mark.henning
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I have a racoon butterfly that I have maintained for several (4+) years in my 120 gallon fish and live-rock tank. In preparation for adding corals, I have added a denitrifyer and a chiller to stabilize chemistry and temperature.
I found out the hard way that even though my racoon was tank raised, he instinctually browsed on the choral frags. So I had made preparations to find another owner with a fish only tank.
Around this time, I noticed that it had one eye going white. I quickly set up a hospital tank; pulled a piece of live rock for it; swapped out a sponge filter and put it in the tank to give it a chance to cycle quickly; then filled it with water from the original aquarium. I caught the butterfly and began to treat the tank with the instructions on the triple sulfa package. (one packet each night for the 10 gallon hospital tank; 50% water change every other night)
After 5 days, I wasn't noticing appreciable change, so I switched to tetracycline (after a 3/4 water change) and continued the treatements.
The Tetracycline causes a horrific red dying of the water, but I stuck with it to the end of the package (10 treatments/5 water changes) Then switched back to triple sulfa.
Somewhere during this process I read a post that lowering salinity from normal (0.22) to 0.10-0.12 helped in fighting the bacteria; so over the course of 4 water changes I brought the salinity down slowly to the new value
Now after almost a month he still has a white eye. It is not nearly as bad as it was, but it's not clearing up either.
The water parameters when I took him from the main tank were undetectable: (NO2, NO3, Amonia, Phosphorus) Alkalyninty was a little low, but within safe values, as was calcium) PH is nominally 8.2 (varies over the day as expected)
Other than the eye thing the butterfly appears to be quite healthy; is eating well and is otherwise not distressed (wants a bigger tank, of course)
Any advice will be most welcome
I am 
1) Tank raised
2) 4+ years: Tankmates at time: poweder blue tang; 2 black ocelleris
3) fish eats a varied diet frozen krill, frozen blood worms, Reef Formula 2 frozen, nori, frozen tubifex, chopped up muscles/squid/crab
4) see above for H20 params
5) only one eye is cloudy white. the other is its natural black coloration
6) doesn't appear to be, now; was doing so the first 2 or 3 days of treatment
7) normal swiming behavior as the small tank allows
8) N.A. It has been in its tank for many years
9) N.A. It has been there for many years
10) 120 gallon. Tidepool 2 sump, Berlin skimmer; Carbon, GIO, media. Aquaripure denitrification filter.
11) at the time no additives
I found out the hard way that even though my racoon was tank raised, he instinctually browsed on the choral frags. So I had made preparations to find another owner with a fish only tank.
Around this time, I noticed that it had one eye going white. I quickly set up a hospital tank; pulled a piece of live rock for it; swapped out a sponge filter and put it in the tank to give it a chance to cycle quickly; then filled it with water from the original aquarium. I caught the butterfly and began to treat the tank with the instructions on the triple sulfa package. (one packet each night for the 10 gallon hospital tank; 50% water change every other night)
After 5 days, I wasn't noticing appreciable change, so I switched to tetracycline (after a 3/4 water change) and continued the treatements.
The Tetracycline causes a horrific red dying of the water, but I stuck with it to the end of the package (10 treatments/5 water changes) Then switched back to triple sulfa.
Somewhere during this process I read a post that lowering salinity from normal (0.22) to 0.10-0.12 helped in fighting the bacteria; so over the course of 4 water changes I brought the salinity down slowly to the new value
Now after almost a month he still has a white eye. It is not nearly as bad as it was, but it's not clearing up either.
The water parameters when I took him from the main tank were undetectable: (NO2, NO3, Amonia, Phosphorus) Alkalyninty was a little low, but within safe values, as was calcium) PH is nominally 8.2 (varies over the day as expected)
Other than the eye thing the butterfly appears to be quite healthy; is eating well and is otherwise not distressed (wants a bigger tank, of course)
Any advice will be most welcome
I am 1) Tank raised
2) 4+ years: Tankmates at time: poweder blue tang; 2 black ocelleris
3) fish eats a varied diet frozen krill, frozen blood worms, Reef Formula 2 frozen, nori, frozen tubifex, chopped up muscles/squid/crab
4) see above for H20 params
5) only one eye is cloudy white. the other is its natural black coloration
6) doesn't appear to be, now; was doing so the first 2 or 3 days of treatment
7) normal swiming behavior as the small tank allows
8) N.A. It has been in its tank for many years
9) N.A. It has been there for many years
10) 120 gallon. Tidepool 2 sump, Berlin skimmer; Carbon, GIO, media. Aquaripure denitrification filter.
11) at the time no additives
