Longnose Butterfly Diagnosis Please

[bs80]

Hey guys,

I've had a LNB in a 20g QT for exactly a week now, along with a pair of Bluethroat Triggers. I have not noticed any odd behavior, but this morning noticed what looks like a minor rash or sore (see pics). The tail has been slightly tattered the entire time, and has not gotten any worse.

The first three days I had him, the tank was dosed with Ruby Reef Rally so the ammonia and nitrite test readings have been a bit screwy. The ammonia readings have come back to normal (zero to 0.25 ppm) as the Rally has dissipated, but the nitrite level is still reading a bit high (0.50 to 1.00 ppm). I don't think the nitrite is actually that high, but I have been dosing Prime every 48 hours just in case.

Any idea if this is something to be concerned about? Thanks!

 

[Big G]

Those red areas can be real trouble for butterflies, tangs and similar slab shaped fish. Highly recommend treating with NFG powder. Those red sores can go sideways real fast.

 

[bs80]

Yikes, don't have any NFG on hand and I'm not sure where I can get it aside from ordering online and waiting days for it to arrive. Are you suggesting this is a bacterial infection? Is there anything else I can use to treat? I have Metro/Kana/Furan-2 and also some Ciprofloxacin tablets. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[Big G]

Sorry but yes, those red spots often signal a bacterial infection. See them a lot . And the infections seem to sometimes come from some issue: stress, collection techniques, aggression, internal pathogens, etc. Cipro works extremely quickly in a bath. The trifecta is good too, but NFG works really well on these types of fish. Highly recommend anyone getting a butterfly or yellow tangs to have it on hand.

 

[bs80]

Ok thanks, unless you think otherwise, I'd rather start treating with Cipro now than wait a few days to receive NFG. How would you suggest administering a Cipro bath? 500mg per 2 gallons with plenty of aeration for 2 hours? And for how many consecutive days?

 

[Big G]

Agreed. That's exactly what I would do. I've had very good results following Humblefish's treatment for Cirpo. As always, your mileage may vary as fish can react differently to meds:

"Ciprofloxacin (Best administered via a 1-hour bath treatment. Dosage is high: 250mg per gal. Repeat every 24 hours for 7 days.)"

Best of luck with your beautiful fish. Watch the temp too. A small heater could help a bit.

 

[bs80]

Will do. Do you recommend also bathing the two triggers that are sharing the QT with the LNB? I don't notice any signs of bacterial infections.

 

[Big G]

Will do. Do you recommend also bathing the two triggers that are sharing the QT with the LNB? I don't notice any signs of bacterial infections.

Bacterial infections seldom spread to other fish in a tank as they usually are a secondary actor to another cause. But it is possible so just keep an eye on them. It's always a good thing to avoid antibiotics use when not necessary so that when it is, they work well.

 

[bs80]

Unfortunately, you weren't kidding about these things going sideways really fast. After the Cipro bath on Wednesday it looked and ate perfectly fine. But yesterday morning it was a bit sluggish, hiding out in the PVC pipe and refusing to eat. In the afternoon it quickly went from swimming on a tilt to completely keeling over.

Given how quickly this happened, is there any chance that uronema, not a bacterial infection, was the culprit? Its QT is right next to a smaller QT that has uronema-infected chromis. If it is indeed uronema, would it make sense to place the two triggerfish that shared the tank with the LNB in a Rally bath while I quickly clean the tank out and fill back up with new water? Thanks.

 

[Big G]

Sorry for your loss.

We are not sure exactly what those red areas are, and or what causes them. They seem to effect both the blood and the organs.

But you could do a scrape of the fish and take a look under a scope to check for uronema parasites. And if you feel inclined treating the two Triggers with a 60-90 minute bath in the Ruby Reef Rally and then into a QT for 10-14 days of treatment every other day with Metro in the water. And feed a food mix with Metro as well to treat internally.