Firefish maybe sick

[Woodchip]

I got this firefish yesterday and it disappeared until today when I saw it swimming touching the bottom and then it payed down so I thought it was dead and went to pick it up and it swam away. 10 minutes later it looks as if it is struggling to stay upright and it does not want to eat. Any idea what it is and how to save it

 

[vetteguy53081]

How did you acclimate the fish and for how long?
What is your tank temp and salinity?
Any signs of aggression such as shredded fin/tail?

 

[JonoB]

I hate when my fish seem like they aren't doing well; I have a tang I'm struggling with right now.

Could you give some more info? How long has the tank been running, what is your ammonia, salinity, temperature? Do you have other fish in the tank? I may not be able to answer but more information is going to help.

 

[Woodchip]

I drip acclimated for one hour the temperature is 75 and salinity is 1.023 his tail looks a little messed up the tank has been running for about two months ammonia is 0 and the other fish in the tank are a Hectors goby a bicolor blenny and a Valentini puffer

 

[Woodchip]

I have had him for less than 24 hours if that helps just thought I would mention it

 

[Mono]

I'd pray to Poseidon. I'm not sure there's much else you can do. Transitions are hard. It's a good practice to check the salinity in the bag so you know how much of a shock they are in for. I also find putting my new fish in an acclimation box in the tank for a few days and only adding them to the tank at night can really help reduce stress and insure a successful transition. No guarantees though.

 

[Woodchip]

He died not long after I made this thread but I have figured out why. When he was getting netted out of the tank the person that was netting him flipped a rock over on him. That is why he had ripped fins and then they held him out of the water while they filled up the bag of water then put him in it.

 

[JonoB]

So in the future, if you see them do that, demand another fish. I know it's hard to be upfront and can be awkward. Or just go to a different LFS.

EDIT: Demand in the moment, not taking the dead fish back and demanding a replacement.

 

[Woodchip]

Actually the owner and most of the workers are great but that is not my first bad experience with that exact worker I have also had a coral that he held out of the water for like a minute. It didn’t die but it was close to dying.

 

[Woodchip]

I also have a clownfish that might have swim bladder disease. It is always almost touching the surface of the water and never straight up. Do you think it is just normal clownfish behavior or what is it? I have never had a clownfish before.

 

[brandon429]

the entire system is infected w various diseases now and must be fallowed, then use qt fish and you're all set to the degree that you manage other hardscape inputs via fallow conditioning first. some get away with cheating, most don't per the fish disease forum. remove all fish, reef without fish until july 1st

put back in only prepped fish, top info from 2021

how old is this tank curious to know