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JumperAlex

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Dec 26, 2012
Messages
228
Can anyone tell me what's going on with my regal angel? When I left for work he was fine but when my girlfriend got home around 6 he looked like this.

image-3344865684.jpg
 
Had him about a week and a half and feeding a mix of mysis shrimp, marine cuisine (carnivore) with vitamin drops mixed in.
 
Can anyone tell me what's going on with my regal angel? When I left for work he was fine but when my girlfriend got home around 6 he looked like this.

The reason I ask is that a lot of these fish don't eat well etc. and end up getting HLLE (head and lateral line disease).
 
Do you think that is what this looks like? And if so what can I do to help him?
 
Can anyone tell me what's going on with my regal angel? When I left for work he was fine but when my girlfriend got home around 6 he looked like this.

View attachment 158648

Looks to be an infection of the Eye lens. This can be caused by a variety of things like an attack to the eye from another fish, Accidental collision with a decoration, a skin fluke attaching to the eye, etc. My best suggestion is to get him into a hospital tank and treat with an antibiotic, like Furan 2, to try to prevent losing the eye. Furan 2 treats both gram+ and gram- bacteria so I think it's your best shot without doing a sensitivity culture of the infection.

Hope this helps (y)
 
He has also been breathing heavy and staying in one spot all afternoon. Could this be flukes?
 
He has also been breathing heavy and staying in one spot all afternoon. Could this be flukes?[/QUOTe

It looks to be secondary bacterial infection to me. There also appears to be a wound or infection at the base of the ventral fins of this fish. I would get it into a hospital tank quickly before your other fish start attacking him or the disease spreads to the other fish in your tank.
 
Got him into a quickly and crudely made 6g qt tank. He made it overnight but now we are trying to figure out how to treat him.
 
Got him into a quickly and crudely made 6g qt tank. He made it overnight but now we are trying to figure out how to treat him.

Since you aren't for sure what it is, I would go with something that treats both gram negative and gram positive bacterial infections. I know that Mardel makes a product called "Maracyn Plus" that treats both and it will treat body fungus . Most bacterial infections are gram negative.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4833

Did you quarantine him before adding to the tank to rule out parasites? He's a beautiful fish!

Also, has he been eating well?
 
We have kanaplex which is a broad spectrum anti-biotic. I think we are going to treat the qt with that and then mix some of it into his food and bind it with focus. I'm also looking into a cheap 20 gal tank to set up as a qt. I have a 10 I could use for it would that be big enough?
 
We have kanaplex which is a broad spectrum anti-biotic. I think we are going to treat the qt with that and then mix some of it into his food and bind it with focus. I'm also looking into a cheap 20 gal tank to set up as a qt. I have a 10 I could use for it would that be big enough?


I'm not aware of this particular medication but as long as it treats both gram Neg (-) and gram Pos (+) organisms, it should be fine. While Nikki is right that most SW infections are gram - , I once saved a very expensive Tinkeri Butterfly when a sensitivity culture revealed that the proper med was one that every book I had, said was practically useless in salt water. I only wish I could get another kit today but the company is no longer in business. :(
As for the 10 gal being ok, it all depends on the size of the fish. While you don't want him to have to swim around a lot and exert energy, you also don't want to cramp him up so much that he gets paranoid in too small a space. This is a judgement call on your part as I don't know the size of your fish. You also don't want to oversize the hospital tank as the meds will get very expensive if you have to treat a larger volume of water more than once.

Hope this helps (y)
 
We have kanaplex which is a broad spectrum anti-biotic. I think we are going to treat the qt with that and then mix some of it into his food and bind it with focus. I'm also looking into a cheap 20 gal tank to set up as a qt. I have a 10 I could use for it would that be big enough?

A 20 gallon would work better only because its more room for him but for now the 10 will work. Just make sure that you are watching ammonia levels really well and you will have to change the water frequently. I use a 20 gallon to QT my new fish in. I keep two cheap filters in my sump at all times so to grow beneficial bacteria to use for QT so I don't have to change the water as often and only go through a mini cycle if any. Diagnosing fish disease is tough. I use to never QT my new fish but I lost everything in my bigger tank once to parasites which cost me a ton. Make sure that you are watching your other fish if you've not ruled out parasites.
 
A 20 gallon would work better only because its more room for him but for now the 10 will work. Just make sure that you are watching ammonia levels really well and you will have to change the water frequently. I use a 20 gallon to QT my new fish in. I keep two cheap filters in my sump at all times so to grow beneficial bacteria to use for QT so I don't have to change the water as often and only go through a mini cycle if any. Diagnosing fish disease is tough. I use to never QT my new fish but I lost everything in my bigger tank once to parasites which cost me a ton. Make sure that you are watching your other fish if you've not ruled out parasites.

With all due respect, quarantining a fish and medicating a fish are 2 different animals.
When you quarantine, you are mostly observing for problems while maintaining a minature version of your main tank. When you are medicating, most meds will surpress or even kill off the benificial bacteria so the need for water changes is crucial. In fact, most meds tell you to do water changes during the treatment period. During a medication period, most fish also will not eat so the production of ammonia is also reduced. All medication/ hospital tanks should have totally new and fresh, clean water in them before adding the sick fish. I've also found that ammonia buildup in a new tank takes 5-7 days before it reaches a level of discomfort for the fish. Most meds have you doing water changes after 3 days.
In a qt situation, your fish should have more space and be eating and swimming around and therefore producing more ammonia amongst other things so a cycled aquarium is a necessity for this.

Hope I've cleared things up a bit on this ;) (y)
 
With all due respect, quarantining a fish and medicating a fish are 2 different animals.
When you quarantine, you are mostly observing for problems while maintaining a minature version of your main tank. When you are medicating, most meds will surpress or even kill off the benificial bacteria so the need for water changes is crucial. In fact, most meds tell you to do water changes during the treatment period. During a medication period, most fish also will not eat so the production of ammonia is also reduced. All medication/ hospital tanks should have totally new and fresh, clean water in them before adding the sick fish. I've also found that ammonia buildup in a new tank takes 5-7 days before it reaches a level of discomfort for the fish. Most meds have you doing water changes after 3 days.
In a qt situation, your fish should have more space and be eating and swimming around and therefore producing more ammonia amongst other things so a cycled aquarium is a necessity for this.

Hope I've cleared things up a bit on this ;) (y)

Oh I'm aware! I've been in the hobby for many years! I'm glad you know as well and the importance which I'm guessing rules out any parasite infestation!! That's a good thing!
 
Oh I'm aware! I've been in the hobby for many years! I'm glad you know as well and the importance which I'm guessing rules out any parasite infestation!! That's a good thing!

Yes, I know :brows:. I spent more than 30 years in the Salt Water Fish Business importing fish from all around the world and shipping to all around the world. Fish from different places have different diseases so I am quite familiar with medicating techniques. ;)

What concerned me in your last post was your comment regarding the extra filters for cycling the QT tank. This is not necessary when medicating for a specific disease, as I mentioned in my last post, and could serve to only confuse the OP. In this case, the fish needs to be medicated first then placed in a QT tank for an undetermined amount of time for the eye to heal. These need to be 2 steps in 2 different setups. Just trying to clarify (y)

As far as parasitic infestations, a FW dip prior to putting your fish in a QT tank will do a lot to rid the fish of most external parasites. The QT period for this is to make sure internal parasites don't make a showing after the fact ;)
 
Yes, I know :brows:. I spent more than 30 years in the Salt Water Fish Business importing fish from all around the world and shipping to all around the world. Fish from different places have different diseases so I am quite familiar with medicating techniques. ;)

What concerned me in your last post was your comment regarding the extra filters for cycling the QT tank. This is not necessary when medicating for a specific disease, as I mentioned in my last post, and could serve to only confuse the OP. In this case, the fish needs to be medicated first then placed in a QT tank for an undetermined amount of time for the eye to heal. These need to be 2 steps in 2 different setups. Just trying to clarify (y)

As far as parasitic infestations, a FW dip prior to putting your fish in a QT tank will do a lot to rid the fish of most external parasites. The QT period for this is to make sure internal parasites don't make a showing after the fact ;)

I apologize for not being more specific, i.e. initial purchase, seclusion due to aggressive behavior to others or from, and illness. I use the filters for the initial QT prior to putting a new fish in or if there is a need to separate something. It saves me quite a bit of time with any water changes due to elevated ammonia levels and I don't really have to do much but test water, feed, and really wait. I have a person that I've bought fish from for quite a long time. Honestly, I've never once lost any fish of his due to parasites or fungus. The only fish I lost was a pair of black and white clowns and my neighbor was feeding them when I was out of town and contaminated the tank with pesticide (long story...uhg..:/ ). I just can't bring myself to NOT QT anything new. It's no fun to wait but in the long run it helps and saves time and money, not to mention stress!

As far as medicating goes, I don't use the filters. I've kept a few of my friends fish that were ill (he now quarantines thank goodness). I still say the bigger the tank the better.
 
Sad to report that being in the hospital tank and with the treatment of Kanaplex to the water for the past day and a half my angels condition is getting worse. He looked "okay" until just a few minutes ago when I checked on him and he was on the bottom of the tank not moving and breathing heavily. I hate to give up hope but things are not looking good. Thank you both for your input on this problem and information you have given me so that this kind of thing doesn't happen to me again. I am combining 2 of my 10 gallon FW community tanks to create a 10 gallon QT (not hospital) tank. I will keep my 6 gallon clean to be a hospital if needed later on. If you have any other advice it is certainly welcome.
 
Sad to report that being in the hospital tank and with the treatment of Kanaplex to the water for the past day and a half my angels condition is getting worse. He looked "okay" until just a few minutes ago when I checked on him and he was on the bottom of the tank not moving and breathing heavily. I hate to give up hope but things are not looking good. Thank you both for your input on this problem and information you have given me so that this kind of thing doesn't happen to me again. I am combining 2 of my 10 gallon FW community tanks to create a 10 gallon QT (not hospital) tank. I will keep my 6 gallon clean to be a hospital if needed later on. If you have any other advice it is certainly welcome.

Make sure you have plenty of aeration in the tank. Some meds surpress the oxygen content of the water. Up the air or add another airstone to the tank. Bigger bubbles helps. Never give up until the fish stops breathing. ;)
 
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