Royal gramma dying

Cerberusfish

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This morning I noticed my royal gramma laying behind my rock work on the sand. Yesterday he seemed fine and are, today he wont eat, wont move, and I tried using the net to coax him out and he just wiggled a little bit. Hes not gasping, but doesn't respond to anything near him. All the other fish and corals are totally fine. Corals actually seem happier than ever lately. Had an issue with cloudy water yesterday that I never really got figured out so maybe that has to do with it?
Nitrates-10
Phosphates low
Temp 78
Ph-8.1
Alk-12
Cal-440
 

Big G

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Cloudy water can be a contributor to bacterial infections in fish. How to the fins look? How's the fish overall color?
 
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Cerberusfish

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Color is still bright, find look intact. At first I thought he was just being weird as he sometimes is until I got concerned and tried touching him with the net. Please excuse the algea in the picture I know it makes it a bit hard to see but I'm worried about stressing him to clean it for a picture

20200710_121408.jpg
 
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Cerberusfish

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No venomous fish, only stinging corals are a hammer and frog spawn, as well as 3 scans. The hammer and frog spawns are pretty docile though. I had a zoa frag fall on them and lay there for at least several hours and only had minor damage to a few polyps. Seemed mostly just unhappy it got knocked over onto somebody for a few hours
 
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Cerberusfish

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I should also mention the tang has been acting a little strange. He still swims and eats just fine, but hes been awkwardly bothering the other fish lately, almost like hes bored. The other day I watched him try and hang out with the clowns in their corner they like, watched him slowly follow behind a fire fish not harassing it just playing follow the leader, and watched him not go to sleep for several hours one night instead just cruising around the tank looking at stuff. Could that be a sign of anything that might help?
 

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When I have a fish that appear sick without any obvious symptoms as to the cause, giving the fish a 30 minute bath in methylene blue is my go to approach. If the fish responds a bit, I follow that up with 60 minute bath in Ruby Reef Rally either later in the day or the following day.

 
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Cerberusfish

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When I have a fish that appear sick without any obvious symptoms as to the cause, giving the fish a 30 minute bath in methylene blue is my go to approach. If the fish responds a bit, I follow that up with 60 minute bath in Ruby Reef Rally either later in the day or the following day.

Unfortunately I just checked for it and all the fish stores within 2 hours of me either dont carry it at all or are out of stock. Any other ideas that might help? I considered a freshwater dip but I think thatd just hurt him and stress him out, plus I've never done it for fish before so i don't want to start with an unhealthy one.
 

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Good luck with your little guy.
I followed @Big G 's suggestions for my clown and he made a full recovery.
If you happen to be in Miami I have some methylene blue for you.
 
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Cerberusfish

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A water change won't hurt and potentially dilute any issues with the water column.
Actually a quick question on that, I'm using a black trashcan from walmart as a water reservoir for premixed salt, and it's been in direct sunlight because I didnt think about it when I put it there. Its make of number 5 plastic. Would that be dangerous for the reef?
 

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Actually a quick question on that, I'm using a black trashcan from walmart as a water reservoir for premixed salt, and it's been in direct sunlight because I didnt think about it when I put it there. Its make of number 5 plastic. Would that be dangerous for the reef?
You should always use food grade plastic. The sun may have elevated the water temperature so that may be a concern and may result in leaching from the plastic. You should also keep a power head or pump on in the water until you have used it. Lastly, in general you should wait 24 hours before using a new salt mix and you should keep it circulating the whole time.
 

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Unfortunately I just checked for it and all the fish stores within 2 hours of me either dont carry it at all or are out of stock. Any other ideas that might help? I considered a freshwater dip but I think thatd just hurt him and stress him out, plus I've never done it for fish before so i don't want to start with an unhealthy one.
A freshwater dip can help if the fish may have flukes within the gills but you usually see the fish with rapid or labored breathing. The osmotic shock might be too much for the fish. That's where MB can work well. It helps the fish to transpire O2 directly to the organs.
Have you tried any places in your area that supply people who have ponds? Often they have a limited but effective supply of meds for Koi, goldfish, etc. and MB is one they often use.
 

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I should also note, breathing is slow but seems labored
So this is what I just wrote you about. The fish could have flukes within the gills. A FW dip might help, but there are risks but possible benefits too. If the fish doesn't make it through the dip, it probably would not make it in the long term anyway. Tough choice for you.
 
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Cerberusfish

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A freshwater dip can help if the fish may have flukes within the gills but you usually see the fish with rapid or labored breathing. The osmotic shock might be too much for the fish. That's where MB can work well. It helps the fish to transpire O2 directly to the organs.
Have you tried any places in your area that supply people who have ponds? Often they have a limited but effective supply of meds for Koi, goldfish, etc. and MB is one they often use.
Just checked and theres one 40 minutes away from me but they arent answering their phones so in not sure if they're open. Google says they are but I've seen several places that haven't updated their hours on google since COVID
 

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