Anthias with fin issue

Bthomas · Mar 2, 2019

2 separate issues here.. Looking for advice..
Just noticed one of the anthias in my quarantine has a weird fin thing going on. The tips are white and it kinda looks a bit jagged if that makes sense. It's on both side fins and possibly the bottom fin.
There are 5 anthias in quarantine at the moment all others seem fine although only 2 of them are showing interest in food, the other 3 dont seem to be eating at all. The 2 that are eating only kinda pick at the food, sometimes grabbing and spitting it back out. I've tried frozen, flake, pellet. They seem to go for the flakes the most but I'm trying to get them eating metro soaked food which is hard to do with flakes.
I havnt started copper yet because I wanted to get them eating first, but I've been treating with prazi/metro

Crabs McJones · Mar 2, 2019

Looks like lymphocystis, it's a common viral infection. It's not deadly but it is untreatable. All you can do is manage the symptoms with pristine water and keep the fish happy and healthy

and as far as not eating, prazi is known to cause appetite suppression in some fish. Hope this helps

HotRocks · Mar 2, 2019

My personal experience with copper is that the sooner it's started the better, especially with picky eaters. If you are using copper power and a Hanna checker, and the fish have an affliction in the gills the copper may get the fish eating more easily.

Keep an eye in that fin. It could be damage from flukes as well.

Bthomas · Mar 2, 2019

Crabs Mcjones said:
Looks like lymphocystis, it's a common viral infection. It's not deadly but it is untreatable. All you can do is manage the symptoms with pristine water and keep the fish happy and healthy and as far as not eating, prazi is known to cause appetite suppression in some fish. Hope this helps

What do we mean by pristine water? My tank has pretty consistently high nitrates (40-50) will this be a problem?

Crabs McJones · Mar 2, 2019

Bthomas said:
What do we mean by pristine water? My tank has pretty consistently high nitrates (40-50) will this be a problem?

As long as it doesnt stress then fish out. Also keep an eye out for what @HotRocks mentioned. It could potentially be fluke damage

HotRocks · Mar 2, 2019

Bthomas said:
What do we mean by pristine water? My tank has pretty consistently high nitrates (40-50) will this be a problem?

No issue there for fish.

Pristine just means, clean, keep up on WCs, and maintain stable parameters within tolerance.

Nitrates aren't a problem for fish until you reach several hundred.

Bthomas · Mar 2, 2019

Crabs Mcjones said:
As long as it doesnt stress then fish out. Also keep an eye out for what @HotRocks mentioned. It could potentially be fluke damage

What would I be looking for exactly to see if it's from flukes? Since I'm treating with prazi should it go away if thats the case? Although it didn't show up till today and first dose of prazi was 2 days ago if that makes a difference.

Bthomas · Mar 2, 2019

Should I go ahead and start slowly ramping up copper? Even though they arnt eating

Crabs McJones · Mar 2, 2019

Bthomas said:
What would I be looking for exactly to see if it's from flukes? Since I'm treating with prazi should it go away if thats the case? Although it didn't show up till today and first dose of prazi was 2 days ago if that makes a difference.

Prazi doesnt kill flukes, but it does cause them to dislodge from the fish from my understanding.

Bthomas · Mar 2, 2019

Crabs Mcjones said:
Prazi doesnt kill flukes, but it does cause them to dislodge from the fish from my understanding.

I was not aware of that. How do u kill them then

Crabs McJones · Mar 2, 2019

Bthomas said:
I was not aware of that. How do u kill them then

Freshwater dip is best

HotRocks · Mar 2, 2019

Crabs Mcjones said:
Freshwater dip is best

Other way around Zach. FW dip will remove "most" of them. Prazi will kill them. Prazi won't kill the egg stage. That is why the second dose 5-7 days after initial is needed to eliminate hatchlings.

A FW dip is a great way to confirm flukes are present or remove a heavy infestation prior to prazi. Since the prazi causes them to spasm they can cause Gill damage if not dipped before prazi with a heavy infestation present..

Crabs McJones · Mar 2, 2019

HotRocks said:
Other way around Zach. FW dip will remove "most" of them. Prazi will kill them. Prazi won't kill the egg stage. That is why the second dose 5-7 days after initial is needed to eliminate hatchlings.

A FW dip is a great way to confirm flukes are present or remove a heavy infestation prior to prazi. Since the prazi causes them to spasm they can cause Gill damage if not dipped before prazi with a heavy infestation present..

Got it, thanks

Bthomas · Mar 2, 2019

HotRocks said:
Other way around Zach. FW dip will remove "most" of them. Prazi will kill them. Prazi won't kill the egg stage. That is why the second dose 5-7 days after initial is needed to eliminate hatchlings.

A FW dip is a great way to confirm flukes are present or remove a heavy infestation prior to prazi. Since the prazi causes them to spasm they can cause Gill damage if not dipped before prazi with a heavy infestation present..

Is it likely that that's what this is then, since it showed up after dosing prazi?

Bthomas · Mar 2, 2019

Would it have been visible if there were a heavy infestation present when I received them?

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 3, 2019

Crabs Mcjones said:
Prazi doesnt kill flukes, but it does cause them to dislodge from the fish from my understanding.

Yes, it causes them to spasm and dislodge from the fish and then die in about ten hours from what I’ve read.

Bthomas · Mar 3, 2019

Ok I definitely have something going on with these guys. Today another one has the same white on its fins and one has a white spot on its mouth. Also noticed a couple of them yawning and they're hanging around the top of the water although not gasping for air. There's also one that has a spot on it.. I tried to get a photo but couldn't. It's just a tiny discoloration kinda looks like a bruise in a way.. It's a brownish color not white.
Any clues what this could be?
I'm going to go ahead and start copper, should I still go slow in raising or do I need to hurry with that?

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 3, 2019

I would do a FW dip first to check for flukes

Bthomas · Mar 3, 2019

Frtdrmrose7 said:
I would do a FW dip first to check for flukes

Fresh water dips scare me. I'm afraid of doing more harm then good.. Would dipping one fish be sufficient to check for flukes?

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 3, 2019

Bthomas said:
Fresh water dips scare me. I'm afraid of doing more harm then good.. Would dipping one fish be sufficient to check for flukes?

Yes, FW dips are more stressful to you than the fish. I was the same for a while but then got through my first one and now they are a regular part of my QT. If you follow this you shouldn’t have any problems.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/