Newly bought Foxface very weak.

[silenthuntertm]

I just bought a small size foxface along with a blue tang 3 days ago from a lfs. Popped it straight into my QT. I saw it ate a few pellets the day I bought him. Today got back from work and saw it was sucked into a filter and not swimming away. I moved him away and let him be for a while and after that I saw it laying on the bottom. Decided to do a FW dip to see for flukes but nothing came out. No white spots either. Any idea what’s going on? Here is a photo of it during FW dip:

 

[silenthuntertm]

I should add that my QT currently don’t have any copper or any other medications. Just salinity at 1.026, and ammonia is at 0.05ppm as per seachem badge. I also see some discoloration on his other side:

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I should add that my QT currently don’t have any copper or any other medications. Just salinity at 1.026, and ammonia is at 0.05ppm as per seachem badge. I also see some discoloration on his other side:

Is the fish breathing rapidly?

I'd say that it came to you with some prior issue, except that you said it ate the first day, and has since stopped.

Freshwater dips only show one type of large fluke unless you use a microscope.

 

[silenthuntertm]

Is the fish breathing rapidly?

I'd say that it came to you with some prior issue, except that you said it ate the first day, and has since stopped.

Freshwater dips only show one type of large fluke unless you use a microscope.

Looks like breathing slowly and then rapidly and the slowly again. I dont have a microscope to check for the other fluke type. I have prazi in hand, should I start it now? The QT has a filter and an airstone right now.

 

[silenthuntertm]

Sadly he passed away… Now I am worried about my blue tang and two other clowns in there. What should my next move be? Here is a picture of the foxface if anyone can determine its cause of death:

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sadly he passed away… Now I am worried about my blue tang and two other clowns in there. What should my next move be? Here is a picture of the foxface if anyone can determine its cause of death:

Once a fish has died, there is very little that we can tell from the body. The question is; did this fish have a contagious disease or not? No way to tell that from the clues that were available.....

Do you know the source of the fish? Some areas of Indonesia are still using cyanide to capture fish, and that can cause mortality later on - days to weeks after you buy the fish.

 

[silenthuntertm]

Once a fish has died, there is very little that we can tell from the body. The question is; did this fish have a contagious disease or not? No way to tell that from the clues that were available.....

Do you know the source of the fish? Some areas of Indonesia are still using cyanide to capture fish, and that can cause mortality later on - days to weeks after you buy the fish.

Oh nooo, yes my lfs said the foxface is from indonesia. The blue tang is also captured from there. What can I do about this cyanide?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Oh nooo, yes my lfs said the foxface is from indonesia. The blue tang is also captured from there. What can I do about this cyanide?

There is no treatment for cyanide poisoning, and the symptoms are too subtle to make a definitive diagnosis if this is an issue with a given fish. Fish can die from a multitude of reasons, sometimes in combination. My opinion is that cyanide poisoning accounts for about 30% overall higher mortality in groups of fish, rising to 50% in some fish.

 

[silenthuntertm]

There is no treatment for cyanide poisoning, and the symptoms are too subtle to make a definitive diagnosis if this is an issue with a given fish. Fish can die from a multitude of reasons, sometimes in combination. My opinion is that cyanide poisoning accounts for about 30% overall higher mortality in groups of fish, rising to 50% in some fish.

Hmmm bummer… Hope the blue tang wasn’t caught with cyanide. I contacted my lfs and hopefully he can give me some compensation. Thanks Jay! You’ve been a great help! Btw, if I dont see and white spots after a few weeks, should I still dose copper or skip copper and continue with prazi?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sadly he passed away… Now I am worried about my blue tang and two other clowns in there. What should my next move be? Here is a picture of the foxface if anyone can determine its cause of death:

Sorry to see and it is likely stress from netting, transport or as Jay stated existing already.
How did you acclimate the fish and for how long?
Sucked into a filter is a sign of weakness and not a good start and the freshwater dip which can be stressful to some fish may have had an impact

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hmmm bummer… Hope the blue tang wasn’t caught with cyanide. I contacted my lfs and hopefully he can give me some compensation. Thanks Jay! You’ve been a great help! Btw, if I dont see and white spots after a few weeks, should I still dose copper or skip copper and continue with prazi?

What fish are in this group?
What type of copper medication do you intend to use?

I prefer to not skip coppersafe/copper power because of the risk of having a low level protozoan infection slip through, and then become acute in the display tank.

 

[silenthuntertm]

Sorry to see and it is likely stress from netting, transport or as Jay stated existing already.
How did you acclimate the fish and for how long?
Sucked into a filter is a sign of weakness and not a good start and the freshwater dip which can be stressful to some fish may have had an impact

Acclimated by just floating the bag. Didn’t check what salinity it was in while at the lfs.

What fish are in this group?
What type of copper medication do you intend to use?

I prefer to not skip coppersafe/copper power because of the risk of having a low level protozoan infection slip through, and then become acute in the display tank.

A hippo tang and two clowns. I usually use an ionic copper called medtec copper and salifert cu test to test the copper levels.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Acclimated by just floating the bag. Didn’t check what salinity it was in while at the lfs.


A hippo tang and two clowns. I usually use an ionic copper called medtec copper and salifert cu test to test the copper levels.

This may in part have been an issue. This is the process for freshwater. There are several ways to acclimaye. This is how I do mine:
I generally:
Float for 20-30 minutes
Transfer fish and water into a clean bucket
Then . . . .
Measure the Ph, salinity and temperature of the bag water. If you can, make up some water in a container that has exactly the same measurements as the bag readings and move the fish right over, then you can add a cup of tank water to bucket every 15 mins 6 times (almost 1.5 hours)
Then check salinity in bucket and compare to tank. If no match or very close, add a cup of water every few mins until youve reached salinity and trap fish in same cup and pour off water and release into display. Release under LOW light before lights out. Fish in shipped bags produce carbon dioxide and ammonia which lowers the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the ammonia toxic to the fish. When you acclimate them, if not done just right, you drive off the carbon dioxide faster than you are diluting the ammonia which then raises the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the residual ammonia very toxic to the fish.
Sometimes, the fish will die right in the bag

 

[silenthuntertm]

This may in part have been an issue. This is the process for freshwater. There are several ways to acclimaye. This is how I do mine:
I generally:
Float for 20-30 minutes
Transfer fish and water into a clean bucket
Then . . . .
Measure the Ph, salinity and temperature of the bag water. If you can, make up some water in a container that has exactly the same measurements as the bag readings and move the fish right over, then you can add a cup of tank water to bucket every 15 mins 6 times (almost 1.5 hours)
Then check salinity in bucket and compare to tank. If no match or very close, add a cup of water every few mins until youve reached salinity and trap fish in same cup and pour off water and release into display. Release under LOW light before lights out. Fish in shipped bags produce carbon dioxide and ammonia which lowers the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the ammonia toxic to the fish. When you acclimate them, if not done just right, you drive off the carbon dioxide faster than you are diluting the ammonia which then raises the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the residual ammonia very toxic to the fish.
Sometimes, the fish will die right in the bag

Ohh I’ve never done that. Only drip acclimated for starfish once. Thanks @vetteguy53081 I’ll try to follow your acclimation process in the future. I’m worried for my blue hippo tang now because I acclimated him the same way I acclimated the foxface. Should I do anything? The clowns are in there for 2 weeks and seem fine.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ohh I’ve never done that. Only drip acclimated for starfish once. Thanks @vetteguy53081 I’ll try to follow your acclimation process in the future. I’m worried for my blue hippo tang now because I acclimated him the same way I acclimated the foxface. Should I do anything? The clowns are in there for 2 weeks and seem fine.

Some fish will do well with minimal acclimation while others will literally go into shock or start out sluggish

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Acclimated by just floating the bag. Didn’t check what salinity it was in while at the lfs.


A hippo tang and two clowns. I usually use an ionic copper called medtec copper and salifert cu test to test the copper levels.

Ionic copper is a bit harsher than the amine-chelated products like coppersafe or copper power.

Interestingly, the Medtec copper seems to be the same as Brightwell's Cuprion, even down to the bottle and instructions.