Foxface not eating. Need recommendations.

[Xavier434]

Hello, I have an adult Foxface which I have had in my 190g tank for 3 years. It has had the following symptoms for 2-3 weeks:

1. Not eating at all at least that I have seen. Not seaweed or mysis.
2. Always in either its dark or spotted colored state.
3. Not swimming much. Usually just hovering in the same spot towards the bottom.

Other symptoms that have been sporadic:

1. Visible injuries (sorry, no pictures). None at the moment. They seem to have healed. More on this below.

Treatments attempted:

1. Mixed Seachem Focus with MetroPlex and Garlic extract in mysis and tried to feed it to him, but he did not eat it.
2. Soaked seaweed in garlic extract to try and entice him to eat. Didn't work.
3. Dosed PolypLab Medic in the tank to try and treat it for parasites.

Regarding the injuries, I am not sure if they were caused by my other fish, a bacterial infection, or a mix of both. I did notice them picking on him several days after he starting showing symptoms and was very weak. That is when I decided to quarantine the Foxface which has been for about a week now. I have not seen any signs of recovery or eating except for the visible injuries. Yet, he is still alive and still has some weight on him.

What I would like to do is cover as many possibilities as safely as possible. I want to treat bacterial infections and parasites, but I do not know what to do because it will not eat medicated foods. I am requesting recommendations on specifically what treatments to apply including product recommendations.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello, I have an adult Foxface which I have had in my 190g tank for 3 years. It has had the following symptoms for 2-3 weeks:

1. Not eating at all at least that I have seen. Not seaweed or mysis.
2. Always in either its dark or spotted colored state.
3. Not swimming much. Usually just hovering in the same spot towards the bottom.

Other symptoms that have been sporadic:

1. Visible injuries (sorry, no pictures). None at the moment. They seem to have healed. More on this below.

Treatments attempted:

1. Mixed Seachem Focus with MetroPlex and Garlic extract in mysis and tried to feed it to him, but he did not eat it.
2. Soaked seaweed in garlic extract to try and entice him to eat. Didn't work.
3. Dosed PolypLab Medic in the tank to try and treat it for parasites.

Regarding the injuries, I am not sure if they were caused by my other fish, a bacterial infection, or a mix of both. I did notice them picking on him several days after he starting showing symptoms and was very weak. That is when I decided to quarantine the Foxface which has been for about a week now. I have not seen any signs of recovery or eating except for the visible injuries. Yet, he is still alive and still has some weight on him.

What I would like to do is cover as many possibilities as safely as possible. I want to treat bacterial infections and parasites, but I do not know what to do because it will not eat medicated foods. I am requesting recommendations on specifically what treatments to apply including product recommendations.

Your description is great but you also recognized the need for pics as it can be parasitical, bacterial or other. I am concerned that you used various meds without clearly identifying what the fish has and Polyp Lab product is merely peroxide salts and at best May help with early parasite stages and Metro I highly not recommend as it has to be administered precisely in weight which is .5gms and it makes food taste bitter to most fish. Garlic as some hope is not a cure nut mainly an immunity system booster.
PLEASE post a 30 second you tube video under white light intensity so we can help you

 

[JayM]

How old was the fish when you got it? Aside from the visible injuries, the other symptoms sound like old age from what I've read. Obviously not the case if it's only 3.

 

[crabgrass]

How old was the fish when you got it? Aside from the visible injuries, the other symptoms sound like old age from what I've read. Obviously not the case if it's only 3.

What is the age span on a foxface in an aquarium ?

 

[MnFish1]

The lifespan is reported at 8-12 years. However it's impossible to know thats going on - I think most important has anything been added recently? That was not quarantined?

 

[Xavier434]

I will try to capture a good video tomorrow. Maybe one of you will recognize something that I do not, but at the moment his appearance is normal other than constantly having stress colors.

I purchased him while already in adulthood from my LFS (TopShelfAquatics) and I do not know how old he was at the time of purchase.

Nothing new has been added to the tank in a while. Nor did I make any other changes to the tank. All of this started suddenly.


In general though, I need to know options of what can be done other than medicated food since he is not eating.

 

[Xavier434]

Oh I forgot to list one more sporadic symptom. He has produced a slime coat on several occasions since symptoms began. It gets thick, wavy, and hangs off various parts of his body including fins and eyes. My understanding is that this is a standard immune system response, but I honestly know very little about it.

 

[Xavier434]

PLEASE post a 30 second you tube video under white light intensity so we can help you

Below is the video as promised. I zoom in closer about half way through. He was swimming around more for this video which is good, but still not eating.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Below is the video as promised. I zoom in closer about half way through. He was swimming around more for this video which is good, but still not eating.

While the swimming and breathing are not out of hack, The light in video appears to be ambient and cant really see the skin of the fish
Was it in environment with urchin or anemone?

 

[Xavier434]

While the swimming and breathing are not out of hack, The light in video appears to be ambient and cant really see the skin of the fish
Was it in environment with urchin or anemone?

Yes. Several Rainbow Bubble Anemones and a single Halloween Urchin. They have been living with each other for a long time and no noticeable issues, but if it did get stung then what's next?

Also, I shot another video. It stopped swimming so I was only able to get one side, but it is much closer and with more light. Needs 15 more min for YouTube to encode high resolution.

 

[Xavier434]

 

[vetteguy53081]

VERY Good video and I like the breathing rate. As suspected, presence of anemones and/or urchins. I suspect anemone stings and they will not have an adverse effect on the fish. As for not eating, assure your ammonia- nitrate-ph level has Not become elevated as well as temperature.
A water change would not hurt but test first

 

[Xavier434]

As for not eating, assure your ammonia- nitrate-ph level has Not become elevated as well as temperature.

Temp is good hovering between 77-78.
ph fluctuating between 8.05-8.14 throughout the day.

I will test Nitrate and Ammonia soon and report back.

 

[Xavier434]

As for not eating, assure your ammonia- nitrate-ph level has Not become elevated as well as temperature.

Nitrate is at 65ppm so it is high, but I do not know if that amount normally impacts a fish's health. My ammonia test supplies are expired so I ordered more.

In it's hospital tank, the water used was 40% tank water and 60% fresh salt water. I didn't perform a Nitrate test on it but it is certainly a lot lower. Still no eating though which leads me to suspect that the Nitrate level isn't the issue.

At some point, I need to put it back in the display tank. Is there anything else that you recommend that I try to treat it for before I do that? Maybe some type of "just in case" process for parasites or bacteria based infections?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Nitrate is at 65ppm so it is high, but I do not know if that amount normally impacts a fish's health. My ammonia test supplies are expired so I ordered more.

In it's hospital tank, the water used was 40% tank water and 60% fresh salt water. I didn't perform a Nitrate test on it but it is certainly a lot lower. Still no eating though which leads me to suspect that the Nitrate level isn't the issue.

At some point, I need to put it back in the display tank. Is there anything else that you recommend that I try to treat it for before I do that? Maybe some type of "just in case" process for parasites or bacteria based infections?

depending on what drop there was in nitrate, can be a concern but I still thinks its either flukes or possible internal. If fish is breathing normal, may reduce chances of flukes. If this is true, try Seachem kanaplex which is absorbed by the fish and will address Some internal concerns
Have you noticed loss of weight?

 

[Xavier434]

Have you noticed loss of weight?

I think maybe? Not a lot. Given the amount of time that has passed since I have witnessed him take a bite I figured he would lose more. Heck, I would have assumed that he would have died by now which leads me to suspect that he is eating at least a little, but I cannot say for sure. I have no idea how long this species can survive without eating.

I will try the Kanaplex.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I think maybe? Not a lot. Given the amount of time that has passed since I have witnessed him take a bite I figured he would lose more. Heck, I would have assumed that he would have died by now which leads me to suspect that he is eating at least a little, but I cannot say for sure. I have no idea how long this species can survive without eating.

I will try the Kanaplex.

Generally 3-4 weeks before weakening. You can see if it attempting to eat by setting your cell phone on video mode for about 30 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there.
Review the video and see if it ate in your absence

 

[Xavier434]

Performed a 5 min freshwater dip today. I also began the Kanaplex which I will continue for 3 doses over 6 days as per the packaging. Hoping he gets better after that. If not then I really don't know what else to try.

 

[Xavier434]

Bumping this thread requesting more help.

Since I last posted, I finished the 3 doses of Kanaplex in the hospital tank. It does not appear to have had any noticeable effect. Also tested the main display for ammonia which did not produce any results of concern. He is still not eating.

He also started displaying a new behavior. He is constantly at the water's surface swimming upward and sticking his mouth out of the water. He is also spitting water out while doing this. Can last for hours at a time. What does this mean?