Ruby Red Dragonet

SimplisticDesign · Feb 3, 2024

#fishmedic Noticed my ruby red dragonet that I’ve owned for about a week (was in 30 day qt from LFS) starting to behave very abnormal. His behaviors:

Trying to jump out of tank
Swimming high in top corners
Open swimming
Tail curled sideways, back tail not spread out and closed
Uninterested in food
Beats per Min : 56

My parameters are as follows:

78 degrees F
8.3 pH
Nitrate 9
Phosphate .06
Calcium 430
Alkalinity 8.7
Salinity 1.025
Zero ammonia, zero nitrite.
Mixed Reef Tank
Filter Floss
Skimmer 24/7 running
No refuigum (in the making, waiting for extra part to come in to set it in sump)

Feed 2x a day (tiger pods & arcti pods) I try to spot feed it, but it’s very shy, so I spot feed under rock he’s in.

My tank was an upgrade from a smaller tank, but I’ve been dosing copepods 2x daily. He’s always been this skinny. I’ve been feeding tigger pods & arcti pods.

I put him in a breedebox as he’s been trying to jump out of the tank, his back tail is closed up kind of interlocked and with a slight curl at the end. I put some copepods in the breeder box and he’s been uninterested.

Stock list:

Two Picassos (very friendly with the ruby red)
3 Bandai cardinals
Firefish

tank is a 36 display with a 25 gallon sump.

Jay Hemdal · Feb 3, 2024

Hi,

Those symptoms are not specific for any disease, just general stress. I think you can rule out external protozoans because the fish's skin is cleat and it is not breathing fast.

The fish is indeed very skinny. That in itself can cause issues - what happens with a fish that is not getting enough food, is that they utilize their liver for energy. Eventually, their live fails and they begin to die.

Another possible issue is that this is a symptom of cyanide poisoning. Dragnets (these and mandarins) are tricky to catch. In some many areas, divers resort to using cyanide to stun the fish. In turn, this causes residual damage that causes the fish to die a month or two after collection. Symptoms of this issue are variable, and it can't be tested for.

Overall, this is a very delicate species that I've had a lot of trouble with myself.

Jay

SimplisticDesign · Feb 3, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
Hi,

Those symptoms are not specific for any disease, just general stress. I think you can rule out external protozoans because the fish's skin is cleat and it is not breathing fast.

The fish is indeed very skinny. That in itself can cause issues - what happens with a fish that is not getting enough food, is that they utilize their liver for energy. Eventually, their live fails and they begin to die.

Another possible issue is that this is a symptom of cyanide poisoning. Dragnets (these and mandarins) are tricky to catch. In some many areas, divers resort to using cyanide to stun the fish. In turn, this causes residual damage that causes the fish to die a month or two after collection. Symptoms of this issue are variable, and it can't be tested for.

Overall, this is a very delicate species that I've had a lot of trouble with myself.

Jay

What could I do in the mean time ? It’s in the breeder box, but still uninterested? I love this little one.