Possibility of irritants/irritation such as flukes or velvet. Inspect fish closely for signs. As My suspicion is flukes in which gills will be red or swollen with rapid breathing, fish acting lethargic or swimming near the water surface, hiding in the corner of tank or behind rocks, loss of appetite, shaking its head, flashing/darting, develop clamped fins, , or scratching against objects. They may also exhibit what looks like yawning from gill irritation develop, cloudy eyes and loss of color .
It could be a reaction to some irritant. It could also be what’s known as agonal behavior - something an animal does as it is dying.
I have the fish for 11 days. No bristle worms. It was behaving normal this morning.
Thanks! I will try to inspect him closer if he comes back out of hiding.
Looks like physical trauma. That blenny is in about every picture, could it be tagging the dottyback when you aren’t watching? You could set up your phone to record the tank and then leave the room to check that out.@Jay Hemdal , @vetteguy53081 I tried to get some pictures under white light while feeding, they are not the best but perhaps will help in diagnosis. Dotty back does have some white splotches on him, it kind of looks like physical trauma from his behavior yesterday, but I do not have experience in this area.
I will try that. I have not witnessed any aggression between the two. I had just fed the tank in order to pull the Dotty out in the open, thus the blenny photobombs. He normally stays perched on the other side of the tank, but I will keep an eye on that for sure.
Defense is a name and not what product will do. Isolation is the best recourse and You want to keep an eye on it to assure it does not develope into an infection.
Well, I meant that I hoped that it would help with the slime coat, and stress. It is supposed to have vitamins to help boost the immune system also. (I tried it my self, doesn't taste as bad as it smells...J/K)
