Thin Clown Trigger

[tanktop74]

My previously fat and happy clown trigger baby is now thinning out. It is still eating well and happy. I suspect an internal parasite.

My question is how to best treat this? Has anyone had success? This is my most favorite fish in the tank!

Thanks!
Beth

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

How long have you had it?

Did you treat with anything when it came in?

What are you feeding it?

The least harmful (yet extremely effective) way to treat most internal parasties is Prazipro by Hikari.

 

[tanktop74]

I have had him about 6-8 weeks, he was QT at my LFS, they treat with copper.

I feed a variety, marine pro dry, mysis, brine, and rods fish food. He has been eating great! I will look into the Prazipro.

Thanks!
Beth

 

[jaytizzle]

Good advice from Stun. If you suspect internal then prazipro is the best way to go. Look into it, keep an eye on the fish, and let us know what you decide to do.

 

[condor]

+1 on the prazi

 

[ReeferBen]

I feed a variety, marine pro dry, mysis, brine, and rods fish food.

How often and how much? How big is the baby clown trigger? brine IME is worthless, rods is good stuff for most fish but mostly small pieces. Have you tried some larger krill or other larger meaty foods. Mysis is good, and the larger mysis like from PE is good stuff. I just know with my trigger he can eat a ton more than my other fish.

 

[Triggerman77]

Feed him lots of meaty foods like Clams Not sure if you can get fresh oysters but if so feed them and also Squid is good also . I have been keeping triggers for 11+ years and have seen a lots of pitiful looking fish. They just need to be fed. Triggers are all wild caught and all they do all day is eat eat eat..... So if u where taken away from a never ending food source would u like starving 2/3rds of the day being fed only 2 or 3 times a day. FEED THAT little guy until he refuses to eat . Thats how i do my triggers sometimes. It Keeps Them Fat and Happy.

Can u get us a pic ??
Tagging along Good luck

 

[Bugg_zy]

Poopin black= feed more. Poopin white= prazipro AND soak the food in it as well. GL

 

[tanktop74]

I feed the marine pro dry food once a day and then a combo of the others in the eveining. I feed the mysis PE, but they are too big for the trigger, he is still small.

To be honest I have never seen this fish poop! Although I have to say, it must be a parasite as the rest of my fish look great!

Below is a pick of him before he started to thin out.

 

[Triggerman77]

Feed him! Alot. He's starving!! Just feed the crap outta him fotr a week or so and then cut back a little each day.

 

[ReeferBen]

I am surprised the PE mysis would be too big. Triggers are able to rip threw meaty foods much easier than other fish, even when smaller. Good luck with him.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

They just need to be fed. Triggers are all wild caught and all they do all day is eat eat eat..... So if u where taken away from a never ending food source would u like starving 2/3rds of the day being fed only 2 or 3 times a day.

I like what you said here, just want to add that 99% of fish in the wild are eating throughout the day, so all fish really should be fed as frequently as possible to allow them to thrive.

I feed the mysis PE, but they are too big for the trigger, he is still small.

Chop it up. I feed PE to my fish but they won't touch a full piece. Once chopped up they go nuts for it, and it's the best Mysis on the market (Hikari large is a close second).


If he's still eating well as you mentioned I would follow the recommendation of heavily feeding for a week or so (meaty foods - forget brine, flake, pellets...) and see if you see any gain in weight. If not, hit him with Prazipro.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

Forgot to mention, if it does indeed have internal parasites, there's a chance it will stop feeding completely once undergoing Prazipro. Some fish do this as they're "passing" the internal parasites, therefore it's absolutely crucial to get as much food to the fish as possible prior to undergoing treatment, especially since it's still eating well for you.