Bicolor Blenny died please help

[helwrj28]

I've had this guy about 4 months and about 1 1/2 months ago noticed beginning signs of HLLE with lesions around eye and gills.. seemed to bounce back after removing carbon filtering.. but about a week ago started acting more timid and only eating food presented right in front of cave.. came home to find him dead in the tank

I have 2 clown fish that seem fine. Yellow watchman goby and Royal Gramma Basslet are hiding but were fine in the morning.. any advice or thoughts would be helpful thanks!

 

[LAA]

Water parameter?

 

[helwrj28]

Nothing has changed recently which makes it more frustrating..

pH 8.4
Nitrates 20 (I know this is kinda high but working on refugium to get lower)
Salinity 1.026

Also want to note I have some snails, emerald crab, and pistol shrimp and they're all doing fine

 

[BostonReefer300]

sorry for your loss. I'd ask @Jay Hemdal

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Looks like a death from an injured gillplate. Maybe flukes or the emerald crab inflicted the damage.

 

[helwrj28]

sorry for your loss. I'd ask @Jay Hemdal

Thank you! @Jay Hemdal any ideas?

 

[helwrj28]

Looks like a death from an injured gillplate. Maybe flukes or the emerald crab inflicted the damage.

Thanks for the suggestion.. what does flukes typically look like in Blenny? (because before he had white lesions that I thought was HLLE)

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Thanks for the suggestion.. what does flukes typically look like in Blenny? (because before he had white lesions that I thought was HLLE)

flukes look like tiny sesame seeds but they’re hard to see unless you remove them from the fish with a fresh water dip in a clear container. But flukes attack the the gills and fish scrape themselves out of irritation. The scraping could lead to injury in severe cases. Injured gills don’t function well and the fish get weak

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I've had this guy about 4 months and about 1 1/2 months ago noticed beginning signs of HLLE with lesions around eye and gills.. seemed to bounce back after removing carbon filtering.. but about a week ago started acting more timid and only eating food presented right in front of cave.. came home to find him dead in the tank

I have 2 clown fish that seem fine. Yellow watchman goby and Royal Gramma Basslet are hiding but were fine in the morning.. any advice or thoughts would be helpful thanks!

I can see some severe HLLE pitting, even down the body. In some cases, these lesions get infected and the fish dies.
I’m just worried because you said the goby and gramma are hiding today. Check to ensure they are feeding normally, there may be something else going on.
Jay

 

[LAA]

thats very true you should make sure the goby and gramma are okay.

 

[helwrj28]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the goby or the basslet this morning.. both are still hiding. Will keep you updated, thanks for the assistance everybody

 

[helwrj28]

Came home and still no Goby or Basslet. After moving things around I found both have died.. Goby half eaten by Pistol shrimp pair.. and Basslet with no signs of distress on scales yet gills flared at time of death

 

[LAA]

Sorry for your losses..

 

[helwrj28]

Now one of the clownfish died.... Was erratic and not eating. The other one is still erratic but is eating a bit.. still fast respiration. Still kinda at a loss what's going on... No markings/lesions or white spots anywhere.. but obviously something is affecting gills.. at this point should I try a hospital tank and treat (no idea what I'd start with...), Or keep and see if improvements? Or treat in DT? (Mind that I still have inverts)

Moving forward should I keep DT fallow for 76 days to rule out Ich (assuming I should move the clownfish)?

FYI all inverts are fine in DT.. thanks for the help guys!

 

[LAA]

you could try treating with melafix

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Now one of the clownfish died.... Was erratic and not eating. The other one is still erratic but is eating a bit.. still fast respiration. Still kinda at a loss what's going on... No markings/lesions or white spots anywhere.. but obviously something is affecting gills.. at this point should I try a hospital tank and treat (no idea what I'd start with...), Or keep and see if improvements? Or treat in DT? (Mind that I still have inverts)

Moving forward should I keep DT fallow for 76 days to rule out Ich (assuming I should move the clownfish)?

FYI all inverts are fine in DT.. thanks for the help guys!

Yes, the inverts doing fine points to a fish disease. By now though, it is well entrenched. A treatment for your DT won’t work, and even moving the fish to a QT probably won’t since it’s tankmate had died, this one will likely follow suit. If you want to try a Hail Mary, you would give the fish a 5 minute freshwater dip and then move it into a quarantine tank and start a copper treatment.
Jay

 

[helwrj28]

Yes, the inverts doing fine points to a fish disease. By now though, it is well entrenched. A treatment for your DT won’t work, and even moving the fish to a QT probably won’t since it’s tankmate had died, this one will likely follow suit. If you want to try a Hail Mary, you would give the fish a 5 minute freshwater dip and then move it into a quarantine tank and start a copper treatment.
Jay

Thank you for the advice! I will have my hospital tank/quarantine up and running shortly... Based on photos do you still advise that I start with copper to rule out Ich?

And I've never done freshwater dip before, wish me luck!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you for the advice! I will have my hospital tank/quarantine up and running shortly... Based on photos do you still advise that I start with copper to rule out Ich?

And I've never done freshwater dip before, wish me luck!

I don't see any ich on the clownfish, but something is taking the fish out pretty fast, so it could be velvet (but copper works on that as well). The FW dip is to buy you some time in case it is flukes.
Here is some general information I wrote up about dips:

“Freshwater dips” are commonly used to dislodge parasites from the skin of marine fishes. To perform these dips, the fish is captured and placed in a dimly lit container of clean freshwater the same temperature as the aquarium system it came from. Do not use reverse osmosis or deionized water, as there is no buffer capacity and the pH can drop too low. Dechlorinated tap water is suitable unless it is very acidic. The dip container should be covered with a clear material so that the fish is kept from jumping out, yet can still be observed for overt signs of stress. Hold the fish in the freshwater for five minutes to seven minutes. If acute stress is seen, the dip may need to be terminated early. The idea is to dislodge the parasites, without unduly harming the fish. Many aquarists opt to use reverse osmosis water, and adjust the pH to match the aquarium, but this is simply not necessary if the pH of the freshwater is between 7.5 and 8.5. Some advocate to not aerate the water during the dip, but this is incorrect. The water motion from air bubbles can help keep the fish active so that they can be better assessed for stress. Additionally, the air bubbles help dislodge some parasites during the dip process.



Some caveats:

• Some fish will give extreme reactions to being dipped (hepatus tangs for example), as long as they were swimming well before the dip, it is best to ignore that behavior and continue for a full five minutes.
• Moribund fish can be dipped, but understand that the acute stress from the dip may prove fatal. The dip water should still be checked for parasites in order to possibly help any remaining fish. Moribund would include any fish that was easy to capture or a fish with a respiration rate of 200+ BPM.
• Choose the type of net wisely, some fish have spines that will become caught in the netting. Have a pair of scissors handy to cut the net if this happens.
• Dropping a fish while moving it to and from the dip is common, take care. Some fish have venomous spines, so know that before trying to handle any fish.
• Fish shaking their heads violently after capture is one cause of mechanical exophthalmos (popeye), so try to gently restrain them in the net while moving them.

Jay