New Regal Angel - Dilemma

[NigeltheBold]

I ordered a medium yellow-belly regal angel from an online retailer and received it last Wednesday morning. I immediately noticed that the fish had some fin rot and a couple of spots of fungus (at least, I think it was fungus) on the dorsal fin and near the eyes. I acclimated him to my 20g quarantine tank, and he settled in over the next several hours. I immediately started dosing Seachem Paraguard, which supposedly is good for fin rot, fungus, and external parasites (although I didn't see any signs of ich or velvet).

Five days later, I still can't get him to eat anything. I know regals are notorious for this, so I stocked up on lots of different types of food. I've tried feeding spirulina brine, frozen mysis, emerald entree, mega marine angel, clams in a half shell, mussels in a half shell, flakes, pellets, and nori. Tried soaking the frozen stuff in garlic. He won't touch anything. He doesn't show any interest and basically behaves like the food isn't there.

I'm wondering if he would be better off in the display tank? There's lots of live rock and sand to graze on algae & pods, and the water quality in the display tank is better than the quarantine tank because it's bigger and more established. But I can't treat the display tank with medication because I have corals and invertebrates. I also have a few fish in the display tank, none of which I think would bother the regal if I added him. So that's the obvious downside- no medication in the display tank, but more sources of food, more space to swim/hide, and better water.

Should I keep him in the quarantine tank and continue treating & trying to get him to eat, or should I move him and hope he does better in the main tank?

 

[GoVols]

Sorry for your heartbreak.

Have you tried this food?

Masstick Fish Food

Watch your fish eat food right off any surface in your tank. Masstick's all natural formula that contains a blend of diverse compounds, providing a balanced diet for all types of marine fish, especially finicky ones. Masstick food can be placed onto your tanks glass and fish can graze and peck...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I wound "not" put your sick Regal in your main display.

If it does pass away, next time call TSM Aquatics. It may take them a while, but TSM is worth the wait.

 

[NigeltheBold]

I haven't tried Masstick food but I'll see if I can get ahold of some. Should I stick it to the floor of the qt tank, or a different surface?

 

[RBlauser]

I ordered a medium yellow-belly regal angel from an online retailer and received it last Wednesday morning. I immediately noticed that the fish had some fin rot and a couple of spots of fungus (at least, I think it was fungus) on the dorsal fin and near the eyes. I acclimated him to my 20g quarantine tank, and he settled in over the next several hours. I immediately started dosing Seachem Paraguard, which supposedly is good for fin rot, fungus, and external parasites (although I didn't see any signs of ich or velvet).

Five days later, I still can't get him to eat anything. I know regals are notorious for this, so I stocked up on lots of different types of food. I've tried feeding spirulina brine, frozen mysis, emerald entree, mega marine angel, clams in a half shell, mussels in a half shell, flakes, pellets, and nori. Tried soaking the frozen stuff in garlic. He won't touch anything. He doesn't show any interest and basically behaves like the food isn't there.

I'm wondering if he would be better off in the display tank? There's lots of live rock and sand to graze on algae & pods, and the water quality in the display tank is better than the quarantine tank because it's bigger and more established. But I can't treat the display tank with medication because I have corals and invertebrates. I also have a few fish in the display tank, none of which I think would bother the regal if I added him. So that's the obvious downside- no medication in the display tank, but more sources of food, more space to swim/hide, and better water.

Should I keep him in the quarantine tank and continue treating & trying to get him to eat, or should I move him and hope he does better in the main tank?

Curious on where you got the regal angel? Hopefully it wasn’t a place that claims they are already eating

 

[NigeltheBold]

I got him from Pete's Aquariums, which I should've researched before ordering (it doesn't get great reviews by forum members).

I tried Masstick, and he shows no interest. I'm not sure how much longer he's going to last without eating... I haven't seen him eat anything and it's been about 8 days. He seems fine other than his fins, and he swims around the QT tank like everything is cool. He just won't eat. Maybe he's taking tiny bites of food or eating leftover food from the bottom of the tank when I'm not around? But I've sucked out quite a bit of uneaten food...

I'll continue treating with Paraguard for a few more days and hope he survives. I don't expect his fins to grow back until he starts eating food, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Tamberav]

You got any pic's of the fish?

I am not sure I would trust paraguard to get the job done. It's basically a disinfectant. Pretty weak sauce.

 

[NigeltheBold]

I'll see if I can get some decent pictures.

I'm using Paraguard because it's supposedly good for several things. I thought it would be good for both fin rot and any parasites that the fish might have. Think I should switch to something else?

 

[Tamberav]

I'll see if I can get some decent pictures.

I'm using Paraguard because it's supposedly good for several things. I thought it would be good for both fin rot and any parasites that the fish might have. Think I should switch to something else?

Pictures would help but yes. I never see that med recommend. I think it’s just the company makes it sound better than it is.

@Jay Hemdal

 

[NigeltheBold]

 

[NigeltheBold]

It looks like the fin rot is getting better... the damage is smoother and less ragged. He's still got what looks like fungus on his lower back fin. The spot into the top rear fin is actually a hole in the fin, not a white dot.

 

[NigeltheBold]

I just noticed a white thing next to his eye. It sticks out kinda like a pimple.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Can you get a rock from your display with something for it to graze on and put that in the quarantine tank vs the risk of putting a possibly sick fish in your display? Beautiful fish, I hope it works out.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I just noticed a white thing next to his eye. It sticks out kinda like a pimple.

The water looks a bit murky. What is the ammonia level and what brand of test kit are you using?
I understand you wanting to move the fish to your DT, but only do that if this fish is more valuable than all of the fish in the DT, as they will be put into a risky situation.
Jay

 

[NigeltheBold]

The water is probably murky from all of the food that I've tried to give him, which he didn't touch, plus the medication, and lack of filter cartridge in the penguin filter that I'm using. The penguin filter cartridges have carbon in them, so I can't use them when using medication. I can try to cut a piece of filter floss to put in the filter, but I'm not sure it will help much with the water clarity. Ammonia is zero as per a Seachem ammonia alert badge and the API test kit. Nitrate is around 10ppm after doing a 35% water change today.

I have some matrix media in a mesh bag in the tank that should be acting as the biofilter (seeded with bacteria).

The regal isn't worth more than all of the fish in my display tank, but it's pretty darn close. That's the dilemma... it's risky either way.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The water is probably murky from all of the food that I've tried to give him, which he didn't touch, plus the medication, and lack of filter cartridge in the penguin filter that I'm using. The penguin filter cartridges have carbon in them, so I can't use them when using medication. I can try to cut a piece of filter floss to put in the filter, but I'm not sure it will help much with the water clarity. Ammonia is zero as per a Seachem ammonia alert badge and the API test kit. Nitrate is around 10ppm after doing a 35% water change today.

I have some matrix media in a mesh bag in the tank that should be acting as the biofilter (seeded with bacteria).

The regal isn't worth more than all of the fish in my display tank, but it's pretty darn close. That's the dilemma... it's risky either way.

Hate to say but both the Badge and API test kits are very unreliable and are likely giving you false test results. I would do a major water change and prior to, retain some of the current water and take it to a trusted LFS that does NOT use API kits for testing and see what results they come up with.

 

[Jeffcb]

I would move your angel to the display tank. It is probably very stressed and will have the best chance there.

 

[Saltyanimals]

Instead of risking the DT with a disease that you may not be able to treat, make your QT more comfortable with rocks and light sand. If the fin rot is getting better and general health looks stable I would focus on getting it healthy and eating first before going into meds. 20g QT is a good size home for this fish for now and much easier to water change to get clean water

 

[Onewolf]

Did you try frozen or fresh clams/mussels? With my CBB when I was trying to find something he would eat (besides live brine shrimp) I found he had no interest in frozen clams/mussels, however he loved fresh clams and would eat fresh mussels. After a month of eating fresh clams/mussels he will now eat frozen clams on the half shell. Frozen clams are much easier to deal with than going to the grocery store every 2 days for fresh.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The water is probably murky from all of the food that I've tried to give him, which he didn't touch, plus the medication, and lack of filter cartridge in the penguin filter that I'm using. The penguin filter cartridges have carbon in them, so I can't use them when using medication. I can try to cut a piece of filter floss to put in the filter, but I'm not sure it will help much with the water clarity. Ammonia is zero as per a Seachem ammonia alert badge and the API test kit. Nitrate is around 10ppm after doing a 35% water change today.

I have some matrix media in a mesh bag in the tank that should be acting as the biofilter (seeded with bacteria).

The regal isn't worth more than all of the fish in my display tank, but it's pretty darn close. That's the dilemma... it's risky either way.

Agreed about the risk. I think if you do keep the fish in this tank, you should enhance the mechanical filtration. For filter cartridges that contain carbon inside, you can just cut one side and dump it out. For cartridges that have impregnated carbon, it is more difficult - you *might* be able to cut off the material and then attach new filter media sheets to the framework.

Jay

 

[NigeltheBold]

Thought I'd give an update. I kept the regal in the quarantine tank for a couple more days and monitored closely. The fin rot was slowly getting better but the fish would not eat anything- I must've tried a dozen different types of food and feeding methods. It showed no interest whatsoever. At that point, my gut was telling me it needed rocks and sand to graze on algae and pods and whatnot. I didn't feel good putting live rock and sand in the quarantine tank, so I took the risk and moved the regal to the display tank about 48 hours ago.

Hes been hiding in the rocks, but seems to be getting less and less scared by the hour. I've seen him pick at a couple of spots on the rocks and sand, but he's still not interested in commercial food. The fin rot is getting better and the two or three white spots that he had before are gone. I have noticed some white cotton-likengrowth in the gill openings under his mouth. I think it was there before but I couldn't see if because I keep my quarantine tank on the floor and couldn't get a view from underneath. It's very difficult to get a photo but it looks alskot like dead tissue and/or fungus.

I'm going to keep an eye on him and make sure it doesn't get worse. I'm considering treating with pimafix & melafix at half dosage rate for the fungus/infection as I've done that before in the display tank with no ill effects to the other fish, inverts or corals. It has worked well for me in the past.

Anyway, I feel like I made the right call by moving him to the main tank. At least he has the opportunity to graze and is getting the benefits of the larger water volume and stable water parameters. If I had suspected ich or velvet, I wouldn't have done it. And if his condition starts to deteriorate, I can always get him out and put him back in the quarantine tank. Thanks everyone for the input. Crossing my fingers that this guy can survive. Never buying from Pete's again.