Sick filefish?

[Baby Ray]

I woke up this morning and noticed my Pygmy white spotted filefish was acting a little strange.

As the day has gone on, its behavior has worsened. Looking very pale and just sitting in one spot when it normally is perusing the rocks.

Wondering if anyone has a suggestions. I fed the tank relatively heavily and no reaction. Everything else in the tank is doing great

 

[Baby Ray]

I’m worried it may be worms or some other parasite because of the sunken belly. Should I try a quick fw dip?

 

[Baby Ray]

He is also slightly twitching every once in awhile. Before today he would come up to the surface and beg for food every time I came by. Was also super active.

 

[christinna77]

#fishmedic should be able to help!

 

[Baby Ray]

#fishmedic should be able to help!

Thank you so much. Any help would be greatly appreciated. He is my favorite pet

 

[allof fish]

Thank you so much. Any help would be greatly appreciated. He is my favorite pet

Twitching sounds like fluke’s potentially. I am not an expert when it comes to fish issues. @Jay Hemdal

 

[Baby Ray]

Thank you so much. Any help would be greatly appreciated. He is my favorite pet

Twitching sounds like fluke’s potentially. I am not an expert when it comes to fish issues. @Jay Hemdal

I was just thinking the same thing. He is breathing heavily along with the twitching. And I have a neon cleaner goby that has come up to him several times looking like he wants to peck at him.

Should I risk a freshwater dip? He is getting worse by the minute it seems

 

[allof fish]

I was just thinking the same thing. He is breathing heavily along with the twitching. And I have a neon cleaner goby that has come up to him several times looking like he wants to peck at him.

Should I risk a freshwater dip? He is getting worse by the minute it seems

I have done them in the past with tangs but not sure how a filefish would do in one. I’m not going to say yes since I do not know for sure. If he looks like he’s getting worse by the minute then that can be an option but I’m not recommending since I do not know 100%. The fish medics will know. If you think you absolutely have to and it’s the only way to help it then it could be worth the risk

 

[Baby Ray]

I was just thinking the same thing. He is breathing heavily along with the twitching. And I have a neon cleaner goby that has come up to him several times looking like he wants to peck at him.

Should I risk a freshwater dip? He is getting worse by the minute it seems

I have done them in the past with tangs but not sure how a filefish would do in one. I’m not going to say yes since I do not know for sure. If he looks like he’s getting worse by the minute then that can be an option but I’m not recommending since I do not know 100%. The fish medics will know. If you think you absolutely have to and it’s the only way to help it then it could be worth the risk

Unfortunately I don’t think I have a choice

All the fish I have put in the tank have been captive bred. I don’t even know how flukes would have gotten introduced

 

[Baby Ray]

I am pretty certain it is flukes.

I do not have a QT system as I have a nano tank in a small apartment already.

It’s a mixed reef tank with RFAs, zoanthids and some soft corals and LPS

I also have porcelain crabs and sexy shrimp.

Would I or safe to run Prazipro in this system if I do confirm that it is flukes with the FW dip or is it too risky?

 

[Baby Ray]

I just tried a freshwater bath and he completely stopped moving and breathing after 30 seconds so I put him back in the tank. I don’t think he survive a long enough freshwater bath to be beneficial.

I am at a complete loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[christinna77]

I just tried a freshwater bath and he completely stopped moving and breathing after 30 seconds so I put him back in the tank. I don’t think he survive a long enough freshwater bath to be beneficial.

I am at a complete loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated

It may have been better to wait for the fish medics to chime in before doing a FW dip. These dips can be very stressful for fish that are already sick and weakened, and may have just made things worse.

 

[Baby Ray]

I just tried a freshwater bath and he completely stopped moving and breathing after 30 seconds so I put him back in the tank. I don’t think he survive a long enough freshwater bath to be beneficial.

I am at a complete loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated

It may have been better to wait for the fish medics to chime in before doing a FW dip. These dips can be very stressful for fish that are already sick and weakened, and may have just made things worse.

From my experience with this platform it could be hours, if not days before I get any sort of response from someone who can actually help and frankly I dont even know if he’ll make it that long.

 

[Baby Ray]

Real helpful response.

Thanks a lot for that

 

[Baby Ray]

He has just been laying on his side

#fishmedic

Please any helpful advice would be appreciated

 

[christinna77]

From my experience with this platform it could be hours, if not days before I get any sort of response from someone who can actually help and frankly I dont even know if he’ll make it that long.

Unfortunately, our fish medics aren't on call or paid for this. They do their best to respond when they're available. Even an aquatic vet likely wouldn't be able to help right away.

I don't believe this is flukes, since you'd usually see signs before today, such as twitching, yawning, flashing etc. A fish suddenly going from completely fine to this usually means some kind of trauma may have happened overnight, unless there were earlier signs that were missed.

For now, please record a 30s video under bright white lights. That'll give the fish medics a better chance of diagnosing the issue. The first image is too blue and isn't clear enough to be helpful.

 

[Baby Ray]

It is possible that I missed earlier signs.

I have been very busy this week and haven’t had as much time to survey the tank as I usually do

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

It is possible that I missed earlier signs.

I have been very busy this week and haven’t had as much time to survey the tank as I usually do

Sorry, but the filefish could well be moribund, actively dying….

A video under white light will allow the medics to assess it better.

I don’t think a FW dip is warranted here, that is primarily a diagnostic tool for external parasites.

How long has it had the sunken belly? When was the last time you saw it eat?

 

[allof fish]

I just tried a freshwater bath and he completely stopped moving and breathing after 30 seconds so I put him back in the tank. I don’t think he survive a long enough freshwater bath to be beneficial.

I am at a complete loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated

IME a lot of fish do that with fwd. what I would do it touch the tail so it would continue to swim and breathe helping to get any flukes off of it or out of its gills. Considering your fish is in a bad state idk if I would try that but it maybe could help

 

[Baby Ray]

It is possible that I missed earlier signs.

I have been very busy this week and haven’t had as much time to survey the tank as I usually do

Sorry, but the filefish could well be moribund, actively dying….

A video under white light will allow the medics to assess it better.

I don’t think a FW dip is warranted here, that is primarily a diagnostic tool for external parasites.

How long has it had the sunken belly? When was the last time you saw it eat?

I will try to get a better video.

The last time I saw him eat was probably early this week.

Hadn’t noticed a noticeably sunken belly until this morning