Flukes?

Sharkbait19 · Oct 3, 2021

Hi,
After a month and a half in QT and medication, I was about ready to move my Royal Gramma into my display tank, until I noticed these discolored patches all over the skin. These are flukes, aren’t they?

sunken3 · Oct 3, 2021

hard to tell from the pic. I had them on some fish in my nano... a freshwater dip worked very well.

Sharkbait19 · Oct 3, 2021

I tried freshwater dipping it, and couldn’t find too many results. When the fish almost stopped breathing after a minute, I stopped the dip. Here’s what I found:

Can’t tell if it’s flukes or just dirt.

sunken3 · Oct 3, 2021

read up on royal gramma and FW dip.. (i haven't), but most fish can easily handle 5 min in FW.. some will act weird (swim erratic to act almost dead), but they can do that for a long time. the flukes take a few minutes to swell up and drop off. they are like clear little oblong blobs.. hard to see (like a clear balloon filled with water). Also after they start to fill up, they are a little easier to spot from the side.

not sure what youre pointing to in the pic? if its the white specs, those are flukes (at least not like mine were).

you could also try adding prazipro to the water.

Jay Hemdal · Oct 3, 2021

Sharkbait19 said:
Hi,
After a month and a half in QT and medication, I was about ready to move my Royal Gramma into my display tank, until I noticed these discolored patches all over the skin. These are flukes, aren’t they?

That could be flukes - tough to say. I wouldn't move it into your DT until you figure it out though. Have you treated with Prazipro yet?

Jay

Sharkbait19 · Oct 3, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
That could be flukes - tough to say. I wouldn't move it into your DT until you figure it out though. Have you treated with Prazipro yet?

Jay

I just put PraziPro in—I hesitated for a week because nothing seemed visibly wrong. I decided to give one last look before moving the fish, and I’m glad I did. It’ll stay in QT for a few more weeks, now with the added medication.

Sharkbait19 · Oct 3, 2021

Quick question—ever since the FW dip, the gramma has been lethargic and breathing heavily. I pulled him out of the dip early because I didn’t feel like it was doing too well. Did I do something wrong, or is the fish just stressed??

Jay Hemdal · Oct 3, 2021

Sharkbait19 said:
Quick question—ever since the FW dip, the gramma has been lethargic and breathing heavily. I pulled him out of the dip early because I didn’t feel like it was doing too well. Did I do something wrong, or is the fish just stressed??

A one minute FW dip is survivable by any fish except one that is seriously ill. It also isn't long enough to really dislodge any flukes. Was the fish difficult to catch up? It may be reacting to the stress from the catch up as opposed to the dip itself.

Jay

Sharkbait19 · Oct 3, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
A one minute FW dip is survivable by any fish except one that is seriously ill. It also isn't long enough to really dislodge any flukes. Was the fish difficult to catch up? It may be reacting to the stress from the catch up as opposed to the dip itself.

Jay

Not the hardest time I’ve had catching a fish, but yeah he didn’t make it easy. I had to remove his cave to get him. He hasn’t gone back to it, is it possible he doesn’t think his cave is safe anymore? I never pictured this species as that intelligent.

Jay Hemdal · Oct 3, 2021

Sharkbait19 said:
Not the hardest time I’ve had catching a fish, but yeah he didn’t make it easy. I had to remove his cave to get him. He hasn’t gone back to it, is it possible he doesn’t think his cave is safe anymore? I never pictured this species as that intelligent.

I normally don’t attribute that level of intelligence to fish, but they are full of surprises.
Jay