Spotted Scorpion Fish

[LouisianaReef]

Trying to determine whether I am dealing with some type of bacterial infection or just a scorpion shedding its eye caps. Has looked this way about the last week, and has went off feeding. Doesn’t seem to be breathing labored or fast, overall body condition appears the same as always. I would appreciate some opinions. All others in the tank are looking and acting normal. Sorry for such blue pictures, the whites are fully on the in the picture.

@Jay Hemdal

 

[vetteguy53081]

Trying to determine whether I am dealing with some type of bacterial infection or just a scorpion shedding its eye caps. Has looked this way about the last week, and has went off feeding. Doesn’t seem to be breathing labored or fast, overall body condition appears the same as always. I would appreciate some opinions. All others in the tank are looking and acting normal. Sorry for such blue pictures, the whites are fully on the in the picture.

@Jay Hemdal

May need a flashlight involved for pics and its virtually impossible to see anything. Is it both eyes? If so, likely bacterial and need clearer pics to confirm.
Assure ammonia and Nitrate Not elevated.
This is what we see:

 

[Jay Hemdal]

+1 on trying for a picture with a flashlight, we really can’t see much under blue light,

The not eating tells me it is more serious than just shedding mucus.

Ich can be tough to see on scorpionfish, cloudy eyes may be the clearest symptom. Flukes can also cause cloudy eyes. Bacterial infections usually stem from injury and often involve one eye.

Have you tried stick feeding? That would tell you if it isn’t feeding because it can’t see or is not eating due to illness.

Jay

 

[LouisianaReef]

+1 on trying for a picture with a flashlight, we really can’t see much under blue light,

The not eating tells me it is more serious than just shedding mucus.

Ich can be tough to see on scorpionfish, cloudy eyes may be the clearest symptom. Flukes can also cause cloudy eyes. Bacterial infections usually stem from injury and often involve one eye.

Have you tried stick feeding? That would tell you if it isn’t feeding because it can’t see or is not eating due to illness.

Jay

I’ll try to get better pictures when I get home. He ate fine from tongs anytime food was offered until the cloudiness appeared, but hasn’t since. This does involve both eyes. He has been recently stressed do to a leaking aquarium. He was moved from one tank to temporary tank then back to the permanent tank over the course of a week or so. The cloudy eyes appeared a day or so after the tank leaked and he was moved to temporary holding

 

[LouisianaReef]

Here are some better pictures. Also if medications are needed it’s a fish only tank but there is snowflake eels in there, I know they can be affected by some meds.

 

[LouisianaReef]

Forgot to mention, haven’t checked water chemistry yet. I doubt anything is high. Tank was just set back up day before yesterday using 100 gallons of water from the original tank, along with all the rock/media and 240 gallons of fresh mixed ro saltwater. It’s a 340 gallon system total. Old water/rock/media has been established and running for a few years.

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081

 

[vetteguy53081]

Forgot to mention, haven’t checked water chemistry yet. I doubt anything is high. Tank was just set back up day before yesterday using 100 gallons of water from the original tank, along with all the rock/media and 240 gallons of fresh mixed ro saltwater. It’s a 340 gallon system total. Old water/rock/media has been established and running for a few years.

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081

If there is anything like bacteria, high levels, using the old water just maintained it. Any given fish dos not generally get milky eyes from Healthy environment.
240 gallons of new water should help but again assure the levels are safe.
Other cause will be flukes

 

[LouisianaReef]

If there is anything like bacteria, high levels, using the old water just maintained it. Any given fish dos not generally get milky eyes from Healthy environment.
240 gallons of new water should help but again assure the levels are safe.
Other cause will be flukes

I agree, I just haven't had the time to check them. If it was flukes what would be an appropriate medication to administer. I doubt I could remove him from the DT without tearing it down so I would prefer to treat the system. There's a few triggers, a wrasse and eels in the system. The eels would be my concern with treating the system.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I agree, I just haven't had the time to check them. If it was flukes what would be an appropriate medication to administer. I doubt I could remove him from the DT without tearing it down so I would prefer to treat the system. There's a few triggers, a wrasse and eels in the system. The eels would be my concern with treating the system.

PraziPro which is Praziquantel will address flukes as long as its turbellian type. But would need to be confirmed

 

[LouisianaReef]

How would we confirm?

 

[LouisianaReef]

Bump

 

[LouisianaReef]

He started eating again today.

@Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal]

He started eating again today.

@Jay Hemdal

How do the eyes look though?

Jay

 

[LouisianaReef]

Still cloudy but appears to be just a bit clearer possibly

 

[LouisianaReef]

There is also a pink tail trigger that has started looking suspect. Color washed out, but continues to swim around and still pigs out on many types of food. Do you believe this is related to the scorpion or stress related from being moved tanks three times in a week? Don’t see white spots like ick. He is hard to photograph, always swimming. Possible treatment?

@Jay Hemdal
@ReefSquad
@vetteguy53081

 

[vetteguy53081]

There is also a pink tail trigger that has started looking suspect. Color washed out, but continues to swim around and still pigs out on many types of food. Do you believe this is related to the scorpion or stress related from being moved tanks three times in a week? Don’t see white spots like ick. He is hard to photograph, always swimming. Possible treatment?

@Jay Hemdal
@ReefSquad
@vetteguy53081

If im seeing correctly - The trigger seems to have salt grain dots which is ich parasite.
Is the fish eating normal?
Is it breathing normal or labored?
Any scratching or darting behavior?

Now i'd really like to see the scorpion under white lighting to see if it too has parasite(s)

Treatment will be copperPower or CopperSafe in a quarantine setting. If the scorpion too has ich, will have to go with copper level of 2.0.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I see some cloudiness and spotting on the clear parts of the fins - triggers often show ich that way, like how scorpionfish get cloudy eyes from it.

Jay

 

[LouisianaReef]

Is hypos salinity (.009) still an effective method for ich? I know some people has success with this method years ago. It’s a huge tank (8 ft x 2 ft x 2 with over 200 pounds of rock so it would be a major project to remove fish for copper treatment. I haven’t observed labored breathing or scraping in either fish. Trigger eats like a hog, scorpion took shrimp from tongs this morning.

This tank has the following fish:
Spotted Scorpion
Blue Dot Puffer
Snowflake Eel
Pink tail trigger
Red tooth Trigger
Convict Tang
Sailfin Tang
Maroon Clown
Lunar Wrasse

No inverts or coral.

@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is hypos salinity (.009) still an effective method for ich? I know some people has success with this method years ago. It’s a huge tank (8 ft x 2 ft x 2 with over 200 pounds of rock so it would be a major project to remove fish for copper treatment. I haven’t observed labored breathing or scraping in either fish. Trigger eats like a hog, scorpion took shrimp from tongs this morning.

This tank has the following fish:
Spotted Scorpion
Blue Dot Puffer
Snowflake Eel
Pink tail trigger
Red tooth Trigger
Convict Tang
Sailfin Tang
Maroon Clown
Lunar Wrasse

No inverts or coral.

@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal

My gosh - great photo but this has to be the most difficult i've seen to determine ich on a fish.
In the pic, I see gills extended- is it breathing normal or labored ?

 

[LouisianaReef]

My gosh - great photo but this has to be the most difficult i've seen to determine ich on a fish.
In the pic, I see gills extended- is it breathing normal or labored ?

Appears normal. Gills move in and out few seconds. Doesn’t seem labored