Royal Gramma looking a bit off and flashing

[therealraf02]

I can't tell if the flashing is purely territorial or due to a condition. The videos will help a bit, I think.

Symptoms:
Flashing
Frayed/damaged fins (were not there when I purchased the guy)
Scales looking a bit off, dusty in a way?
A couple days after I got him, I saw a couple white spots on the body/tail at night (blue light). By morning (daylight), they were gone, and then back again at night. Then i have not seen them in that pattern as often, but the scales do look a bit off to me. Kind of dusty?
I also have noticed the royal gramma likes to spend a decent amount of time in the top left back corner of the tank from time to time (there is very little surface agitation here and the pumps are on the other side).

 

[noworlater]

Crazy I'm lowkey having this problem with some fo my fish! I also need to know!! I thought it might be ick but I'm not sure.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I can't tell if the flashing is purely territorial or due to a condition. The videos will help a bit, I think.

Symptoms:
Flashing
Frayed/damaged fins (were not there when I purchased the guy)
Scales looking a bit off, dusty in a way?
A couple days after I got him, I saw a couple white spots on the body/tail at night (blue light). By morning (daylight), they were gone, and then back again at night. Then i have not seen them in that pattern as often, but the scales do look a bit off to me. Kind of dusty?
I also have noticed the royal gramma likes to spend a decent amount of time in the top left back corner of the tank from time to time (there is very little surface agitation here and the pumps are on the other side).

I don’t see any frequency of flashing however does look like ich in which all fish in display tank should be treated in separate tank at 2.15 ppm for a full 30 days using copper safe and display tank left without any fish for 45-60 days to allow parasites to die off without a host fish

 

[noworlater]

I can't tell if the flashing is purely territorial or due to a condition. The videos will help a bit, I think.

Symptoms:
Flashing
Frayed/damaged fins (were not there when I purchased the guy)
Scales looking a bit off, dusty in a way?
A couple days after I got him, I saw a couple white spots on the body/tail at night (blue light). By morning (daylight), they were gone, and then back again at night. Then i have not seen them in that pattern as often, but the scales do look a bit off to me. Kind of dusty?
I also have noticed the royal gramma likes to spend a decent amount of time in the top left back corner of the tank from time to time (there is very little surface agitation here and the pumps are on the other side).

I don’t see any frequency of flashing however does look like ich in which all fish in display tank should be treated in separate tank at 2.15 ppm for a full 30 days using copper safe and display tank left without any fish for 45-60 days to allow parasites to die off without a host fish

Is there anyway to treat my whole display tank because i feel like its gonna be hard catching all 11 of my nano fish, i have like 30 corals in my tank as well

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is there anyway to treat my whole display tank because i feel like its gonna be hard catching all 11 of my nano fish, i have like 30 corals in my tank as well

With coral and inverts, actually not unfortunately and most meds that claim to be reef safe are also safe for parasites

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I can't tell if the flashing is purely territorial or due to a condition. The videos will help a bit, I think.

Symptoms:
Flashing
Frayed/damaged fins (were not there when I purchased the guy)
Scales looking a bit off, dusty in a way?
A couple days after I got him, I saw a couple white spots on the body/tail at night (blue light). By morning (daylight), they were gone, and then back again at night. Then i have not seen them in that pattern as often, but the scales do look a bit off to me. Kind of dusty?
I also have noticed the royal gramma likes to spend a decent amount of time in the top left back corner of the tank from time to time (there is very little surface agitation here and the pumps are on the other side).

How long have you had the gramma?
Who are its tankmates?
Are ALL other fish clear of spots or fin damage?

Hanging in the corner of the tank can be a sign of hidden aggression from another fish.

I don't see definitive ich spots, but the fins are frayed and cloudy. This can be from flukes, or tankmate aggression.

 

[therealraf02]

I can't tell if the flashing is purely territorial or due to a condition. The videos will help a bit, I think.

Symptoms:
Flashing
Frayed/damaged fins (were not there when I purchased the guy)
Scales looking a bit off, dusty in a way?
A couple days after I got him, I saw a couple white spots on the body/tail at night (blue light). By morning (daylight), they were gone, and then back again at night. Then i have not seen them in that pattern as often, but the scales do look a bit off to me. Kind of dusty?
I also have noticed the royal gramma likes to spend a decent amount of time in the top left back corner of the tank from time to time (there is very little surface agitation here and the pumps are on the other side).

How long have you had the gramma?
Who are its tankmates?
Are ALL other fish clear of spots or fin damage?

Hanging in the corner of the tank can be a sign of hidden aggression from another fish.

I don't see definitive ich spots, but the fins are frayed and cloudy. This can be from flukes, or tankmate aggression.

It's been 11 days as of April 23, 2026.
The only tank mates are:
1 ocellaris clown fish
1 skunk cleaner shrimp
1 kuekenthali peppermint shrimp
A couple different hermits
3 nassarius snails
An urchin

Tank has been running for over a year.
Clown shows zero signs of ich or sickness in general. Same level of activity, hunger, fins and scales are normal, normal poop, breathing, etc.

 

[therealraf02]

Video of flashing:

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Video of flashing:

I don't see any aggression from the clown, and I still cannot see clear ich spots.

Given that, I'd opt to treat with praziquantel for flukes:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dosing-praziquantel-pzq.1105700/

 

[therealraf02]

Video of flashing:

I don't see any aggression from the clown, and I still cannot see clear ich spots.

Given that, I'd opt to treat with praziquantel for flukes:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dosing-praziquantel-pzq.1105700/

Thankfully have that on hand. Will promptly start treatment and update thread as needed.

Thank you for your assistance!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thankfully have that on hand. Will promptly start treatment and update thread as needed.

Thank you for your assistance!

Which product do you have?

Be sure to dose to the actual tank volume (or use 85% of its rated volume to offset tank decoration, etc.)

Be sure to supply good aeration during the treatment.

Finally, there is an issue with severe fluke infections; when the prazi knocks all the flukes off, the fish can bleed out through all the holes in its skin. No way to know if that is going to happen or not.

 

[therealraf02]

Thankfully have that on hand. Will promptly start treatment and update thread as needed.

Thank you for your assistance!

Which product do you have?

Be sure to dose to the actual tank volume (or use 85% of its rated volume to offset tank decoration, etc.)

Be sure to supply good aeration during the treatment.

Finally, there is an issue with severe fluke infections; when the prazi knocks all the flukes off, the fish can bleed out through all the holes in its skin. No way to know if that is going to happen or not.

I have PraziPro. Also have Focus and Metroplex in the arsenal as well though i doubt I need them in this case.
I will be using the 85% calculation for dosing purposes.
Thank you for the notice at the end; hopefully it does not get to that point!

 

[therealraf02]

Thankfully have that on hand. Will promptly start treatment and update thread as needed.

Thank you for your assistance!

Which product do you have?

Be sure to dose to the actual tank volume (or use 85% of its rated volume to offset tank decoration, etc.)

Be sure to supply good aeration during the treatment.

Finally, there is an issue with severe fluke infections; when the prazi knocks all the flukes off, the fish can bleed out through all the holes in its skin. No way to know if that is going to happen or not.

So i dosed today, and then a couple minutes (maybe 5 to 10) noticed i forgot to turn off my uv filter. To offset the amount of medicine that probably got 'zapped' i added a further .5-.75ml of prazipro. Don't know if that was too much or too little extra, considering the fact that my total calculated dosage was supposed to be 4.25ml. (Around 17gal of net water volume)

 

[therealraf02]

Thankfully have that on hand. Will promptly start treatment and update thread as needed.

Thank you for your assistance!

Which product do you have?

Be sure to dose to the actual tank volume (or use 85% of its rated volume to offset tank decoration, etc.)

Be sure to supply good aeration during the treatment.

Finally, there is an issue with severe fluke infections; when the prazi knocks all the flukes off, the fish can bleed out through all the holes in its skin. No way to know if that is going to happen or not.

So i dosed today, and then a couple minutes (maybe 5 to 10) noticed i forgot to turn off my uv filter. To offset the amount of medicine that probably got 'zapped' i added a further .5-.75ml of prazipro. Don't know if that was too much or too little extra, considering the fact that my total calculated dosage was supposed to be 4.25ml. (Around 17gal of net water volume)

Big face palm... today I just realized I forgot to remove the rox 0.8 carbon from my filter as well. Sigh. I forgot I had that in there. It's been a week-ish since I added the carbon; how likely is it that it would have sucked up enough med to make an impact?
Note: he's still flashing today, but the flashes are a lot more gentle, slow than before if that makes any sense.


No wonder my feather dusters are still standing strong

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Big face palm... today I just realized I forgot to remove the rox 0.8 carbon from my filter as well. Sigh. I forgot I had that in there. It's been a week-ish since I added the carbon; how likely is it that it would have sucked up enough med to make an impact?
Note: he's still flashing today, but the flashes are a lot more gentle, slow than before if that makes any sense.


No wonder my feather dusters are still standing strong

I would start the treatment series over again......

 

[therealraf02]

Update: i did go ahead and restart treatment. I also did my 2nd round over 24hr ago.
Royal gramma seems go be breathing very rapidly. I have increased surface movement substantially with my powered creating wave-like motions in the surface, increased air bubbles, etc. My HOB filter is at maximum power as well.
Royal gramma also has been flashing pretty hard. I've counted 9 consecutive flashes in one outburst, for example. Royal gramma is also seen frequently 'hiding'/staying near the top corner of the aquarium near the heater/filter, often laying motionless. I've seen it lay practically motionless in its cave or other nooks and crannies, but I wrote this behavior off as just 'relaxing', trying to 'sleep' etc. But felt like it could be useful info for the more advanced folks out there.

Skin does seem to be doing better. Fins are healing. Fins are also not held close to the body (anymore? I think i noticed clamped fins before)
Attaching a video of above mentioned breathing and flashing.
7 days after this round, I may dose prazi for a 3rd round. I hope it isn't useless by then, considering how i essentially restarted treatment at one point.

By the way, no other livestock is exhibiting any flashing, spots, loss of appetite, etc.
Only the clown is maybe(?) breathing slightly fast but it's hard to tell. I'm not sure how fast is normal for them.
Here's the video:

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Update: i did go ahead and restart treatment. I also did my 2nd round over 24hr ago.
Royal gramma seems go be breathing very rapidly. I have increased surface movement substantially with my powered creating wave-like motions in the surface, increased air bubbles, etc. My HOB filter is at maximum power as well.
Royal gramma also has been flashing pretty hard. I've counted 9 consecutive flashes in one outburst, for example. Royal gramma is also seen frequently 'hiding'/staying near the top corner of the aquarium near the heater/filter, often laying motionless. I've seen it lay practically motionless in its cave or other nooks and crannies, but I wrote this behavior off as just 'relaxing', trying to 'sleep' etc. But felt like it could be useful info for the more advanced folks out there.

Skin does seem to be doing better. Fins are healing. Fins are also not held close to the body (anymore? I think i noticed clamped fins before)
Attaching a video of above mentioned breathing and flashing.
7 days after this round, I may dose prazi for a 3rd round. I hope it isn't useless by then, considering how i essentially restarted treatment at one point.

By the way, no other livestock is exhibiting any flashing, spots, loss of appetite, etc.
Only the clown is maybe(?) breathing slightly fast but it's hard to tell. I'm not sure how fast is normal for them.
Here's the video:

The gramma is showing all the signs of flukes, but at the second dose stage, the symptoms should not be this severe. I just don't know what else it could be....

The clown is breathing a bit fast also, but otherwise looks good.

 

[therealraf02]

The gramma is showing all the signs of flukes, but at the second dose stage, the symptoms should not be this severe. I just don't know what else it could be....

The clown is breathing a bit fast also, but otherwise looks good.

Could it possible be an issue with the prazi that I'm using? I bought my bottle on may 22, 2025 and haven't used it since purchasing.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Could it possible be an issue with the prazi that I'm using? I bought my bottle on may 22, 2025 and haven't used it since purchasing.

It depends on how old it was when you bought it.

Prazipro has a relatively short shelf life. They put an expiration date on the bottle, but it’s a sticker and they sometimes fall off.