Fuzzy Dwarf Lion Death

[MWinchell13]

Hi All,

I am posting this more out of frustration and need for advice moving forward. Recently (Sunday) I purchased a Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish (A red, not brown) and unfortunately, he passed away sometime today as I found him when I arrived home from work. He was large (around 4 inches) and I couldn't resist buying him from Petco (My one rule to never buy from Petco) because he was so beautiful. I have a large refugium set up for my reef (around 20 gallons) and I placed him in there as a quarantine until I could get him eating and in my predator tank. Unfortunately, he passed away even after I got him to eat an enriched silverside. When I found him he lost all of the colors in his body but his fins were bright red (not abnormally, they simply hadn't lost color) and so were his gills (Flukes maybe?). I am very frustrated at myself for purchasing him against my rule and then to be proven right by his passing. Any advice on what might have happened?

The tank has been up for 5 months
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate <5
Salinity 1.026 (He was in 1.017 before so I acclimated him very slowly with an airstone and some prime to counter ammonia)
Nothing stocked in fuge besides chaeto, pods, a little rubble, and some dragons tongue macro.


Any advice helps, thanks!

Also to note, his pectoral fins were slit down the middle, though I'm not sure if that's a sign of anything. Pic is from store

 

[lion king]

My instints and experience point me to cyanide poisoning. There was nothing you could have done and no way for you to tell. The bleached out body is what points me to some type of poison, and sadly cyanide capture has come back rather widespread. It's a dark secret and you will never get anyone to admit it.

Dwarf lions as a whole do have a really high mortality rate, if you are interested in getting another one, read through some if my post for some interesting observations.

The tearing of the fins are likely caused by rough handling through transport. If he was otherwise healthy this would have healed. Internal parasites are a huge concern and needs to be addressed if you plan for another one. The bleached out body does point to poison of some sort, if you would have seen him die, there were likely seizures involved. I'm sharing this because I have seen it many times.

 

[MWinchell13]

My instints and experience point me to cyanide poisoning. There was nothing you could have done and no way for you to tell. The bleached out body is what points me to some type of poison, and sadly cyanide capture has come back rather widespread. It's a dark secret and you will never get anyone to admit it.

Dwarf lions as a whole do have a really high mortality rate, if you are interested in getting another one, read through some if my post for some interesting observations.

The tearing of the fins are likely caused by rough handling through transport. If he was otherwise healthy this would have healed. Internal parasites are a huge concern and needs to be addressed if you plan for another one. The bleached out body does point to poison of some sort, if you would have seen him die, there were likely seizures involved. I'm sharing this because I have seen it many times.

Thanks for the info, any idea of testing for cyanide poisoning?

 

[lion king]

Thanks for the info, any idea of testing for cyanide poisoning?

No there is nothing you can do. Some suppliers will "take precautions" by not doing business with collectors that are know to source from cyanide sources. I put in quotes because it appears to be coming back pretty widespread. If it's not cyanide, its poisoning of some sort, the sort that can not be tested.

 

[Kzang]

You can dip methylene blue for cyanide. I've heard it helps the gills

 

[lion king]

You can dip methylene blue for cyanide. I've heard it helps the gills

That doesnt work, the damage is done. The damage to the nervous system and internal organs is irreversible. Methylene blue will likely be a death sentence to a dwarf lion, lions succumb to most meds within a year or so, if they survive treatment.

 

[BobbyCline]

Expect quick losses when purchasing from Petco. I’ve given up trying be the “savior of fish” from that place.