppm and my salinity is at 1.025. I believe it is probably the pellets because my clownfish are still doing good.

Big G · Apr 22, 2020

How long have you had the all of the fish?

NicksTanks223 · Apr 22, 2020

Big G said:
How long have you had the all of the fish?

I’ve had the clownfish for about 2 months and the dottyback only about 3-4 weeks

Big G · Apr 22, 2020

Your dottyback may have parasites. Has it been treated for flukes, ich, velvet?

NicksTanks223 · Apr 22, 2020

Big G said:
Your dottyback may have parasites. Has it been treated for flukes, ich, velvet?

It hasn’t been treated for anything. He was doing great just yesterday. A few days ago I found a little creature or parasite swimming around. I was gonna post about that and see it was harmless. It got away before I could get it out or take a picture. What do you suggest I could do to find out what it has or if it has anything? (The dottyback)

Big G · Apr 22, 2020

For a fish that is breathing hard we suspect parasites on the gills. The first to check for is flukes. A freshwater dip will either confirm or eliminate flukes as a possibility. As always any treatment comes with risk. Here's a thread on how to do a freshwater dip and to look for the white sesame seed sized flukes after they fall off:

Freshwater Dip

Freshwater Dip What It Treats – Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases: 1) Marine Velvet Disease (Amyloodinium ocellatum) 2) Brooklynella hostilis 3) Uronema marinum 4) Flukes (Monogeneans) 5) Black Ich (Turbellarians) Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes (see video...

www.reef2reef.com

NicksTanks223 · Apr 22, 2020

Big G said:
Your dottyback may have parasites. Has it been treated for flukes, ich, velvet?

It hasn’t been treated for anything. A few days ago I found a little creature or parasite swimming around but I wasn’t able to get it out or take a picture in time. The dottyback has been swimming around a little bit now. He’s not like normal he’s only swimming close to the top and then just swimming in place. When he was swimming I noticed in him he has little white things. Not like ick, it’s almost like dead skin hanging off. Or like he’s been injured and it hasn’t healed yet.

Update: I put him in the freshwater after aerating the bucket and checking the temperature and the first thing he did was just fall over. He didn’t swim or anything.He just sat there. I came back a minute later and he was still there except he was starting to flip upside down. From my angle I couldn’t tell if he was alive or not so netted him and put the net in the saltwater and there he goes. He starts swimming again

Big G · Apr 23, 2020

NicksTanks223 said:
it’s almost like dead skin hanging off.

That is a common description of Brooklynella. Here's a thread with pictures and treatment advisory:

Brooklynella

Brooklynella hostilis What You Need To Know: * This is most often seen in clownfish, but it can afflict any fish. The fish’s skin will appear to be peeling or sloughing off, oftentimes causing excessive white mucous to form around the affected area(s). * Treatment of choice is a 45 minute...

www.reef2reef.com

NicksTanks223 · Apr 23, 2020

NicksTanks223 said:
It hasn’t been treated for anything. A few days ago I found a little creature or parasite swimming around but I wasn’t able to get it out or take a picture in time. The dottyback has been swimming around a little bit now. He’s not like normal he’s only swimming close to the top and then just swimming in place. When he was swimming I noticed in him he has little white things. Not like ick, it’s almost like dead skin hanging off. Or like he’s been injured and it hasn’t healed yet.

Big G said:
That is a common description of Brooklynella. Here's a thread with pictures and treatment advisory:

Brooklynella

Brooklynella hostilis What You Need To Know: * This is most often seen in clownfish, but it can afflict any fish. The fish’s skin will appear to be peeling or sloughing off, oftentimes causing excessive white mucous to form around the affected area(s). * Treatment of choice is a 45 minute...

www.reef2reef.com

That looks like what it could have been. Unfortunately he did pass last night. It could have been the brooklynella and the freshwater bath. It probably stressed him out just enough. Good to know about the early signs and to have learned more. Thanks for your help.

Big G · Apr 23, 2020

Sorry for your loss

NicksTanks223 · Apr 24, 2020

Big G said:
Sorry for your loss

Thank you. Now it’s different because the dottyback died a day ago and now my clownfish dies last night. Is it possible the parasites spread to the clownfish? My water parameters are still the same.

DeniseAndy · Apr 24, 2020

Welcome.
Sorry for your losses. Yes, diseases can spread really fast between fish. Parasites especially. Read up on QT procedures so you can handle future livestock. We have all been there.

Big G · Apr 24, 2020

NicksTanks223 said:
Thank you. Now it’s different because the dottyback died a day ago and now my clownfish dies last night. Is it possible the parasites spread to the clownfish? My water parameters are still the same.

If it was Brooklynella, then yes. It can infect any fish. Brook is very common with clownfish. The tank will need to go "fallow"(fishless) for 76 days to make sure to starve out any parasites. Going fallow works for all parasites except uronema. Make sure to stir the sand a bit while fallow. Some parasites can go dormant in the anaerobic areas of the tank, usually in pockets of either deep or tightly packed sand.

NicksTanks223 · Apr 24, 2020

Big G said:
If it was Brooklynella, then yes. It can infect any fish. Brook is very common with clownfish. The tank will need to go "fallow"(fishless) for 76 days to make sure to starve out any parasites. Going fallow works for all parasites except uronema. Make sure to stir the sand a bit while fallow. Some parasites can go dormant in the anaerobic areas of the tank, usually in pockets of either deep or tightly packed sand.

I see it on my last clownfish. I’ll look into ways to get rid of it. Do I have to treat my fish in a quarantine set up and then still starve the parasites? Or could I jsut treat the fish and the tank and just kill them all at the same time. That may be a stupid question. I haven’t looked into if you can even treat it yet. Thanks for your help. At least I now how to handle this and know what it is for in the future.

DeniseAndy · Apr 24, 2020

Always treat outside the main display. there are great theads in the disease and treatment section.

Big G · Apr 24, 2020

NicksTanks223 said:
I see it on my last clownfish. I’ll look into ways to get rid of it. Do I have to treat my fish in a quarantine set up and then still starve the parasites? Or could I jsut treat the fish and the tank and just kill them all at the same time. That may be a stupid question. I haven’t looked into if you can even treat it yet. Thanks for your help. At least I now how to handle this and know what it is for in the future.

Best to treat in a QT and then leave the display tank fallow for 76 days.