ID Please (Regal Angel)

[bs80]

Hello all. I brought home a Red Sea Regal a couple days ago. I saw it eating mysis just fine at the shop, and it was eating fine all day in quarantine yesterday. However, I haven't seen it eat anything today. Aside from not eating, I haven't noticed any other strange behavior. It is currently in a QT with four Lyretail Anthias and a small Green Chromis. I have noticed some white stripes/spots on its tail. I thought I saw something somewhat faint last night, but they are more prominent today. I don't see much else on the rest of its body.

As for current QT treatment, I dosed with Metro yesterday, and today I dosed with Metro and NFG, since one of the anthias was dealing with what looked like a bacterial infection and/or uronema. I have also been soaking the food with Focus and Metro (along with Selcon and VitaChem). The loss of appetite in the Regal was noticeable before I added the NFG powder this afternoon.

Sorry for the poor pictures -- the lighting is pretty bad in the room, and the water is tinted from the NFG. Any ideas what this could be, and any suggestions for what to do about it? Freshwater dip for flukes perhaps? Thanks in advance!

 

[JRAD]

Hard to tell from pics- you could do FW dip to see if they fall off. Pretty angel!

 

[bs80]

Thanks for the reply. I know the picture is no good, but is there anything in particular I could look for to get a better assessment of what this might be? Is Lympho a possibility, and if so, would that explain why it stopped eating? Is ich still a possibility, or is that definitely not what's presented in the picture?

 

[JRAD]

That looks to big to be ich or velvet. If it is lymphocystis it should go away with no treatment necessary. How does it look now? Any change?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the reply. I know the picture is no good, but is there anything in particular I could look for to get a better assessment of what this might be? Is Lympho a possibility, and if so, would that explain why it stopped eating? Is ich still a possibility, or is that definitely not what's presented in the picture?

That is an odd location for Lymphocystis to show up, that wouldn't account for it not eating and it would not have developed it so quickly. Going off feed with a regal is very concerning.

I can't tell - is your water a bit murky? How has your ammonia level been?

I presume "metro" is metronidazole? What was the dose? I've had that inhibit fish's appetite before...

Jay Hemdal

 

[bs80]

I appreciate your replies, JRAD and Jay. I gave it a five minute freshwater dip yesterday, but didn't notice anything that fell off into the container afterwards. The water looks murky because of the NFG powder. And yes, I was referring to metronidazole. Ammonia is difficult to test for because of the NFG, but I dosed some Seachem Prime yesterday just in case.

The full story is that I brought home the regal angel, five female lyretail anthias, and three green chromis the same day (Wednesday). I gave them all a 90 minute Ruby Reef Rally bath, but two of the chromis were too weak to survive it -- one of them couldn't even swim away from the powerhead that was circulating the water in the bath. The regal, five lyretails, and surviving chromis went into a 20 gallon QT together. I dosed the QT with 1/4 tsp of metronidazole powder that I purchased from everythingaquatic.net. In addition, I soaked their food with Seachem Focus and metro powder, as well as Selcon and Vita-Chem, and they all seemed to eat fine.

The next day (Thursday), I noticed an issue with one of the lyretails (detailed in this thread HERE), so I took put her in a half hour ciprofloxacin and methelyne blue bath, but she didn't last much longer after returning to the QT. I dosed the QT again with 1/4 tsp of metronidazole. Once again, I soaked their food with focus/metronidazole/selcon/vita-chem, and they all seemed to eat fine.

Yesterday (Friday), another one of the lyretails was acting sluggish, but did not have any obvious markings to indicate that anything was awry. As for feeding, I again soaked the food with focus/metronidazole/selcon/vita-chem, but the sick lyretail and the regal did not eat. The regal showed some interest in that it would go right up to the food but decided not to eat it. Since another lyretail was showing issues, I dosed the QT with 1/4 tsp of nitrofuracin green powder (also purchased from everythingaquatic.net), as well as another 1/4 tsp of metro powder. The sluggish lyretail died late in the evening. Afterwards, I gave the regal and the remaining three anthias the five minute freshwater dips. I thought (probably wishful thinking) that maybe the regal's tail looked a tad bit better, but I can't say for sure.

This morning, I tried adding some minced garlic to the food soak but the regal still did not eat. The other fish in the QT all ate just fine.

 

[bs80]

Also wanted to mention that when I wrote the previous post, it appeared to be pushing out what looked like normal brown poop. But just now I saw white poop hanging out (again, sorry for the poor picture). I don't know whether or not this qualifies as "stringy." Should I begin dosing praziquantel powder as well? Feeding soaked food would be ideal, but it still isn't eating.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Looks like it could be Lympho. Check out this thread, its hard to make out in the quality of the photos.

Lymphocystis

Lymphocystis What You Need To Know: * This is a virus that many fish carry for life. The white nodules (cauliflower-like growths) can grow both externally and internally; so symptoms are not always visible. * There is no known cure for Lympho. However, feeding vitamin-enriched foods and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Regals are finicky eaters in captivity to begin with. Sometimes less is more. If he is breathing normally and has no visible signs of illness such as scratching, flashing, excessive hiding, physical abnormalities, I suggest giving him time to acclimate with the best water quality possible with least amount of chemistry, salinity and heating fluctuations. In the photos you posted the water looks a little murky. What is the test results look like?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Takes them a while to adjust to a new tank. netting alone could have changed its behavior.
Have you noticed any white poop from fish ?

 

[bs80]

Regals are finicky eaters in captivity to begin with. Sometimes less is more. If he is breathing normally and has no visible signs of illness such as scratching, flashing, excessive hiding, physical abnormalities, I suggest giving him time to acclimate with the best water quality possible with least amount of chemistry, salinity and heating fluctuations. In the photos you posted the water looks a little murky. What is the test results look like?

Hi thanks for chiming in. Fair point on being finicky eaters, but my concern is because it actually was eating the first two days I had it.

The water looks murky because of the NFG powder, which also makes test results completely unreliable. I'm relying on water changes and Seachem Prime to keep the ammonia under control.

Good point on the salinity, the fish I bought came in bags that ranged from 1.014 to 1.018. I've been steadily increasing the salinity via water changes and when I tested just now I was surprised to see it was already up to 1.023. Is there any chance the NFG could cause an inaccurate reading on a refractometer?

 

[bs80]

Takes them a while to adjust to a new tank. netting alone could have changed its behavior.
Have you noticed any white poop from fish ?

Hi thanks for replying. The white poop I saw from the regal just today was the only case of white poop I've seen in the tank so far.

 

[bs80]

Hi, to update my previous post, the Regal still is not eating, although it seems to show interest -- it will swim right up to the food and take a close look before turning away. The white marks on the tail are looking better, however, so that's good.

I have a question about my current treatment method. I have been dosing NFG powder as well as metronidazole into the 20 gallon QT (1/4 tsp of each after a 25% water change every 24 hours) and the green tint of the water keeps getting darker and darker. I just tried a 50% water change today and added the carbon back into the filter because it was getting to the point where it was hard to even see through the tank. Am I doing something wrong? I have read conflicting things on dosing metro. The instructions on the bottle say to dose 1/4 tsp per 20 gallons every 24 hours, but I have also read elsewhere that metro should be dosed every 48 hours.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

For the regal, you could try live mussels on the half shell.
Jay

 

[bs80]

For the regal, you could try live mussels on the half shell.
Jay

I have some whole littleneck clams that have been in the freezer for a month or so that I could crack open. I've read that freezing clams/mussels for at least a week makes sure that any potential parasites would be killed. Is this true, and even if so, is the fact that I have them in a QT (and could thereby be treated for parasites) make live mussels a significantly better option than frozen?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have some whole littleneck clams that have been in the freezer for a month or so that I could crack open. I've read that freezing clams/mussels for at least a week makes sure that any potential parasites would be killed. Is this true, and even if so, is the fact that I have them in a QT (and could thereby be treated for parasites) make live mussels a significantly better option than frozen?

Clams are a lot tougher than mussels, I think the softer mussels are a better choice. If you get PEI mussels (or other coldwater species), and rinse them off with freshwater before opening them, there is little chance of a parasite making the transition to your tank. There can be a bacteria issue with uncooked seafood (hence the warning on restaurant menus!) but I still think it is worth a try.

Jay

 

[bs80]

For the regal, you could try live mussels on the half shell.
Jay

Well I'll be danged, it worked. Thanks Jay! The best I could find was a bag of farmed, not wild, mussels from Canada. Split one of those suckers open and put the two half shells in. Nothing at first, so I thought it was back to the drawing board. Came back like 20 minutes later to see the Regal picking at the mussels.

Now I'm not sure if it's actually getting much at all, and it keeps taking different angles trying to figure out how to get a nice chunk of it. Anything I can do to make things easier for it? And how long should I be leaving the mussels in the tank?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Well I'll be danged, it worked. Thanks Jay! The best I could find was a bag of farmed, not wild, mussels from Canada. Split one of those suckers open and put the two half shells in. Nothing at first, so I thought it was back to the drawing board. Came back like 20 minutes later to see the Regal picking at the mussels.

Now I'm not sure if it's actually getting much at all, and it keeps taking different angles trying to figure out how to get a nice chunk of it. Anything I can do to make things easier for it? And how long should I be leaving the mussels in the tank?
[

Well I'll be danged, it worked. Thanks Jay! The best I could find was a bag of farmed, not wild, mussels from Canada. Split one of those suckers open and put the two half shells in. Nothing at first, so I thought it was back to the drawing board. Came back like 20 minutes later to see the Regal picking at the mussels.

Now I'm not sure if it's actually getting much at all, and it keeps taking different angles trying to figure out how to get a nice chunk of it. Anything I can do to make things easier for it? And how long should I be leaving the mussels in the tank?

Good question- if you leave the mussel in too long it will go bad, if you pull it to soon, you’ll stress the regal out. I’d say 4 hours, and try other foods from time to time...I’m afraid the regal might get frustrated chewing on the mussel and give up. You could even try working a couple of mysis into the mussel when you add it to the tank.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I agree with Jay on the firmness of clam meat BUT would place the clam to see if it shows interest. If it does, then you know it will likely take mussels.

 

[bs80]

So the regal doesn't seem all that interested in the mussels anymore. A couple times per day I'll see it randomly pick at something on the ground but can't tell what it is.

I took a video today of some white poop that it's been trying to expel. Would you guys consider this "stringy" and therefore an indication of internal worms or parasites? Would this explain its lack of appetite? I have not medicated yet with prazi. Thanks in advance!