Help identifying what killed a fish-SO very bummed

[Tabasco1]

I lost a midas blenny this am. Don't really think it was a midas blenny, that is what I ordered from DF&S, but it was rainbow colored and had a thin black stripe along the top of it's dorsal fin. But I digress... not looking for a fish id.

I had the fish in qt for close to 3 months. Treated with prazi pro (2 rounds) and culpramine for 8 weeks. The treatments went fine. Fish was eating well, fat and active. I kept in the qt tank for a bit longer because I have been really busy and haven't had time to transfer.

The DT has a pair of royal grammas as the only fish occupants. They are fat and happy.

He looked healthy clear of any disease and finally made the transfer on Tuesday night. Run down of the transfer:

• salinity in DT 1.025 vs. QT 1.024
• acclimated over 40 minutes
• Ammonia in both tanks 0ppm
• Nitrite in both tanks 0ppm
• haven't tested for nitrate in a while

Was a little concerned there may be conflict since the grammas seem to be a mated pair and they have been the only fish in the DT and have never had tank mates. They didn't seem to even notice the addition. I never saw them take any interest in the blenny at any time or any aggression at all on either side.

Don't know if it is important, but when I got the blenny I also got a pair of zebra gobies. Introduced all 3 into the QT at the same time. One of the zebra gobies was dead the next day and the other the day after. I had assumed that the blenny did it, but was never sure. So I did have some concern that he may go after the grammas.

He was alive last night, hiding in a corner along the back glass and did not eat. But didn't cause too much alarm because it was day one. Found him on dead this morning. So he made it about 36 hrs. The only thing that I noticed was that his stomach looked distended and a dark silver color. Pics attached.

ANYWAY-I know this is a bit long winded. But I'm trying to figure out if I somehow killed him in the transfer or if the grammas killed him or if there was some sort of disease that I missed. But seems very coincidental in timing and he looked absolutely stunning before the transfer with no signs of stomach parasites.

Would greatly appreciate thoughts. I am super bummed, I put a lot of time into getting this fish ready to transfer and had grown pretty attached to him. He was the most beautiful blenny I'd ever seen.

 

[Tabasco1]

ok... pics delayed while I figure out how to attach

 

[Tabasco1]

error

 

[Tabasco1]

ok. Try one at a time.

 

[Tabasco1]

I'm at a loss with the upload file thing. I have tried with the button at the bottom right, but when I click browse it doesn't actually browse. I dragged pics in and they showed up in the preview and not in the actual post. The weirdest part is that I refreshed once and was actually able to see 2 of the images in the post above. When I refreshed again... they were gone.

 

[melypr1985]

I'm at a loss with the upload file thing. I have tried with the button at the bottom right, but when I click browse it doesn't actually browse. I dragged pics in and they showed up in the preview and not in the actual post. The weirdest part is that I refreshed once and was actually able to see 2 of the images in the post above. When I refreshed again... they were gone.

I see your pictures. Do you have one from when he was alive for comparison purposes? It looks like there is a lighter area on the stomach. Is that right? Did he have that while he was apparently healthy?

Did he display any behavioral symptoms such as: Heavy breathing, swimming into the flow of a powerhead, scratching/flashing, being reclusive, hiding a lot, twitching head?

How long was he in the DT? Just a couple hours? Days? I may have missed that part of your first post.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

bummer.
Anything that stings in the tank? Looks "bite ish"

 

[Tabasco1]

Thanks! There was not a light on the QT tank, so no pictures of a before. The stomach was a uniform color and blended from yellow at the tail to a pale blue purple with his body gradually when he was alive and healthy prior to the transfer. That is the only thing that looked off about him when he was dead. The belly was a darker silver color, very articulated margin of difference in the color on his stomach than body and didn't look smooth.

He was not swimming in a powerhead. Not scratching or flashing, not twitching head. He was not having issues swimming. Did not see him struggling. He originally hid in a corner that I could see pretty well the first night and stayed there for the night. He was displaying his stressed colors, which was kind of a brown mottling. He displayed these colors when I first recieved him. Was in the same approximate location in the morning. The next evening he had moved to the corner on the other side of the tank and was there all night. His colors had returned to normal. He was pretty still. Sitting inverted vertically along the back glass corner about 3" from the top of the tank.

He did look like he was breathing harder the first night, but that seemed about normal for a transfer. He didn't look like he was really breathing harder the 2nd night, but since he was hiding and didn't come out to eat he was clearly not happy about the move yet.

Would it take 36hrs to see a death in a botched transfer?

There is nothing bite-ish in the tank. It is a 45g cube. I have a serpent star that is fairly reclusive. And I do have some bristle worms I see come out after feeding at night, but none that are very big. I did not see him ever approach rock work or tank floor while he was alive.

I'm truly at a loss. And just trying to see what I can do to avoid in the future.

Could aggression from another fish cause the bruising/distended belly?

 

[melypr1985]

Could aggression from another fish cause the bruising/distended belly?

I've never seen it cause that. Intestinal worms could cause the distended belly or constipation. Did you ever see it poop? Was the poop white and stringy?

Would it take 36hrs to see a death in a botched transfer?

It can happen. But potentially there was a problem that went undetected during QT that has been cooking this whole time- exacerbated by the stress of the transfer.

 

[Naiad]

Did your other fish that died in qt show any visible abnormalities? I'm thinking it may have been an internal infection or damage of some sort. Very hard to detect on a new fish that would be acting stressed anyway.

 

[Tabasco1]

Wouldn't prazipro take care of worms?

He was in QT since Feb. 22. He was a voracious eater and attacked the feeding syringe every time. I could see his body clearly when feeding and there was no abnormality there until after he died.

The other fish were in there for such a short period of time that I didn't notice anything. I took pictures of them post mortem, and it looks like they may have been a little beat up, but hard to tell. They did not show the stomach stuff that is displaying on the blenny.

 

[melypr1985]

Wouldn't prazipro take care of worms?

He was in QT since Feb. 22. He was a voracious eater and attacked the feeding syringe every time. I could see his body clearly when feeding and there was no abnormality there until after he died.

The other fish were in there for such a short period of time that I didn't notice anything. I took pictures of them post mortem, and it looks like they may have been a little beat up, but hard to tell. They did not show the stomach stuff that is displaying on the blenny.

Actually prazi is good for external worms and some internal worms. Metroplex is better for that purpose. Did you ever see him poop? Ever see white stringy poop? I dont think these were answered above.

 

[Tabasco1]

He never had stringy poop hanging from him that I saw.

I wonder if I should pull his body out of the trash when I get home and cut him open if I would be able to see anything.

It just seems like such a mystery. That is what is killing me about it. Plus the fact that he was gorgeous.

 

[melypr1985]

He never had stringy poop hanging from him that I saw.

I wonder if I should pull his body out of the trash when I get home and cut him open if I would be able to see anything.

It just seems like such a mystery. That is what is killing me about it. Plus the fact that he was gorgeous.

I think all your going to get at this point is a nasty smell if you pull him out of the trash now. Remember, there are so many diseases and parasites out there that we just dont know about most of them. Sometimes it's just a mystery.

 

[Tabasco1]

It is just hard to wrap my head around because he went through a standard quarantine process... 2 prazipro treatments and 8 weeks in cupramine...was in QT longer than typical for a blenny and to come out with a disease shakes your confidence a bit.

 

[melypr1985]

It is just hard to wrap my head around because he went through a standard quarantine process... 2 prazipro treatments and 8 weeks in cupramine...was in QT longer than typical for a blenny and to come out with a disease shakes your confidence a bit.

try not to let it. Sometimes these things happen. I'm sure @Humblefish will be by in a little bit to check on things. Maybe he will have another opinion.

 

[Tabasco1]

Thanks so much for your help in working through this. It is really bumming me out. Apparently I was much more attached to him than I thought.

And it is just crazy to me that he looked so good all the way through until after the transfer. I feel a little blind sided. Or just feeling like I did everything I could and lost him sucks.

May have to go to a loss counselor.

 

[Humblefish]

I'm being nitpicky, but next time make sure temp & SG matches perfectly between QT & DT. And then just transfer the fish over without any acclimation procedure.

 

[Tabasco1]

@Humblefish Absolutely will do. From what is described and pics. Do you think most likely transfer process or internal parasite?

Thanks.

 

[Humblefish]

@Humblefish Absolutely will do. From what is described and pics. Do you think most likely transfer process or internal parasite?

If I had to guess, transfer process. There's no clear evidence of disease or "foul play" here. I know .001 SG difference doesn't seem like much, but some fish really have a hard time going up in salinity. They are closet osmoconformers.