AAAHHHHHHHH, CAN'T DO THIS NO MORE...

[kellane1]

Think maybe i made a booboo, bought the petshops last two fish and one was looking a bit sick. The owner gave me the fish and me thinking i could nurse it back to health and score a free fish, i took it home..
Well it went to heaven and now my Dotty Back is rubbing himself on the substrate and i am thinking that maybe something is wrong.
Do i need to quarantine it NOW.. or can i wait and see if he comes good or is this just a dotty back habit..,
Tank is brand new and has been cycling about a month now, only have the Dotty Back and a Long Nose Butterfly in the tank and a little bit of LR.
Starting to get a bit dissalushioned with fishtanks, you gotta be a vet, animal behaviouralist, food dietician, cleaner, pump specialist and a bloody addict, to love this hobby..
Am hanging in, JUST..
Thanks in advance
confused....

 

[fishfreek]

Rubbing is usually indicitive of ICK. Since the tank is new I suspect you might have some water quality issues. Do you test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? If so what are these readings? What is your daily and night time temperature readings aswell as your salinity readings.

What size tank is this?

 

[stresco]

I agree with FF, if the fish is rubbing on things in the tank, something is irritating i's skin. Most likely culprit is ICK.

 

[BTA]

hehe...you forgot "a 1/2 chemist" LoL...hence the water params..
Get some anti-ick / anti-ich medication and quarantine asap! Also do a search and read about the ich life cycle... the parasite goes dormant for a while...you need to medicate for at least a month to 45 days or use hypo-salinity for a month. Don't put the fish back until it's ick/ich-free for at least 2 weeks.
good luck.

 

[HoopsGuru]

I don't think this hobby requires anything as much as it enables you to be a plumber, electrician, chemist, vet, etc. through researching from responsible resources. Personally, I feel empowered that by asking some questions previously I can now wire a complete lighting kit together when before I would have had to pay somebody to do it.

I think you are frustrated because you have been taken down the wrong path. The hobby is simple and should be fun, but more often than not some LFS put sales ahead of educating the new hobbyist (if this was your resource). IMO, they had you with a set up tank with fish before it was ready, and this and caused some problems. I would start asking questions here instead, in addition to getting a good book like Bob Fenner's The Conscientious Marine Aquarist.

For this issue specifically, you are experiencing the drawbacks of plopping multiple fish into the tank straight from the pet store. EACH fish in the future should be quarantined separately for several weeks BEFORE they go in the display tank (If multiple quarantine tanks are not a viable option, only one fish should be purchased at a time.). This would have allowed you to treat the fish and possibly get it back to health without the stress of being in a new environment with other fish. At the same time it would keep the fish (and any other purchased fish quarantined) from bringing in some sort of parasite or pathogen into the display tank. Remember, even seemingly healthy fish can be carrying something!

For now, I think you are in a tough spot. Per Fishfreek's advice, it is important to know if your tank is even cycled properly yet. If not, I would suggest taking back the fish to the pet store. It is also important to know if your tank can support what fish you have/want (in regards to size of tank). If inappropriate, the Long Nose could potentially be returned as well. If not, IMO I would move it to quarantine for observation for several weeks (this will require a Q-tank with stable water conditions!) and treatment if necessary. It will also allow any parasites in the display tank to run their life cycle without a host.

Don't mean to sound complicated, but you are now behind the 8-ball a bit. If you get out things can be much more simple and fun from here.

 

[kellane1]

tested for ammonia last week and it was well within parameters..
Do not have test kits yet to enable me to test for nitrite or nitrate but i was informed that if ammonia is not present then then the other two will not be in lethal quantites?
Probably been told rubbish, there seems to be a lot of it going around here where i live. lol
thanks again

 

[fishfreek]

Alot can change in a week so it would be good to get a new water reading. What do you mean when you say "within parameters"?

If there is no ammonia there could still be nitrite and there will most definatly proabably be nitrate. Since nitrite is a product of removing ammonia and nitrate is a product of removing nitrite you dont need ammonia to be detectable inorder to have quantites of the other two.

 

[biotoxin]

me thinking i could nurse it back to health and score a free fish, i took it home..

theres your first mistake. Its almost like buying a new car, you get emotional about it and all logic flies right out the window. Even if the fish is in perfect health you never stick it directly into the tank unless you are sure it will be disease free. Im a hypocrite because i give this advice but im guilty of just acclimating my clown and putting it in my tank. I was lucky and its healthy now with no ill effects. Not tryin to kick you while youre down but imo, id never take home a fish i knew was sick and try to nurse it back to health. Now not only is the fish dead your display tank is in bad shape. Hang in there and tough it out, the people here will help you as much as they can but next time use your head and dont be so excited to score free fish

 

[HoopsGuru]

IMO, it's fine to take on a charity case or two....just put them in their own hospital tank until they are well and able to enter the environment of the display tank.

As stated, it is important to know an exact number on the ammonia. "Within parameters" leads me to believe you might have been passed misinformation as there is only one safe level...0ppm. As far as the other two, nitrates are the least lethal of the two, but nitrites can be very toxic to livestock. It binds with the hemoglobin in the blood and prevents oxygen transfer. I would compare the fish's appearance to being "sluggish" while they slowly suffocate .

 

[Hookemhorns_98]

My dottyback rubs against the rocks all day long...and he A-ok.