Royal Gramma Died, Important Followup question

[scubasteve]

Well,
The royal gramma I got a week ago from live aquaria that was acting flaky from the beginning died tonight. I kept an eye on him all week and some days he was swimming but the past 2 days layed on its side and finally died tonight. The fish showed no signs of ich, fungal infections, or any other type of disease i could see externally.

Here is the important question:
In with the royal gramma I had two baby ocellaris clowns in the tank. They show no sign of any type of odd behavior like the gramma did, no signs of any disease externally, and are swimming about fine.
a)What are the chances they will get what the other fish had?(Could the gramma just die for some reason not due to bacteria or fungus, in which case it wouldn't contaminate the water)

b)What can I do to try and ensure that the clowns are disease free and didn't catch what the gramma had? I have a SEVERE fear that whenever I put them in my main tank they will bring the whole thing down as I had this happen once before and it was devastating.

I am thinking of doing a water change of some amount(reccomendations appreciated), and leaving them in there for at least 4 more weeks ( they have been in there 1 week already), any other ideas I'm not sure preventitive treatment would do any good since there are NO signs of disease. The gramma swam on its side, upside down, bobbed around, kind of twitched, not sure what its deal was.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lagger]

a) The tank raised ocellaris are like rocks. I wouldn't be too concerned about them catching anything. Just keep on eye on them.

b) Wouldn't worry about them carrying anything to you main tank. You still have a few weeks to monitor.

yes, I would do a partial WC.

Sorry about your gramma Very beautiful fish. I guess it could have been an internal infection that did him in, but usually that takes more time. I suspect it couldn't take the stress of the move. Were you treating the QT tank with anything?

 

[steve-s]

Without knowing what you are treating, you can end up doing more harm than good. A few large water changes with well aged/aerated SW would definately be a good idea. About 20-25% in volume and 2-3 over the next week. If these fish are in a QT, leave them there for an addition 4 weeks as you've indicated. The possible risk of them catching/having something related to the gramma's death is a real possibility and should not be discounted easily.

There are many types of internal issues that can affect various fish within the same sytem but are not always related to communicable issues. Be sure to check the water quality and ensure foods are as fresh as possible and stored correctly.

Cheers
Steve

 

[scubasteve]

Steve,
Do you think that leaving them in QT for 4 weeks is enough time. In other words if I leave them in 4 weeks, and they don't act oddly or show any signs of disease would it be safe to assume they are healthy. I realize there are no guarantees but I'm just looking for an opinion.

 

[robertfah]

Steve,
If you haven't gotten rid of the fish already, keep it. Live Aquaria is good about taking fish back that die within a certian timeline of being purchased. I used to buy my fish from them, but most of them would die within a couple of weeks. I have luckily found a LFS that sells great fish, so I get all mine from there. I would recommend doing the same, if you can. This way you can see the fish before purchasing them and see how they are reacting in the tank, seeif there are any signs of disease, etc.

I would recommend a good size water change (25-35%) and not to worry about what disease (if any) killed your fish and it spreading to other fish. Like previous posts have said, if you don't know what your trying to cure, you may do more harm than good.

 

[steve-s]

Steve,
Do you think that leaving them in QT for 4 weeks is enough time. In other words if I leave them in 4 weeks, and they don't act oddly or show any signs of disease would it be safe to assume they are healthy. I realize there are no guarantees but I'm just looking for an opinion.

Generally speaking, 4 weeks is usually enough time to guage the health of your animals and determine if they are ready for the main display. When a fish dies for unexplained reasons, it's really not much different except if it was part way through a Qt process, you should "reset" the clock so to speak. There are mainy non disease/parasite related issues that can kill a fish so it is not predisposed that all tank mates will suffer the same fate.

Unfortunately I cannot say with certainty nothing will happen after that 4 week time frame but the chances are quite slim. Careful observation between now and 4 weeks time is your best defense.

Cheers
Steve