Help with Unhappy Yellow Tang

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes, I think you should continue with the copper. Good idea to isolate the fish if the clowns were pestering it, but that does mean the tang has less room to swim. Try to give the clowns proportionally less space than the tang.
Jay

 

[VanCityReef]

Yes, I think you should continue with the copper. Good idea to isolate the fish if the clowns were pestering it, but that does mean the tang has less room to swim. Try to give the clowns proportionally less space than the tang.
Jay

Hey @Jay Hemdal I uploaded new photos of the progress. The left fin and dorsal fin are both showing improvements. However, I believe what you described as "enlarged skin pores" have gotten worse and are further along the left side of the body (as you can see especially in the new photos). Is still eating well but heavy breathing continues. Any suggestions?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hey @Jay Hemdal I uploaded new photos of the progress. The left fin and dorsal fin are both showing improvements. However, I believe what you described as "enlarged skin pores" have gotten worse and are further along the left side of the body (as you can see especially in the new photos). Is still eating well but heavy breathing continues. Any suggestions?

Starting with picture #7, there is something visible to me now. This is the erythema that I had mentioned. It could be a reaction to copper, or it could be a bacterial infection. When you said you dosed praziquantel for 8 days, how many doses did you add? Prazi doesn't stay active for long in seawater.

Is the fish still feeding well? Are there still signs of ich (like the cloudy pectoral fin)? If there is, you shouldn't stop the copper, but if not, you might consider changing water to remove the copper to see if that helps.

Jay

 

[VanCityReef]

Starting with picture #7, there is something visible to me now. This is the erythema that I had mentioned. It could be a reaction to copper, or it could be a bacterial infection. When you said you dosed praziquantel for 8 days, how many doses did you add? Prazi doesn't stay active for long in seawater.

Is the fish still feeding well? Are there still signs of ich (like the cloudy pectoral fin)? If there is, you shouldn't stop the copper, but if not, you might consider changing water to remove the copper to see if that helps.

Jay

Hi Jay! Thanks again, your expertise is truly appreciated I had only dosed the Praziquantel once. I was unaware that it did not stay active for long in seawater.

The fish is still feeding well. All visible signs of ich (like the cloudy pectoral fin) have cleared. The redness, enlarged skin pores, and what looks like some missing scales are the remaining symptoms.

I made a big water change to get rid of as much of the copper as I could. Monitored the fish for 48 hours and the aforementioned symptoms have unfortunately continued to get worse. Fish continues to eat well. I made another big water change and added another dose of praziquantel.

Other than the existing symptoms I am a bit concerned that she may be bloated (I am conscious of this when I portion food). Also, I don't see her poop. I'm not obsessively watching all day, but my PBT drops logs before I feed lol.

Questions
1. Any suggestions regarding the possible bloating?
2. Should I be looking into antibiotics? In Canada, we need prescriptions, which can take a bit of time. I have found a good vet, but depending on what I'm looking for it can be difficult. They had to special order in the Praziquantel.
3. I have two small clownfish in nursery boxes in the QT. I would say they are pretty happy. They don't show any visible problems/symptoms other than the occasional flashing. Are they of any concern/risk being in the same system as the YT?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

1. Any suggestions regarding the possible bloating? No - as I understand it, the YT is eating nori well? That would reduce constipation. Ascites (fluid build up) can also cause bloating, but the root cause of this is liver or kidney disease and not really treatable.

2. Should I be looking into antibiotics? In Canada, we need prescriptions, which can take a bit of time. I have found a good vet, but depending on what I'm looking for it can be difficult. They had to special order in the Praziquantel. I was leaning that way, but I think I'm reading here that you backed off on the copper and the breathing got worse? That's a bad sign, if copper toxicity was present, it should have gone in the other direction. Still, antibiotics could be warranted, but you being in Canada leaves me at a disadvantage as to what to suggest.

3. I have two small clownfish in nursery boxes in the QT. I would say they are pretty happy. They don't show any visible problems/symptoms other than the occasional flashing. Are they of any concern/risk being in the same system as the YT? Perhaps, but that's a done deal now that they've been in there.

Maybe you could try a test FW dip on one of the clowns? A single prazi dose like you did will not treat egg laying flukes, as any unhatched eggs will then hatch out after the prazi has dissipated.

Jay

 

[VanCityReef]

1. Any suggestions regarding the possible bloating? No - as I understand it, the YT is eating nori well? That would reduce constipation. Ascites (fluid build up) can also cause bloating, but the root cause of this is liver or kidney disease and not really treatable.

2. Should I be looking into antibiotics? In Canada, we need prescriptions, which can take a bit of time. I have found a good vet, but depending on what I'm looking for it can be difficult. They had to special order in the Praziquantel. I was leaning that way, but I think I'm reading here that you backed off on the copper and the breathing got worse? That's a bad sign, if copper toxicity was present, it should have gone in the other direction. Still, antibiotics could be warranted, but you being in Canada leaves me at a disadvantage as to what to suggest.

3. I have two small clownfish in nursery boxes in the QT. I would say they are pretty happy. They don't show any visible problems/symptoms other than the occasional flashing. Are they of any concern/risk being in the same system as the YT? Perhaps, but that's a done deal now that they've been in there.

Maybe you could try a test FW dip on one of the clowns? A single prazi dose like you did will not treat egg laying flukes, as any unhatched eggs will then hatch out after the prazi has dissipated.

Jay

Hey, @Jay Hemdal I started putting together more footage for you then got inspired to put this video together, which is probably a more effective way to share what's going on. This is my first ever video like this, may have tossed a thanks to your way .
To quickly address/clarify Q2, When I backed off copper the breathing did not get worse, if anything she looked relieved for once. Breathing overall has improved a lot.