Hello. I was told to tag @Humblefish here to help. I have a 25-gallon tank that’s been running for a while now. No ammonia or nitrites. All parameters are within reasonable range. I have one frostbite clownfish, one smith’s fang blenny, a yellow watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp pair, and two snails. A bunch of coral I don’t feel like naming as well. Basically, I had two clownfish a week ago. The female began to pick on the male during feeding time. This prevented him from getting his medicated food for internal parasites (Metro), which I was unaware of until he slowly became weak while she stayed strong. The stress she put on him seemed to make everything worse, and he eventually died. Here are the symptoms I recall: white/stringy feces, trouble swimming properly (as if he had a swim bladder issue), lack of appetite, lethargy. A week later, my fang blenny started becoming less active. This happened for a few days (he would sit on the sand and just stay there) until today; I found him hidden in a cave. He looks kind of skinny, as if his belly is pinched. I tried feeding him, but he wouldn’t accept the mysis. He ate the day before today, but that’s it. Poop is normal the last time I checked. I’m on vacation right now, so I can’t do much about it. I have a friend checking on the tanks every once in a while. She told me he was nowhere to be seen, which leads me to believe he may have died and the pistol shrimp found him. I don’t know what is happening. Please help. Thank you.
Fang Blenny Emergency
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Welcome to R2R! Sorry for your fish troubles, but if there is a man for the job humblefish is your guy 
How long were you feeding food with metro in it?
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How long were you feeding food with metro in it?
I was using it for about twelve days until I noticed one of the clowns had normal feces again (the aggressor). I assumed they were both better. During the time I was feeding, the fang blenny would take a few bites at the medicated food as well. He didn’t show any symptoms, though, so I didn’t bother intentionally feeding him it.
The white/stringy feces & pinched stomach are both symptoms of internal parasites/intestinal worms: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/internal-pathogens.267419/
Metro treats internal parasites, but you will need to use praziquantel if this is intestinal worms. Food soaking API General Cure is a good option in this situation because it contains both medications.
Metro treats internal parasites, but you will need to use praziquantel if this is intestinal worms. Food soaking API General Cure is a good option in this situation because it contains both medications.
You should see white/stringy feces if he does indeed have internal parasites/intestinal worms. But if he was housed with a fish that was showing white/stringy feces, then there's a good chance he ate a little of that poop which was carrying the eggs.
Okay. Thank you. If this is an internal parasite for sure, then I’ll treat him as soon as possible when I get back home on tomorrow. He doesn’t seem to have an appetite, so should I medicate the water instead? I will definitely attempt to feed him, but I don’t know if he’ll want to eat.
Stella1979
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Hey there my friend. I'm glad you're here and have access to some of the best fish disease info I have found. Thank you @Humblefish for all the information and references you have posted here for us.
So A, looks like you need praziquantel in addition to Metro. General Cure has both medications and is available at big box pet stores like Petco. PraziPro by Hikari is praziquantel in a liquid and can usually be found at an LFS or online, of course.
If the fish won't eat, dosing the water seems like the only other option. It may be less effective than if the fish were to get it internally, but what can we do when they don't eat? Please read this... https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/internal-pathogens.267419/
Here's a few more to keep bookmarked.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-disease-index.247600/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-diseases-101.189284/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/
So A, looks like you need praziquantel in addition to Metro. General Cure has both medications and is available at big box pet stores like Petco. PraziPro by Hikari is praziquantel in a liquid and can usually be found at an LFS or online, of course.
If the fish won't eat, dosing the water seems like the only other option. It may be less effective than if the fish were to get it internally, but what can we do when they don't eat? Please read this... https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/internal-pathogens.267419/
Here's a few more to keep bookmarked.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-disease-index.247600/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-diseases-101.189284/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/
Thank you for the response. I’m heading back home today, so ultimately, it’s a matter of whether he’s alive or not. My friend did say she got a flash of him under a rock, but I always have my doubts. If he didn’t make it, then I will treat my entire tank anyway with the medicated food. If he did, I will most likely separate him because I do not want to medicate the water in my display.
Stella1979
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Why would you fast the tank?
Stella1979
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I really don't know... Never came across that advice and really couldn't speak to its effectiveness. My thinking is that we want fat healthy fish so if a sick one will eat, why would we withhold food? In fact, going off of their food is one of the scariest things for me. Sorry to be so blunt, but it almost feels like a death sentence when they quit eating. 
No need to apologizeI really don't know... Never came across that advice and really couldn't speak to its effectiveness. My thinking is that we want fat healthy fish so if a sick one will eat, why would we withhold food? In fact, going off of their food is one of the scariest things for me. Sorry to be so blunt, but it almost feels like a death sentence when they quit eating.
I was just making sure. I’ll let you know how everything goes.
