Perchlet not doing well...

[Myka]

I have a Pelicier's Perchlet. I assume the Perchlet ate a Barnacle Blenny because the Blenny disappeared and the Perchlet had "something" stuck in his gullet making one side of his gill cover flare out, and refused to eat. I assumed the Blenny was jammed in the Perchlet's mouth. After a few days it seemed like the Perchlet was able to get the (assumed) Blenny out and the Perchlet started eating again. That was 5 weeks ago.

There has been a mild strain of Ich that's been in the display since July that affected a few of the fish, and I decided to remove the fish to a QT 3 weeks ago. The Perchlet was eating in the QT for the first week while CopperSafe was slowly brought up to therapeutic level (there are wrasses in there too). This last week the Perchlet stopped eating, and developed a bulge under his gill plate again. I caught him out of the QT to take a look, I was using a skewer to hold his gill plate open to look and the bulge looks to be a blood-filled swelling under the skin between his gill and his body. Unfortunately, he jerked while I was looking and the skewer poked a hole in this blood-filled bulge. So this released the blood. I let it bleed into the water that I was holding him in, and then returned him to the QT not knowing what else to do. I figured maybe that accident would actually help him. Now, 3 days later, he's still not eating. He's a bit pale. He's still alert, and swims around.

I noticed today that the other fish in the QT are looking a bit lethargic, so I did a 50% water change this morning, and added CupraSorb to get the copper out.

Any ideas what I should do about the Perchlet? Since accidentally popping the blood-filled bulge, it is no longer pushing out his gill plate. I have Furan2 on hand. Not sure I really want to treat the whole QT though. I have a 7-gallon cube I could put him in alone if needed.

 

[Baby Ray]

@Humblefish

 

[melypr1985]

I would get the copper out for now and get everybody eating and acting normally again before resuming. Running an antibiotic for the perchlet would be a good idea as well. If you have ruby reef rally or acriflavin, it's a great idea to do a dip in that before running the antibiotics.

 

[Myka]

Thanks Meredith, unfortunately...too little too late. RIP Perchlet.

 

[Myka]

After taking a second look at him, and being able to look well since he's no longer struggling ...It looks like a blood blister - it's soft. Maybe from trauma from eating the Blenny? Maybe coincidence? I'm not sure what the actual cause of death was. He is lean from not eating much, but he isn't emaciated.

Here are some photos...

You can see the dark area behind his gill:

It was much bigger than this when I accidentally popped it a few days ago:

You can see it from inside his mouth too:

 

[Humblefish]

Sorry you lost him, that sucks

Let's ask @Lionfish Lair to have a look at your postmortem photos.

 

[melypr1985]

Thanks Meredith, unfortunately...too little too late. RIP Perchlet.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[4FordFamily]

Yes, very sorry for the loss

 

[Myka]

Thank you everyone. It's a tough loss - he was our favorite fish. So much personality!

A couple other fish in the QT are showing signs of bacterial infection - one Clown has clamped fins and seeking corners. The Pajama Cardinal has frayed tail fin with redness starting to show at the caudal peduncle. I guess I will go ahead with antibiotic treatment.

I will do another large waterchange today before I start treatment to clean up the water as best as possible.

 

[Myka]

Anyone have any ideas?

I put him in the freezer with some water. I may send him off for necropsy.

 

[melypr1985]

Anyone have any ideas?

About the other fish? I thought you were going to do an antibiotic treatment for them. It's the right call.

 

[Myka]

About the other fish? I thought you were going to do an antibiotic treatment for them. It's the right call.

No, wondering what the blood-blister is on the perchlet.

 

[melypr1985]

No, wondering what the blood-blister is on the perchlet.

ohhh. It's a sack of flesh that has filled with blood. The cause? Any number of things I'm sure, but I wouldn't be able to point you to just one. Maybe @Humblefish or @Lionfish Lair could do that. I just don't have the same kind of experience looking at the innards of a fish

 

[Humblefish]

I'm really not sure what that is...

 

[Myka]

ohhh. It's a sack of flesh that has filled with blood. The cause? Any number of things I'm sure, but I wouldn't be able to point you to just one. Maybe @Humblefish or @Lionfish Lair could do that. I just don't have the same kind of experience looking at the innards of a fish

Sorry, poor wording on my part - it's fairly obvious "what" it is in the sense of "blood-filled sack". The cause is of significant interest. Mainly, I would like to know if it was caused by trauma, or if it may be an underlying tumor, some kind of water quality issue, or ???