Royal Gramma losing color

[67Incognito]

I have noticed that my Royal Gramma is losing color. I have a mixed reef tank with around 50 fish, including tangs, rabbit fish, clowns, gobies, and wrasses. All of my fish corals and inverts are fine, except this Royal Garrama. I haven't had any new additions for months. Water parameters are:

Salinity 35
PH 7.9-8.0
Alk 8.4
Calc 460
Mag 1360
Nitrate 3.2
Phosphate .1
Temp 78.5

It's been a few months since I did an ICP, but they have always been pretty good.

I feed a variety of foods including Neptune and nyos Pellets, frozen mysis, Rods Herbivore blend, nori, and reef chili.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Royal gramma frequently lose color in captivity. However, yours doesn’t seem to be just fading, it looks like something is going on with its scales. Are both sides of the fish affected?
Jay

 

[67Incognito]

Royal gramma frequently lose color in captivity. However, yours doesn’t seem to be just fading, it looks like something is going on with its scales. Are both sides of the fish affected?
Jay

Hi Jay,. Yes, both side are pretty equal. Its fins near the tail are turning white at the tips too.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I see the tail now. That combined with the scale color change points to some sort of infection, probably bacterial. To treat it, you’d need to move it to a treatment tank and dose with a broad spectrum, gram negative bacteria...but thats just a shotgun approach.

50 fish is a pretty decent number of fish! What size tank?

I see some spots on the clownfish in the back....is that just an artifact of the picture or air bubbles? it sure looks like ich.

Jay

 

[67Incognito]

I see the tail now. That combined with the scale color change points to some sort of infection, probably bacterial. To treat it, you’d need to move it to a treatment tank and dose with a broad spectrum, gram negative bacteria...but thats just a shotgun approach.

50 fish is a pretty decent number of fish! What size tank?

I see some spots on the clownfish in the back....is that just an artifact of the picture or air bubbles? it sure looks like ich.

Jay

Thanks for the info. I'll try to catch it. Not easy in a 300 with lots of rock. Can it spread to other fish? The clown is clean, I just have a lot of floaters in the water column. Lots of flow and a sandy bottom.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Since we really don't know exactly what the gramma has, it is difficult to say if it will be contagious, but my gut feeling is that it won't be.

Jay

 

[67Incognito]

Since we really don't know exactly what the gramma has, it is difficult to say if it will be contagious, but my gut feeling is that it won't be.

Jay

@Jay Hemdal I have had some more developments. Like, the very next day after your last post I found a purple pseudochromis laying on the bottom, barely alive. I scooped it out, and put it in quarantine but it died a few hours later. I noticed that it looked bloated. A couple days ago my powder brown developed a pop eye, with what looks like air bubbles in it. Today, I noticed that I have one clown fish that has two perfectly round holes, about the diameter of a pencil lead; one in the tail fin and one on the dorsal fin. I've also noticed some white stringy poop on a couple fish. I don't have any white spots or sloughing going on. I have some Metroplex and Focus on hand. Do you think that would help? Can I mix that in their food, and fill my reactor with carbon to minimize the affect on corals and inverts?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So: none of the symptoms from the original gramma to these fish are related that I can see.
The air bubbles in the tangs eye could be related to gas supersaturation, any chance of the suction side of a pump leaking, or a pump on a sump catching air? You could feed just focus perhaps. I’m worried that the metro, if not fed very carefully, could harm your corals.
Jay

 

[67Incognito]

So: none of the symptoms from the original gramma to these fish are related that I can see.
The air bubbles in the tangs eye could be related to gas supersaturation, any chance of the suction side of a pump leaking, or a pump on a sump catching air? You could feed just focus perhaps. I’m worried that the metro, if not fed very carefully, could harm your corals.
Jay

Wow...you're good. I have an airstone that runs at night, right in front of the return pump. Been doing that for a long time, because I read/saw somewhere that it was suppose to help ward off dynos, which I conquered a while ago. Didn't know focus is a medication...just thought it was a binder.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Wow...you're good. I have an airstone that runs at night, right in front of the return pump. Been doing that for a long time, because I read/saw somewhere that it was suppose to help ward off dynos, which I conquered a while ago. Didn't know focus is a medication...just thought it was a binder.

Focus has nitrofuratoin in it. It only has a mild antibiotic effect, but it is safe. Adding metro would help against internal protozoans, but is more toxic to inverts.
Running an air stone in front of the output of a pump is fine...supersaturation occurs when air gets pressurized by the suction side of the pump. Tangs can also get air bubbles in their eyes from trauma.
Jay