New Kole tang concerns

ScooterV · Sep 4, 2018

I purchased a kole from DD. Just my luck the shipment was delayed. Even PA where it got stuck was almost 100 degrees and each stop after even hotter. I was honestly surprised the tang was even still kicking. It was actually extremely agitated and going ballistic. Even in the bag it felt like there was a golf ball bouncing off the sides. This continued in QT and was hitting the egg crate cover and hitting 3" PVC elbows hard enough to move them around.

I added MB and turned out the room lights. By the next day it had at least stopped blindly hitting everything. I saw white on the end of a pectoral fin. It was still moving too fast and almost thought lympho. However, when I managed to catch it still I discovered a vertical wound on the side which was directly behind the end of that fin, so it obviously injured itself

After the day with the MB it has now been in Metro and Kanaplex for four days and has had one round of Prazi. I still haven't managed to get it to eat at all, but more concerning are random twitches. I'd get a video if I could, but if I more than peek around the corner it hides. It doesn't quite look like twitching I recall from flukes and not continual head shaking. It "looks" like just a single whole body twitch every few minutes.

I will be doing another tank transfer this evening and plan to do a FW dip between to check for flukes. If I don't find anything though I'm unsure what to do. Continue antibiotics, switch to CP, or do both. I'm concerned about CP suppressing immune system with a current wound, but if I find no flukes then velvet is all I can think of.

Is it at all possible it knocked itself hard enough to have a brain or spinal type injury?

Reefpuck · Sep 4, 2018

Always a possiblity it could've hurt itself. I just went through that with a fairy wrasse. I think it hurt itself somehow in qt...to where it could never swim right or keep itself upright. Wasn't breathing heavy and ate fine (when it could get to the food)...but never recovered. I finally put it out of it's misery after almost 4 months in qt hoping it'd come around.

Anyways I'll let others chime in...best of luck with resolving the issue.

Humblefish · Sep 4, 2018

I've had fish with bacterial infections do the whole body twitching thing. My recommendation would be to add Furan-2 to the Metro + Kanaplex you are already dosing. The fish shouldn't have velvet if it came from LADD, so I would hold off on CP for now.

ScooterV · Sep 4, 2018

Thanks @Humblefish !! I'll try to do the transfer even earlier, if work allows, but get the Furan-2 added then either way!

ScooterV · Sep 7, 2018

Just an update. The fish has continued to improve. Instead of either hiding, or going ballistic, it's now swimming much more calmly, even if I still have to peek around the corner to prevent it hiding. It does still have that whole body twitch going on, but observing 15-20 minutes I might see it once or twice instead of every few minutes. While it appeared to be spit right back out, at least during my peeping tom session, it also is finally interested in food and was nibbling on some red seaweed. If not eating, it's at the least getting an interest finally

As @Humblefish mentioned velvet being low odds, I also decided since it has had a round of Prazi odds of flukes were also low so I didn't stress it with a FW dip. It's due for the next tank transfer tomorrow evening so I may do it then. It would otherwise be due for the next Prazi round I can put off if nothing found to not further suppress appetite with so many meds. Still maintaining the trifecta.

Thanks for the input and help, and my fingers still crossed! It's feeling good saving an over-heated and delayed delivery tang, where the heat managed to kill a FW betta in the same box!!