No Disease ... Yet ... But Concerned With New Quoyi Parrotfish

Maritimer · Feb 15, 2017

One full week into it, and there may be some progress . . .

After a water change last night, he's hiding in a _different_ pipe this morning.

Feeding, MetroPlex (water-dosed) and hope continue . . .

~Bruce

buzzword · Feb 15, 2017

Is he eating yet? Have you tried algae sheets? Mine tore up the algae sheets rubber banded to a rock or frag plug.

drawman · Feb 15, 2017

Following along just because I love parrotfish - they are originally what got me into the hobby although I've never had the setup to keep one. Keeping my fingers crossed for you Bruce good luck!

Humblefish · Feb 15, 2017

Bruce, any way you can put a rock with some coralline algae in there for him? Just to see if that will peak his interest in something.

Maritimer · Feb 15, 2017

Thanks, Buzzword, Tim - and as so very often, Humblefish!

Buzzword, I offered nori on a clip yesterday, no dice. Banding it to a rock might make the difference, who knows . . .

Humble, I'm sure I can find a piece in the display that I can do without - it'll be in there tonight.

The parrotfish was back in his regular PVC fitting by lunchtime (I can lift a corner of the covering to peek), but has clearly been out at least once since then, as he was deep into the fitting this afternoon, but his posterior half was out this evening. This afternoon's "different" offering was one of the algae wafers made for freshwater Plecostomus. Looks as though it's been broken up and spread out on the floor a bit, but I'd say the volume of the wafer is pretty unchanged.

Earlier today, something jogged a memory; Key West, Florida in the year 1980, during the Mariel Freedom Boatlift. I was working with the Key West Aquarium then, and sometimes would join the curator in collecting adventures. One afternoon we set a fish trap near Mallory Pier, behind a local restaurant where I'd seen patrons tossing scraps to fish. When we pulled the trap up a scant half hour later, I could feel the thrumming of life in the rope on the way up - and the cage was full! Five midnight parrotfish, seven blue parrotfish and a stoplight parrot, along with a tang or two.

The bait? A ham bone, left over from someone's Sunday dinner. I'm very tempted to zip down to the supermarket and pick up a ham steak just to have a go with the chunk of bone in the middle . . .

~Bruce

melypr1985 · Feb 15, 2017

Maritimer said:
The bait? A ham bone, left over from someone's Sunday dinner. I'm very tempted to zip down to the supermarket and pick up a ham steak just to have a go with the chunk of bone in the middle . . .

It sounds weird for sure, but I'm not surprised by this at all. lol How long have you had him now? I've had parrots and wrasse that would hide like this for a week or so before coming out to eat and explore. It would take a week or so more before they would stay out and about while I was near. (this is experience from the store since I've never kept a parrot at home)

Maritimer · Feb 15, 2017

He's been here a week tonight.

So ... re-read the cover of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and "Don't Panic"?

~Bruce

melypr1985 · Feb 15, 2017

Maritimer said:
"Don't Panic"?

Definitely. It's not time to panic yet.

Keep trying to get him to eat (I know it's the obvious thing).

Empress · Feb 16, 2017

Maritimer said:
Thanks, Buzzword, Tim - and as so very often, Humblefish!

Buzzword, I offered nori on a clip yesterday, no dice. Banding it to a rock might make the difference, who knows . . .

Humble, I'm sure I can find a piece in the display that I can do without - it'll be in there tonight.

The parrotfish was back in his regular PVC fitting by lunchtime (I can lift a corner of the covering to peek), but has clearly been out at least once since then, as he was deep into the fitting this afternoon, but his posterior half was out this evening. This afternoon's "different" offering was one of the algae wafers made for freshwater Plecostomus. Looks as though it's been broken up and spread out on the floor a bit, but I'd say the volume of the wafer is pretty unchanged.

Earlier today, something jogged a memory; Key West, Florida in the year 1980, during the Mariel Freedom Boatlift. I was working with the Key West Aquarium then, and sometimes would join the curator in collecting adventures. One afternoon we set a fish trap near Mallory Pier, behind a local restaurant where I'd seen patrons tossing scraps to fish. When we pulled the trap up a scant half hour later, I could feel the thrumming of life in the rope on the way up - and the cage was full! Five midnight parrotfish, seven blue parrotfish and a stoplight parrot, along with a tang or two.

The bait? A ham bone, left over from someone's Sunday dinner. I'm very tempted to zip down to the supermarket and pick up a ham steak just to have a go with the chunk of bone in the middle . . .

~Bruce

Don't forget the eggs! [emoji505]

Breakthecycle2 · Feb 16, 2017

I wouldn't worry about it. I bought a Qyuoi a month ago and put him in QT with other fish. He didn't eat or move around until the 7-10 mark. Now he eats everything, including pellets. As far as the internal parasites, I would use Dr. G's dewormer food. All my fish love it.

Maritimer · Feb 16, 2017

Thanks for the reassurance, Breakthecycle2! We're at about eight here, so I'll stay in "watch-and-wait" mode.

Will have to keep an eye out for that Dr. G's. I've got some praziquantel-soaked fish eggs in the fridge - but they're not too useful until he comes out and starts eating.

Empress ... LOL! If I thought it would work, I'd fry one up right now!

I've placed a small piece of Pukani with decent coraline on it outside his favorite pipe, and rubberbanded a half-sheet of green nori to it. So far ... few signs of life. (He did wiggle his fins a bit more than usual when I dribbled in some LRS soaked in garlic this evening...)

I keep forgetting to run up to the market after work for a slab of ham . . .

~Bruce

drawman · Feb 18, 2017

Any progress? I'm curious as to the rationale for covering the tank. I guess I've noticed contrarily that habituation to people being around eventually gets fish comfortable but maybe there is an argument against that.

Maritimer · Feb 18, 2017

Thanks for asking, Tim!

When I got home from work today (crazy weekend - 8hrs at one job, followed up immediately by 24hrs at the other!) he's still in his pipe - although my son reported that he thought the parrotfish had at least poked his nose out a bit . . .

I've got a pretty active house. My son lives at home, and is trying to get a dog-training / pet-sitting business off the ground (or, he's twiddling about with what ought to be a hobby ... jury's still out on that), so the house is constantly full of mostly large dogs and sometimes careening humans. The rationale for the covering was just to get the parrotfish back to a zero point - fish on a reef with other fish (not that a QT could easily be mistaken for a true reef . . . ) before peeling back the covering a little at a time to add in the varying commotions outside the tank. Can't say it's working, as at a week and a half in, the fish is still hiding in a pipe.

~Bruce

Maritimer · Feb 20, 2017

So.

Observation.

Just ran a 20 gallon water change on the 75g QT. While refilling, the parrotfish spooked out of his favorite fitting, and swam a couple of laps up and down the front glass. (He doesn't look completely emaciated, which kind of surprised me - in fact, from above, he's noticeably thicker in his belly region than he is through his tail section - then again, I only got a quick, <30 second glimpse, and only from above.) Thing is, the whole time, he was trying to "fly" through the bottom glass.

Is it possible that he's freaked out by his inability to reach the "deeper water" of the inside of the stand? Would it be advisable to crawl under there and paint the glass? Black? White? Something else??

~Bruce

Humblefish · Feb 20, 2017

Maritimer said:
Is it possible that he's freaked out by his inability to reach the "deeper water" of the inside of the stand? Would it be advisable to crawl under there and paint the glass? Black? White? Something else??

Might be worth it to tape some brown postal wrapping paper to the underside of the tank.

Maritimer · Feb 20, 2017

A big part of why I love this place ... helpful suggestions from people who think. Thank you, Dr. Fish!

There's brown postal wrap under the tank, and a ham steak in the refrigerator, which I plan on having for dinner in the next day or so - and the next day, I'll drop the bone button in the tank. (What have I got to lose?!)

The parrotfish is in a different piece of PVC pipe this evening.

Baby steps.

~Bruce

Maritimer · Feb 21, 2017

I think he may be feeling a bit more confident...

Got home from work to find the parrot in a different pipe - and not even all the way in. Prepped frozen blend (Rod's Food and Coral Gumbo with garlic extract tonight) as usual, and dropped a few pellets into the QT, just in case the Quoy's might come out for a peek while I'm not looking. Poured a little of the frozen stuff in after it thawed in RO/DI, and watched through the top as the little blackbar chromis dart about, picking particles. The blue-green tail of the parrotfish ... wiggled a little.

Came back half an hour later, and that tail wasn't there. OK, which pipe is he i . . . . and here came a pink-spangled torpedo, flying in along the front glass, arcing and plunging, fanning his pectoral fins to speed the length of the tank! Dropped in a little more food (I feed several small doses over an hour or two), which he showed no interest in, but watched as he - several times - cruised the length of the 75, dropping in to this pipe or that one for a moment's rest.

He's a long way from obese, and looks a little bit ... rough and uncomfortable, the way I do after being sick in bed for a day or two. _But_he's_out_of_the_pipe_and_moving!!!_

My thanks to everyone who's offered guidance and support - we're not out of the woods, but . . . maybe we're on the right path?!

~Bruce

P.S. - The other day, I dropped a thawed clam in, and over a couple of (untouched) hours, it took on the reddish tint of cyano (of which there's none in the tank, TMK). Any idea what might have caused that? Metro? The red nori I'd banded to the coralline liverock the day before??