Purple tang twitching

JohnIsNewToReefKeeping · Aug 21, 2019

Recently I noticed my purple tang started to twitch a lot. other fish seem fine so water parameters should not be the problem. I did add in two clowns this weekend however they were in qt for 2 weeks and were fine and before I put them in the tank I dipped them and freshwater dipped them. at this moment I don't know what could be causing this. its not rubbing against the rocks so it's not flukes and there is no ich in my system so I'm kind of dumbfounded on what could be causing this.

Peach02 · Aug 21, 2019

honestly I'm not sure. Is it eating?

Alexreefer · Aug 21, 2019

+1 on is it eating. Sorry if I'm laughing but it looks like its bored. "oh hey dad, just playing with my fake friend billy" Idk lol look at the bright side for now. Let's get some help as well though just in case. #reefsquad

Dom · Aug 21, 2019

How long has it been acting this way? When did you last test your water and what were your numbers?

I wouldn't call that twitching. That is some strange behavior though.

Can you provide a closeup still shot for a detailed look at him?

JohnIsNewToReefKeeping · Aug 22, 2019

He started to act like this fairly recently after i added two clownfish into the tank. the clowns were in qt for two weeks with copper and were dipped then with freshwater. hes eating but idk don't know whether or not to worry about this.

Crabs McJones · Aug 22, 2019

JohnIsNewToReefKeeping said:
He started to act like this fairly recently after i added two clownfish into the tank. the clowns were in qt for two weeks with copper and were dipped then with freshwater. hes eating but idk don't know whether or not to worry about this.

Only two weeks of copper? What copper treatment and at what level? Generally two weeks isnt long enough it had to be a full 30 days.

Reeferdood · Aug 22, 2019

I have seen similar behavior from stray voltage in the display, have you checked for it?

Dom · Aug 22, 2019

JohnIsNewToReefKeeping said:
He started to act like this fairly recently after i added two clownfish into the tank. the clowns were in qt for two weeks with copper and were dipped then with freshwater. hes eating but idk don't know whether or not to worry about this.

I'm not sure what to suggest. He's intermittently bolting around the tank, almost like he's paranoid. I don't feel like it is disease. #reefsquad.

Clowns can be extremely territorial. I'm wondering if he's behaving this way because they're giving him a difficult time. How big is the tank?

James w Lewis · Aug 23, 2019

You want my uneducated opinion? He is bored. You dont have much live rock and there isnt anywhere to hide or anything for him to do. He is bored and becoming irritated.

bluprntguy · Aug 23, 2019

Crabs McJones said:
Only two weeks of copper? What copper treatment and at what level? Generally two weeks isnt long enough it had to be a full 30 days.

Two weeks in copper is long enough to disrupt the lifecycle of ich and velvet as long as you move the fish directly to a sterile tank. You've basically treated for long enough that all the parasites have dropped off the fish and not had a chance to re-infect them (due to the copper treatment). There may still be encysted parasites in the treated tank, but if you take the fish out, then you've eliminated this issue.

Humblefish says: "Keep the fish in CP or copper (at therapeutic levels) for one month. However, you can transfer the fish into a non-medicated holding tank for observation after just two weeks..."

It's probably best to transfer into a sterile QT for some additional observation, but generally I'd consider the fish clear after two weeks of treatment.

NemHost · Aug 23, 2019

I always thought that twitching is a sign of internal parasites, most likely flukes. But I could be completely wrong.

Reeferdood · Aug 23, 2019

Well, what is the verdict??

Dom · Aug 23, 2019

NemHost said:
I always thought that twitching is a sign of internal parasites, most likely flukes. But I could be completely wrong.

I wouldn't call it twitching.

AZMSGT · Aug 23, 2019

I say check it for Flukes. Do a freshwater dip. If it swims normally post dip then treat for flukes. If it’s still acting the same after putting him back in the tank post freshwater dip then it’s something else.

JohnIsNewToReefKeeping · Aug 24, 2019

bluprntguy said:
Two weeks in copper is long enough to disrupt the lifecycle of ich and velvet as long as you move the fish directly to a sterile tank. You've basically treated for long enough that all the parasites have dropped off the fish and not had a chance to re-infect them (due to the copper treatment). There may still be encysted parasites in the treated tank, but if you take the fish out, then you've eliminated this issue.

Humblefish says: "Keep the fish in CP or copper (at therapeutic levels) for one month. However, you can transfer the fish into a non-medicated holding tank for observation after just two weeks..."

It's probably best to transfer into a sterile QT for some additional observation, but generally, I'd consider the fish clear after two weeks of treatment.

yes, the tank was sterile that's why i only id two weeks. today the tang looked a lot worse so i immediately acclimated him to the qt along with 3 other fish that were in the tank. dossed it with coppers and i guess ill see what happens. today i saw some discoloration behind his tail on the body with clear dots. don't know what that was so that's what caused me to pull the trigger on putting the guy into a qt.
I couldn't even fathom the thought of this guy passing considering this is my first saltwater fish and (by accident) and he has a great personality but i guess ill do whatever i possibly can to solve this problem. Also, do you know if mixing copper with vitamin c is okay? because i hear vitamin c is really good for the fish.

JohnIsNewToReefKeeping · Aug 24, 2019

Dom said:
I'm not sure what to suggest. He's intermittently bolting around the tank, almost like he's paranoid. I don't feel like it is disease. #reefsquad.

Clowns can be extremely territorial. I'm wondering if he's behaving this way because they're giving him a difficult time. How big is the tank?

75 gallon

Dom · Aug 24, 2019

JohnIsNewToReefKeeping said:
yes, the tank was sterile that's why i only id two weeks. today the tang looked a lot worse so i immediately acclimated him to the qt along with 3 other fish that were in the tank. dossed it with coppers and i guess ill see what happens. today i saw some discoloration behind his tail on the body with clear dots. don't know what that was so that's what caused me to pull the trigger on putting the guy into a qt.
I couldn't even fathom the thought of this guy passing considering this is my first saltwater fish and (by accident) and he has a great personality but i guess ill do whatever i possibly can to solve this problem. Also, do you know if mixing copper with vitamin c is okay? because i hear vitamin c is really good for the fish.

I'm sorry to read this development. Other than behavior, he looked like a perfectly healthy fish. Perhaps the behavior is a very early stage of disease. I don't know.

When I think of twitching, I think of a fish swimming about normally and then momentarily acting as it it god a chill. What I observed was more of a darting behavior to me.

Following along to see how this turns out. Fingers crossed. Good luck.

bluprntguy · Aug 24, 2019

Clear dots sounds to me like flukes. I’d try a 5 minute freshwater dip and check the container for flukes (they look like white seeds when they fall off the fish). Treatment for that would be prazipro or hyposalinity.

JohnIsNewToReefKeeping · Aug 24, 2019

bluprntguy said:
Clear dots sounds to me like flukes. I’d try a 5 minute freshwater dip and check the container for flukes (they look like white seeds when they fall off the fish). Treatment for that would be prazipro or hyposalinity.

do you think copper would kill flukes?