Scooter Blenny Having Trouble Swimming/Moving

[Nierika]

I've had a scooter blenny in quarantine for about a week now and over the last few days he has seemed very lethargic/not eating. When I first put him in he was swimming all over and eating frozen food. I was worried that he might not be getting enough nutrition in QT so I added a chunk of chaeto to hopefully add some pods to the mix.

Today when I was observing him, I saw him try to swim and he was definitely struggling. This is the most I've seen him move in the last 2 days. Hes mostly been staying in one spot. I though maybe it was a swim bladder issue, but from my research it seems like dragonets don't have one. Another thread mentioned the issues could potentially be related to cyanide poisoning. I have a small power head in the tank and if I turn it on he just kinda blows around a bit.

Another thing I noticed was a section on his tail that looked like it might have something going on, but it's hard for me to tell if that's just the coloring or if there is some injury or disease.

Please see the attached photo to see his tail (a lot of time he has it bent in a U shape) and the video of the swimming issue.

Also, I generally siphon out any uneaten food everyday but due to having a funeral today and him not eating I fed the tank very heavily last night and this morning with a mix of frozen mysis, brine, LRF and some pellets just to hopefully get him to eat so it looks pretty bad in the video. I'm normally very good at sucking up the detritus after feeding time.

When I got home tonight I tried target feeding him mysis and blood worms with a spare 1 ml syringe and he took a little bit in. That was what caused him to try to swim. I haven't target fed like that before and it seemed like it was more effective at getting some food in him.

I don't have much experience with fish ailments, so any thoughts/advice would be appreciated

Video of him trying to swim:

 

[Maritimer]

He's got the typical sunken belly and protruding spinal column that tells me this fellow hasn't been getting the nutrition he needs. A lot of these guys arrive this way, sadly.

I don't see any other obvious signs of disease, though others might.

~Bruce

 

[Nierika]

He's got the typical sunken belly and protruding spinal column that tells me this fellow hasn't been getting the nutrition he needs. A lot of these guys arrive this way, sadly.

I don't see any other obvious signs of disease, though others might.

~Bruce

Thanks for the reply. When I checked on him this morning he was floating upside down. I thought he had passed, but when I flipped him over he was still alive. I though about moving him over to the DT to give him some pods to graze on, but I'm not sure if that will make a difference at this point (plus I am nervous about introducing any disease into the DT). This sucks. I feel so bad for the little guy and want to help, but not sure how I can help or even if it's possible to help him at this point

 

[Maritimer]

I'm sorry to hear that, Nierika. I tend to agree that it's unlikely for you to be able to do anything at this point. From collection to LFS, these guys are often moved from one pod-free environment to another, and often come in pretty malnourished. Even when you get lucky, and have one that'll take frozen, their system is designed for eating pretty much continuously, all day long. Frozen foods can be a great supplement for dragonets - but 'pods should probably remain their primary diet.

~Bruce