Brookynella and i can’t catch the firefish

[Diveks]

several fish has started dying and i think it is brook. I got it from a mandarin i got. Of course i just plopped it in and thought everything will go fine. Well 3 fish died and now only 2 clowns and a firefish is left. The clowns are in horrible condition, still eating but skin is slouching off…

clowns will jump up on my hand so it shouldn’t be a problem but the firefish is so hard to catch. It is the only fish with no symptoms. I am unable to get the rockwork out. Any solutions?

 

[GHOSTLY]

Whatever you can qt and set up a plastic bottle fish trap

 

[UkiahTheTurtle]

Fish trap

 

[Diveks]

Whatever you can qt and set up a plastic bottle fish trap

Fish trap

Will do so mixing up the water for the qt right now. However the firefish is most interested in floating food and i mostly feed frozen is that okay?

 

[Diveks]

Also, it is very hard for me to get formalin. But there seems to be a cage cleaner that has it? Will this work or is metro only okay? Won’t be able to get directly anyway so it will be shipped.

 

[UkiahTheTurtle]

Will do so mixing up the water for the qt right now. However the firefish is most interested in floating food and i mostly feed frozen is that okay?

Yeah It would work if you put the food thawed out in the trap

 

[ying yang]

If cant take the rocks out,drain the water out some until fish goes in open water and use 2 nets to try capture is one method.
Another would be sticking a plastic bag inside its favourite hole it bolts into when scared,obviously need it be out hole and in open first so try distract it or male it go In another hole then wait till it comes out and then go to catch it with net,hopefully it darts into its favourite hole now inside the bag ( leave little excess bag flaps sticking out so can quickly grab bag out hole carefully)
Another is putting food inside net to feed the fish but this can often take time and I know time is against you.
Some kind of fish trap .

I got 2 blennies and a cleaner wrasse that hide/ dart/ sleep in the tiniest holes ever,literally just big enough for them to squeeze into,I dred the day if I ever need catch them and I made 2 big large glued/ mortared rock structures in my tank with lots of caves/ tunnels and such so less stressful for fish but perfect for them to evade me if ever need get them out ha ha

Another option is wait till night time and use a red light so you can see but apparently fish don't see to well or quickly turn on a flashlight to startle them then net them quickly but a fish that hides in rocks this not going to work pfffft

Anyway good luck getting them out and if cant get them out, unfortunately I know you say taking rocks out isn't an option but maybe the only option,some have mentioned about lifting rocks slowly out water so fish slowly goes to bottom of rocks closer to water till it then jumps out but be weary that fish doesn't stay in rocks and you have fish in rocks out water to long

 

[Diveks]

If cant take the rocks out,drain the water out some until fish goes in open water and use 2 nets to try capture is one method.
Another would be sticking a plastic bag inside its favourite hole it bolts into when scared,obviously need it be out hole and in open first so try distract it or male it go In another hole then wait till it comes out and then go to catch it with net,hopefully it darts into its favourite hole now inside the bag ( leave little excess bag flaps sticking out so can quickly grab bag out hole carefully)
Another is putting food inside net to feed the fish but this can often take time and I know time is against you.
Some kind of fish trap .

I got 2 blennies and a cleaner wrasse that hide/ dart/ sleep in the tiniest holes ever,literally just big enough for them to squeeze into,I dred the day if I ever need catch them and I made 2 big large glued/ mortared rock structures in my tank with lots of caves/ tunnels and such so less stressful for fish but perfect for them to evade me if ever need get them out ha ha

Another option is wait till night time and use a red light so you can see but apparently fish don't see to well or quickly turn on a flashlight to startle them then net them quickly but a fish that hides in rocks this not going to work pfffft

Anyway good luck getting them out and if cant get them out, unfortunately I know you say taking rocks out isn't an option but maybe the only option,some have mentioned about lifting rocks slowly out water so fish slowly goes to bottom of rocks closer to water till it then jumps out but be weary that fish doesn't stay in rocks and you have fish in rocks out water to long

thank you, ill try the bag trick, the firefish made their hole between the lowest rock and the sand unfortunately. Draining worked for me but the cave was higher. Hmm this is hard, the dang thing is so darn tiny. forgot to mention it is not a full grown firefish, it is only an inch long.

so even without symthoms this guy might still carry brook and qt will be useless if i introduce them back to the firefish. I will try qt. If they are done with qt and I still can't catch the firefish I can always keep them in a spare 20 I was going to use for a clownfish pair. I mean worse case scenario, If it is impossible to get him out and hes still going strong might just have a single firefish, corals and inverts in the tank... ;Facepalm

 

[Diveks]

Unfortunately out of nowhere one of the clownfish is dying (one of the oldest fish in the tank). I don’t think i can save this guy. He is not even swimming anymore and being blown everywhere… he was doing okay and eating well this morning.

Mannn when i think my day couldn’t get worse… i don’t think i will add another fish that hasn’t gone through qt. I did so with the mandarin because well it is a mandarin and i thought everything was going to be okay. Ive lost more than $200 worth of fishes. Never thought i could be so bonded to a fish…

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Formalin can be purchased from Colorado chemicals company and they ship quickly to your door. I was even able to order it into California.

 

[Diveks]

Formalin can be purchased from Colorado chemicals company and they ship quickly to your door. I was even able to order it into California.

Unfortunately i am in indonesia so it will take a long long time to get here, although i did find some 37% formaldehyde. But it will arrive the day after tomorrow. What is a suggested treatment for now?

Maybe i can freshwater dip and put in a bucket with metro for now. And then once the formalin comes i can dip again (formalin) and put them in the tank with another dose of metro?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Unfortunately i am in indonesia so it will take a long long time to get here, although i did find some 37% formaldehyde. But it will arrive the day after tomorrow. What is a suggested treatment for now?

Maybe i can freshwater dip and put in a bucket with metro for now. And then once the formalin comes i can dip again (formalin) and put them in the tank with another dose of metro?

Are you able to source rally locally?

A 90 minute rally bath and then transfer it to your sterile QT would be best in the absence of formalin.

Any fish left in the tank will really need to be removed and treated. Then the tank left fishless to starve the brook out.

You may need to drain some or part of the tank to get the fire fish out.

 

[Diveks]

Are you able to source rally locally?

A 90 minute rally bath and then transfer it to your sterile QT would be best in the absence of formalin.

Any fish left in the tank will really need to be removed and treated. Then the tank left fishless to starve the brook out.

You may need to drain some or part of the tank to get the fire fish out.

No luck on rally, i can get safety stop in 6 hours though when stores open as it is currently midnight.

i will try my best to catch the firefish. Will the liverock, corals and anemone be okay being out of the water for a little bit? The problem is the little guy lives between the sand and lowest rock. Also when i drain im guessing i can just add the same water back in right?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

They will be okay out of the water for a short period of time as long as you don't have sponges. Those should not be exposed to air.

Preferentially would be to drain the top third of the tank and start offloading your rock and coral into that water if possible to keep them wet. The best thing would be if your fire fish would dip into a hole in a rock that you could cover and just pull that rock out. Put the rock in a bucket to get the fish out.

 

[Diveks]

They will be okay out of the water for a short period of time as long as you don't have sponges. Those should not be exposed to air.

Preferentially would be to drain the top third of the tank and start offloading your rock and coral into that water if possible to keep them wet. The best thing would be if your fire fish would dip into a hole in a rock that you could cover and just pull that rock out. Put the rock in a bucket to get the fish out.

Ill try covering the hole and scare it enough that he’ll go in a hole in a rock i could easily pick up.

would the safety stop dip work by the way? If so i will get it tomorrow. And if i do get the safety stop do i still need the formalin?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Ill try covering the hole and scare it enough that he’ll go in a hole in a rock i could easily pick up.

would the safety stop dip work by the way? If so i will get it tomorrow. And if i do get the safety stop do i still need the formalin?

I am completely unfamiliar with that product. I apologize

 

[Diveks]

Since safety stop has formalin and methylene blue im guessing it can be used? Anyone know?

 

[Diveks]

Finally got the firefish out, thankfully the clownfish hopped in the net willingly. The firefish though… the firefish refused to go out even after i drained the water to the sand. I poked around in it’s hidey hole and finally it swam out. Even on sand it was still struggling..

Clownfish is looking a lot better after the dip. Hoping she makes it. I will be dosing metro in the qt. Wow was it a struggle getting this tiny fish out, a 4 hour struggle…

now to keep myself occupied while i wait for the fallow period. Im thinking of doing a whole 76 days of fallow just to be safe. I don’t think ill ever add anything wet without qting to the tank again. 3/4 of my corals died from the ammonia spike so i didn’t have to move too many corals.

thank you for the help!