Was my blenny attacked or is he sick?

zfisk

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I have a 100gl tank- 1 red lip blenny, 3 emerald crabs, 3 clown fish, 1 CBS, 6 nassarius snails, and a dozen or so hermit crabs.

Saturday- Got my blenny, he looked great. After a few hours of having him it looked like he was swimming up to and laying next to the CBS as if asking the shrimp to clean him. I may have seen the CBS nip the blenny once.

Sunday- Blenny was great, out and eating all day, looked perfect. Only thing that was weird was that we saw a snail climb onto him so the blenny shook him off, moved a few inches and then the snail climbed onto him again so the blenny shook him off again. CBS had both of his big claws. Blenny was still swimming up and sitting next to the shrimp.

Monday- Lights turned on in the morning and couldn’t find the blenny for hours. Once we did find him we could only see his face and it looked like he was hyperventilating. The CBS had both his big claws missing. Saw the blenny go up to the shrimp once very briefly. I think I saw the blenny flash his side on the rocks and sand a few times. I didn’t notice anything weird about his physical appearance but he could have just been moving too quickly.

Tuesday- Blenny hid most of the day but started to come out and eat. We saw massive fin damage and what we thought was a cyst on his side.

Wednesday- Has been much more active, coming out and eating but his fins are messed up bad, it doesn’t look worse than yesterday but we were able to get a better look at it today. What appeared to be the cyst on Tuesday is looking more like a flesh wound now but I’m still not sure.

Was he attacked by the CBS, was he sick and something started eating him, or is there any kind of disease that it would be possible to cause so much damage in such a short period of time? And what should I do?

I have definitely ruled the clowns out as I have watched for hours upon hours and they haven’t payed any attention to him. I have not witnessed the blenny and anything fighting.

Pictures are from today-Wednesday(30Dec20)

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Jay Hemdal

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This is difficult to piece together -

As you are probably aware, it is best to quarantine new fish in a separate tank before adding them to your main tank. Fish come in with a lot of diseases, and you don't want to risk getting your other fish sick.

One thing of note is the missing claws on the shrimp, that is usually from fighting with another CBS or being attacked by a bigger fish. Could you find the broken claws in your tank?

That the blenny would sit still and let a snail crawl on it is very odd....

Is the blenny still breathing rapidly? That is a major concern and can be the sign of a gill disease.

Jay
 
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zfisk

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This is difficult to piece together -

As you are probably aware, it is best to quarantine new fish in a separate tank before adding them to your main tank. Fish come in with a lot of diseases, and you don't want to risk getting your other fish sick.

One thing of note is the missing claws on the shrimp, that is usually from fighting with another CBS or being attacked by a bigger fish. Could you find the broken claws in your tank?

That the blenny would sit still and let a snail crawl on it is very odd....

Is the blenny still breathing rapidly? That is a major concern and can be the sign of a gill disease.

Jay
His breathing has gone back to normal. I was able to find one of the CBS claws but not the other. I am aware of the quarantine but do not have the equipment for it. The blenny that I added had been at the LFS looking good for a few weeks so I thought I would be okay.
 

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Sounds like a semi-weak fish (allowing a snail to even get near it) and a victim of possible aggression . I dont forsee CBS being a shrimp that would attack a blenny however I say the clown would.

How did you acclimate /introduce blenny?
 
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zfisk

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Sounds like a semi-weak fish (allowing a snail to even get near it) and a victim of possible aggression . I dont forsee CBS being a shrimp that would attack a blenny however I say the clown would.

How did you acclimate /introduce blenny?
I acclimated in the bag for temp for 10-15 min(the lfs and my tank parameters are very close) then released into the tank. The clowns have not shown any aggression whatsoever and they are much smaller than the blenny, he is probably 5 times as big as them so I really don’t think it’s the clowns. I agree the blenny letting the snail start to get on him is odd but I can’t see him letting a snail eat half his fins overnight.
 

vetteguy53081

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I acclimated in the bag for temp for 10-15 min(the lfs and my tank parameters are very close) then released into the tank. The clowns have not shown any aggression whatsoever and they are much smaller than the blenny, he is probably 5 times as big as them so I really don’t think it’s the clowns. I agree the blenny letting the snail start to get on him is odd but I can’t see him letting a snail eat half his fins overnight.
Your acclimation may have been part of the issue. As with FW, what you did is near acceptable but NOT in saltwater.
For the future . . . . . . . . .
Float the bag for 15-20 mins to equalize temperature. In a separate CLEAN Pail or Bucket, empty the contents of bag and fish into that container. Grab a regular Clean cup and scoop a cup of water and slowly pour it into container with the fish. Every 15 minutes, add a cup of water and do this 8 times. At the last 15 minutes, test the salinity in the bucket and then test the salinity in your tank and assure they are equal or very close to and , take that same cup and trap fish into it, pour off most of the water and enter it into display.
 
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zfisk

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Your acclimation may have been part of the issue. As with FW, what you did is near acceptable but NOT in saltwater.
For the future . . . . . . . . .
Float the bag for 15-20 mins to equalize temperature. In a separate CLEAN Pail or Bucket, empty the contents of bag and fish into that container. Grab a regular Clean cup and scoop a cup of water and slowly pour it into container with the fish. Every 15 minutes, add a cup of water and do this 8 times. At the last 15 minutes, test the salinity in the bucket and then test the salinity in your tank and assure they are equal or very close to and , take that same cup and trap fish into it, pour off most of the water and enter it into display.
Thank you, not sure where I got the information from but I remember reading or being told not to open the bag until releasing the fish because of gas exchange but it looks like that was dead wrong.
 
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zfisk

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But if the fish did not take well to the acclimation wouldn’t he be showing it sooner rather than a few days later?
 
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zfisk

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Your acclimation may have been part of the issue. As with FW, what you did is near acceptable but NOT in saltwater.
For the future . . . . . . . . .
Float the bag for 15-20 mins to equalize temperature. In a separate CLEAN Pail or Bucket, empty the contents of bag and fish into that container. Grab a regular Clean cup and scoop a cup of water and slowly pour it into container with the fish. Every 15 minutes, add a cup of water and do this 8 times. At the last 15 minutes, test the salinity in the bucket and then test the salinity in your tank and assure they are equal or very close to and , take that same cup and trap fish into it, pour off most of the water and enter it into display.
But if the fish did not take well to the acclimation wouldn’t he be showing it sooner rather than a few days later?
 

vetteguy53081

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But if the fish did not take well to the acclimation wouldn’t he be showing it sooner rather than a few days later?
We are talk osmotic shock from poor to no acclimation. Osmoregulation is the fish’s ability to control the ratio of salt to water within its body. A sudden change in salinity can cause acute distress known as Osmotic Shock which usually leads to death within 2-3 days. Osmotic Shock is usually one of the biggest killers of fish when not properly acclimated
Common Symptoms of Fish Not Acclimated to a New Aquarium:
  • Stress
  • Illness & Disease
  • Infection
  • Thermal Shock
  • Ph Burn
  • Osmotic Shock
  • Ammonia Toxicity
  • Acute Environmental Factors
 
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zfisk

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We are talk osmotic shock from poor to no acclimation. Osmoregulation is the fish’s ability to control the ratio of salt to water within its body. A sudden change in salinity can cause acute distress known as Osmotic Shock which usually leads to death within 2-3 days. Osmotic Shock is usually one of the biggest killers of fish when not properly acclimated
Common Symptoms of Fish Not Acclimated to a New Aquarium:
  • Stress
  • Illness & Disease
  • Infection
  • Thermal Shock
  • Ph Burn
  • Osmotic Shock
  • Ammonia Toxicity
  • Acute Environmental Factors
Thank you, I’ll be sure to properly acclimate every addition from now on. Do you think the improper acclimation caused the damage to the fish or weakened him making him an easier target for his tank mates. I’m trying to figure out if I need to separate him from someone or someone from him to help him recover.
 

Jay Hemdal

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But if the fish did not take well to the acclimation wouldn’t he be showing it sooner rather than a few days later?
Generally, acclimation issues show up in the first 24 hours, but these can contribute to other problems later on....
Jay
 
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zfisk

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Generally, acclimation issues show up in the first 24 hours, but these can contribute to other problems later on....
Jay
Alright, thank you. That helps to more confidently say that someone is bullying him it sounds like. He looked great for the first day and a half at least.
 
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