Please help, what’s wrong with my queen angel?

dthruking · Jan 31, 2021

So yesterday I picked up a queen angel from a lfs. I have it in a qt tank at home. Today I notice that one eye is a bit hazy. See pics for reference. One is the good eye and one is the hazy

I just did a water check and the ammonia and nitrite are a tad high, nothing crazy though.

What else could be the cause of this? What should I do? I’ve had the fish maybe 15 hours

Jay Hemdal · Jan 31, 2021

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Here is a link to some hints and tips regarding posting fish health questions here:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

If the eye wasn't hazy when you bought the fish, it may just have gotten scratched when it was caught up in the net. If the fish eating this morning? Overall, the fish seems a bit pale to me. Can you post actual number for your water quality?

Jay

dthruking · Jan 31, 2021

So with me being a dummy and new to saltwater lol I just found out that for a qt I can’t tank water from the display tank and expect it to be fine just using that.

I have a 10 gallon qt
Hob filter

Heater

I filled with water from DT.

I just added a piece of live rock from my tank to hopefully help.

Should I add any chemicals or meds?

my ammonia was about .25-.50 and nitrite was .25. Everything else was good.
I just did a 50% water change after adding the live rock in.

What should I do? At this point should I just add him to my DT to get him into 100% good water? I don’t want to overload my bio though because I added 2 fish to the DT about 3/4 days ago.

dthruking · Jan 31, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Here is a link to some hints and tips regarding posting fish health questions here:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

If the eye wasn't hazy when you bought the fish, it may just have gotten scratched when it was caught up in the net. If the fish eating this morning? Overall, the fish seems a bit pale to me. Can you post actual number for your water quality?

Jay

So with me being a dummy and new to saltwater lol I just found out that for a qt I can’t tank water from the display tank and expect it to be fine just using that.

I have a 10 gallon qt
Hob filter

Heater

I filled with water from DT.

I just added a piece of live rock from my tank to hopefully help.

Should I add any chemicals or meds?

my ammonia was about .25-.50 and nitrite was .25. Everything else was good.
I just did a 50% water change after adding the live rock in.

What should I do? At this point should I just add him to my DT to get him into 100% good water? I don’t want to overload my bio though because I added 2 fish to the DT about 3/4 days ago.

Jay Hemdal · Jan 31, 2021

Yes - you need to get that ammonia down below 0.25 ppm, and completely zero would be best. Moving aged water just doesn't have enough beneficial bacteria in it, as you've found out., The live rock is better, but may not be enough. There are ammonia neutralizing compounds (Amquel, etc.) that can be used in an emergency.

Adding the angel to your DT puts all of the fish in there at risk. You need to make a value judgement on that.

Jay

dthruking · Jan 31, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Yes - you need to get that ammonia down below 0.25 ppm, and completely zero would be best. Moving aged water just doesn't have enough beneficial bacteria in it, as you've found out., The live rock is better, but may not be enough. There are ammonia neutralizing compounds (Amquel, etc.) that can be used in an emergency.

Adding the angel to your DT puts all of the fish in there at risk. You need to make a value judgement on that.

Jay

What’s the best course of action here? I think it’s cloudy eye or popeye

Jay Hemdal · Jan 31, 2021

I think the first thing you need to do is rule out flukes that can cause cloudy eyes. To do this, you would perform a 5 minute freshwater dip:

“Freshwater dips” are commonly used to dislodge parasites from the skin of marine fishes. To perform these dips, the fish is captured and placed in a dimly lit container of clean freshwater the same temperature as the aquarium system it came from. Do not use reverse osmosis or deionized water, as there is no buffer capacity and the pH can drop too low. Dechlorinated tap water is suitable unless it is very acidic. The dip container should be covered with a clear material so that the fish is kept from jumping out, yet can still be observed for overt signs of stress. Hold the fish in the freshwater for five minutes to seven minutes. If acute stress is seen, the dip may need to be terminated early. The idea is to dislodge the parasites, without unduly harming the fish. Many aquarists opt to use reverse osmosis water, and adjust the pH to match the aquarium, but this is simply not necessary if the pH of the freshwater is between 7.5 and 8.5. Some advocate to not aerate the water during the dip, but the water motion from air bubbles can help keep the fish active so that they can be better assessed for stress. Additionally, the air bubbles help dislodge some parasites during the dip process.

Some caveats:
1) Some fish will give extreme reactions to being dipped (hepatus tangs for example), as long as they were swimming well before the dip, it is best to ignore that behavior and continue for a full five minutes.
2) Moribund fish can be dipped, but understand that the acute stress from the dip may prove fatal. The dip water should still be checked for parasites in order to possibly help any remaining fish. Moribund would include any fish that was easy to capture or a fish with a respiration rate of 200+ BPM.
3) Choose the type of net wisely, some fish have spines that will become caught in the netting. Have a pair of scissors handy to cut the net if this happens.
4) Dropping a fish while moving it to and from the dip is common, take care. Some fish have venomous spines, so know that before trying to handle any fish.
5) Fish shaking their heads violently after capture is one cause of mechanical exophthalmos (popeye), so try to gently restrain them in the net while moving them.

Jay

theMeat · Jan 31, 2021

Good stuff Jay. Most angels have spike on gills that can get caught on nets. If you can avoid the net all together, that’s best.
Would also try to match ph, as well as temp, in fresh water to the ph and temp in tank where fish is, to decrease some risk

dthruking · Jan 31, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
I think the first thing you need to do is rule out flukes that can cause cloudy eyes. To do this, you would perform a 5 minute freshwater dip:

“Freshwater dips” are commonly used to dislodge parasites from the skin of marine fishes. To perform these dips, the fish is captured and placed in a dimly lit container of clean freshwater the same temperature as the aquarium system it came from. Do not use reverse osmosis or deionized water, as there is no buffer capacity and the pH can drop too low. Dechlorinated tap water is suitable unless it is very acidic. The dip container should be covered with a clear material so that the fish is kept from jumping out, yet can still be observed for overt signs of stress. Hold the fish in the freshwater for five minutes to seven minutes. If acute stress is seen, the dip may need to be terminated early. The idea is to dislodge the parasites, without unduly harming the fish. Many aquarists opt to use reverse osmosis water, and adjust the pH to match the aquarium, but this is simply not necessary if the pH of the freshwater is between 7.5 and 8.5. Some advocate to not aerate the water during the dip, but the water motion from air bubbles can help keep the fish active so that they can be better assessed for stress. Additionally, the air bubbles help dislodge some parasites during the dip process.

Some caveats:
1) Some fish will give extreme reactions to being dipped (hepatus tangs for example), as long as they were swimming well before the dip, it is best to ignore that behavior and continue for a full five minutes.
2) Moribund fish can be dipped, but understand that the acute stress from the dip may prove fatal. The dip water should still be checked for parasites in order to possibly help any remaining fish. Moribund would include any fish that was easy to capture or a fish with a respiration rate of 200+ BPM.
3) Choose the type of net wisely, some fish have spines that will become caught in the netting. Have a pair of scissors handy to cut the net if this happens.
4) Dropping a fish while moving it to and from the dip is common, take care. Some fish have venomous spines, so know that before trying to handle any fish.
5) Fish shaking their heads violently after capture is one cause of mechanical exophthalmos (popeye), so try to gently restrain them in the net while moving them.

Jay

The lfs I got him from when they caught him in the net it was a big struggle getting him out. It was fairly violent