Banggai Cardinal dying?

[canadianeh]

It is his 3rd day in QT tank for observation only. Tank is not medicated. 10 gallons tank and I am using cycled seachem media from DT. I don’t have ammonia test kit but Seachem ammonia badge shows 0. Nitrite Salifert shows 0. Salinity 35. Temp 78

He is small and I didn’t feed him when he first arrived. The next day I have him pellets and he was not interested even though he is sold as captive bred. So I have him mysis shrimp with garlic guard and selcon and he only ate one.

Today he is not looking well and barely can swim upright and easily get blown around. I am using UV sterilizer in the QT tank.

what’s wrong with him? I see white stringy thing under his belly or bottom. See pictures below.

 

[Big G]

Was the fish shipped or did you pickup at LFS?

 

[canadianeh]

Was the fish shipped or did you pickup at LFS?

I picked it up. I floated the bag and confirmed the temperature matching the QT tank. The LFS salinity is between 34-35 ppt so it is not big difference. I added Prime just now just in case.

 

[Big G]

Often a bath in methylene blue can help repair and aid a fish in distress as it helps the fish's organs to absorb O2.

 

[canadianeh]

Often a bath in methylene blue can help repair and aid a fish in distress as it helps the fish's organs to absorb O2.

What’s methylene blue? Never heard of it.

 

[andrewkw]

Do you have prazipro? Could be internal parasites. Unfortunately if you don't have any medications on hand you are very unlikely to get any in time unless you have a good and expensive vet. Most / all fish medications are now only available via prescription from a vet.

 

[Big G]

Most buy it pre mixed in a liquid form. But you can buy the powder and mix your own if you are inclined to do so.
Excellent "old school" med that can treat a variety of conditions. Works especially good on fish with ammonia burns to the gills from shipping, cuts, wounds too.

 

[canadianeh]

No I don’t have prazipro on hand. I will get one tomorrow but I don’t know if he will make it by then

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Most buy it pre mixed in a liquid form. But you can buy the powder and mix your own if you are inclined to do so.
Excellent "old school" med that can treat a variety of conditions. Works especially good on fish with ammonia burns to the gills from shipping, cuts, wounds too.

This is illegal in Canada along with nearly every other effective medication

 

[canadianeh]

This is illegal in Canada along with nearly every other effective medication

They are available on Amazon.ca from US sellers.

what’s the legal option in Canada then?

 

[andrewkw]

They are available on Amazon.ca from US sellers.

what’s the legal option in Canada then?

Prescription via a vet. That being said I think they are just banned for sale, not illegal to have. You can always order and they declare it and it might come it might be seized. That is just my personal opinion. I stocked up on as much stuff as I could before the ban, I really don't know what I will do when it all expires. Frankly I thought there were be enough outrage to get these bans overturned but it really doesn't seem like it's going to happen - not that doing anything about it now would be a priority.

 

[canadianeh]

Thanks for the replies guys. He didn’t make it and died this morning.

 

[Zionas]

Sorry for your loss. These guys don’t seem to adjust as well as PJ and some other Cardinal species.

 

[canadianeh]

Sorry for your loss. These guys don’t seem to adjust as well as PJ and some other Cardinal species.

Thanks. So banggai cardinal is known to be the least adjustable vs the other cardinals ?

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Prescription via a vet. That being said I think they are just banned for sale, not illegal to have. You can always order and they declare it and it might come it might be seized. That is just my personal opinion. I stocked up on as much stuff as I could before the ban, I really don't know what I will do when it all expires. Frankly I thought there were be enough outrage to get these bans overturned but it really doesn't seem like it's going to happen - not that doing anything about it now would be a priority.

Yes my apologies- I should have clarified I believe it Illegal for LFS to have or sell at this point in time and although it can be acquired by vet but I'm not exactly sure how one would go about proving to their vet that its required or doing so in a timely manner.

Sorry for your loss OP

 

[xjiang7]

They are finicky eater. If you can get some alive brine shrimp give that a shot. Just saw it didn't make it.. sorry for your loss

 

[muzikalmatt]

I'm really sorry to hear that he didn't make it.

I'm just getting into quarantining and dealing with fish diseases and parasites, but there are a ton of great resources here on R2R. I'd recommend checking out this thread on fish medications to keep on hand. I don't think it's necessary to have them all, but having the bare essentials listed at the top of the first post is a good idea. As others have indicated, some of them can be difficult to obtain as they either require a prescription from a vet or just aren't readily available. I know it took me a couple weeks to get API General Cure from Amazon so it's best to get all of these medications prior to getting a fish into quarantine.

Regarding your cardinal, the white, stringy poop is indicative of intestinal worms and is typically treated using food soaked in Metroplex or General Cure (which contains metro). There's another great thread on fish diseases and parasites with pictures to help with diagnosis and how to treat each one. However, I'm not sure if that's actually what killed him. He could have had others issues that simply weren't apparent. Diseases like velvet can kill rather quickly without any signs on the fish itself.

Sorry again for your loss, but you can rest assured you did the right thing by quarantining him first to prevent spreading whatever he had into your display tank.

 

[Zionas]

They’re still considered hardy, but are you entirely sure yours were captive bred? Wild Bangaiis are known to be very fragile.

 

[canadianeh]

Well how do I know for sure if it was captive bred or not other than relying to what the LFS said? It was a juvenile that’s for sure.

also, fish meds are not legal in Canada.

 

[muzikalmatt]

Well how do I know for sure if it was captive bred or not other than relying to what the LFS said? It was a juvenile that’s for sure.

also, fish meds are not legal in Canada.

Wow really? I didn't know that. All fish meds? I can certainly understand some of them being illegal as they are carcinogens (like formalin), but stuff like prazipro, copper, metro, etc shouldn't be an issue imo.