Sick coral beauty

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flanque

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jun 9, 2004
Messages
740
Hi all,

I've got a suspected sick coral beauty.. he's lethargic, not eating, his stomach looks "inwards-pressed" on both sides, seems to be frequently holding himself on an angle (i.e. not upright) and where his side fins join to the body they've gone gray in colour.

I've attached a picture of one of these fish (not mine) with the gray area circled to show where I mean.

Questions and answers....
1. How long have you had the fish? Do you know if it was wild caught, or tank raised?

About three months.

2. How long has the fish been in the tank? What are the tank mates? Any aggression?

About three months. Added a brown tang last month which had whitespot, but this seems to have cleared now. Used one dosage of triple sulfa. Other mates are orange tail damsel and perc clown.

3. Is the fish eating? If so what does it eat?

Not really but when it does, it's a high protein flake, a bit of nori or frozen mysis shrimp.

4. What are the water parameters? pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, SPG? (actual numbers please: posting high, average or normal is not helpful) What saltwater test kit are you using?

Ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrate: 0, phosphates: 0, SG: 1.019, pH: 8.2.

5. Is the fish showing any physical signs of disease, grain of salt size spots, discoloration, ragged fins, misting or spots on the fins, cuts, cloudy eyes, etc?

No signs other than the gray side fin in the area squared out image below. That's not my fish btw, just one to demonstrate location of area.

6. Is the fish "flashing" (scratching or rubbing on rocks, decorations or substrate)?

No.

7. How is the fish acting? Is it swimming around, or just hovering in one spot or corner of the tank?

Mostly hovering in one spot, deep in the rocks at the back of the tank. When it does come out, it seems to have a tendency to tilt on an angle. Move slower and more lethargic than usual.

8. Did you use quarantine? If so for how long and did you have a need to treat for any ailments? Is it in qt now? Are you currently treating with any medication(s)?

No to all.

9. Describe in detail how the fish was acclimated.

Over a period of one hour. First 30 minutes just in the bag, in the tank. Then every 10 minutes or so added a cup of tank water to the bag.

10. What size system? What type of filtration do you use? Do you have any live rock or sand?

See profile.

11. Do you use any additives? Have you used any sort of meds in the main tank?

Just CA and KH additives. See above for med.



Any thoughts?
 

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Boy that`s a tough one. My only thinking is that if you recently had ick maybe he still has it or since you treated for it he might have a secondary infection from the previous ick. Is there any way to post an actual pic of the fish. If it is bacterial or viral then check out this link.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=7
 
That is tough. I wonder if it could be from not eating enough as well. Have you tried enticing him with live foods? Brine shrimp maybe? Of course, soak them in some selcon or vitamins first...

Hope he pulls through. The sunken belly isn't too good though.
 
Well he's so far pulled through the night though I have seen him laying sideways on the bottom of the tank in this spot he chooses to remain. I doubt he'll make it. It's difficult to know if it's bacterial, though the gray fin makes me wonder. If he dies I'll take a picture to show you, otherwise it's impossible to get a good picture at the spot he's in.

As for food, he's not taking anything. Just staying in it's current space. I've feed three times since this started and he took nothing.

Bummer.




And.... since the forums require 12 hours between posts, I'll edit my last one to get this up..


OK, here's an update. I'm entirely sure this guy is a goner. I've attached some pictures I was able to get. I had to grab him by the tail and pull him out from within the rocks. He doesn't move, but breaths.

His left hand side has a big bulge or lump on it. I've tried to take some pictures but they don't really show it.

His fins are also breaking away so they look like the ends of cloth at the tips of the fins.

I'm suspecting dropsy with maybe secondary fin rot. What do you think?
 

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All over. Woke this morning to see him dead. I was running late for work so I didn't take any additional pictures.

Any final thoughts on what can be learned from this experience?
 
Sorry flanque. :( I don't have a clue what could have happened. I've never seen that on a fish before.

Could be bacterial, but it doesn't look lik dropsy, which would be seen all over the body and not just as a bulge.

Sorry again. :(
 
Can you get a better pic, now that he is gone?
Sorry for you loss.
 
That's OK guys.. just means I can get an annularis angel again.
 
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