Sick Firefish

[JayM]

Firefish video

Something near his dorsal fin, and seems to be breathing faster than usual. He started hiding more than usual about a week ago, but he is still eating normally, and other than not raising his dorsal fin (which started today, the mass was also first visible today), acting normally when he’s out.

He’s been in the DT for about 2 months, recent additions are 2 Banggai Cardinals & a Blue Tang a little over a week ago. Added some CUC, a Torch and a Duncan today.

Pic of water chemistry attached. It’s been stable where it is now with very minimal fluctuations for about 6 weeks.

Any idea what this is? He’s been in hiding much more than usual, but he does eat normally when he’s out and about.

Video looks a little strange because I shot it in landscape mode and I’m not smart enough to get it to display that way.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Firefish video

Something near his dorsal fin, and seems to be breathing faster than usual. He started hiding more than usual about a week ago, but he is still eating normally, and other than not raising his dorsal fin (which started today, the mass was also first visible today), acting normally when he’s out.

He’s been in the DT for about 2 months, recent additions are 2 Banggai Cardinals & a Blue Tang a little over a week ago. Added some CUC, a Torch and a Duncan today.

Pic of water chemistry attached. It’s been stable where it is now with very minimal fluctuations for about 6 weeks.

Any idea what this is? He’s been in hiding much more than usual, but he does eat normally when he’s out and about.

Video looks a little strange because I shot it in landscape mode and I’m not smart enough to get it to display that way.

Need pics of the fish rather than a tester that is somewhat unreliable. Alk is Extremely high if a true reading as well as Ph
Please post videos and/or pics under white light intensity to provide best assessment.

 

[JayM]

Link to the video in the first post. It’s the best I’ve got at the moment.

 

[ReeferTang44]

It looks like it might have a gash or something on its side but it seems to be a swimming OK you might want to put it in an isolation box so it can have somewhere to rest safely with less flow and a place to hide and eat

 

[ReeferTang44]

And the reason I say, less flow is, that’s what I did when one of my fish was kinda, not like in the best putting it in an isolation box helped it sit with the water pass through its gills

 

[JayM]

Need pics of the fish rather than a tester that is somewhat unreliable. Alk is Extremely high if a true reading as well as Ph
Please post videos and/or pics under white light intensity to provide best assessment.

Alk and Ph are high? I was under the impression that 8-8.5 dkh is a good range. I’m just shy of 8dkh and Ph is 7.7 with 8-8.5 as a good target. Unless I’ve completely misunderstood everything I’ve read here, those numbers are ok.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Alk and Ph are high? I was under the impression that 8-8.5 dkh is a good range. I’m just shy of 8dkh and Ph is 7.7 with 8-8.5 as a good target. Unless I’ve completely misunderstood everything I’ve read here, those numbers are ok.

Converted to dkh would be good. Ph is a little low and best at 8-8.3 and salinity 1.024- 1.025 and temp 77-78

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Firefish video

Something near his dorsal fin, and seems to be breathing faster than usual. He started hiding more than usual about a week ago, but he is still eating normally, and other than not raising his dorsal fin (which started today, the mass was also first visible today), acting normally when he’s out.

He’s been in the DT for about 2 months, recent additions are 2 Banggai Cardinals & a Blue Tang a little over a week ago. Added some CUC, a Torch and a Duncan today.

Pic of water chemistry attached. It’s been stable where it is now with very minimal fluctuations for about 6 weeks.

Any idea what this is? He’s been in hiding much more than usual, but he does eat normally when he’s out and about.

Video looks a little strange because I shot it in landscape mode and I’m not smart enough to get it to display that way.

When I see a fish that has a skin lesion, but is also showing rapid breathing, that usually indicates a systemic problem - meaning whatever is causing the skin problem is throughout the fish and causing rapid breathing. One possibility for that would be Uronema:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[JayM]

When I see a fish that has a skin lesion, but is also showing rapid breathing, that usually indicates a systemic problem - meaning whatever is causing the skin problem is throughout the fish and causing rapid breathing. One possibility for that would be Uronema:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

That doesn't sound too promising for the little guy. How much effort should I make to get him out of the tank?
Is it likely that Uronema will pe picked up by other inhabitants post mortem?
The reason I ask is that going to be just shy of impossible while he's still alive, and only slightly less impossible if/when he passes.

 

[JayM]

Unfortunately the little guy's condition worsened exponentially overnight. He was lying on the sand out in the open this morning around 9:00. I managed to net him, though he did resist, and put him in a breeder box long enough to document his appearance and behaviour before ultimately euthanizing him. He wouldn't eat with everyone else this a.m. which is unusual, showed no interest when I offered food in the breeder box, and looked like he'd been in a trainwreck. I just didn't think there was any hope for recovery, didn't want him suffering further and don't want to risk the health of the rest of the community anymore than they may already be.

Here's a YouTube link from this morning.

I'm unsure if his condition caused all of the fin damage, or if the CUC may have been picking at him overnight, or maybe him scratching for some sort of relief.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Unfortunately the little guy's condition worsened exponentially overnight. He was lying on the sand out in the open this morning around 9:00. I managed to net him, though he did resist, and put him in a breeder box long enough to document his appearance and behaviour before ultimately euthanizing him. He wouldn't eat with everyone else this a.m. which is unusual, showed no interest when I offered food in the breeder box, and looked like he'd been in a trainwreck. I just didn't think there was any hope for recovery, didn't want him suffering further and don't want to risk the health of the rest of the community anymore than they may already be.

Here's a YouTube link from this morning.

I'm unsure if his condition caused all of the fin damage, or if the CUC may have been picking at him overnight, or maybe him scratching for some sort of relief.

Sorry to hear.

That fin damage is not a typical symptom of Uronema, so there may have been another issue, or two issues at the same time. Uronema feed on bacteria, so it is pretty common to see mixed infections.

Overall, Uronema is not super-contagious. It can be found incidentally in many aquariums (25 to 80% based on various estimates) yet it usually only shows as a disease in newly acquired fish.

Jay

 

[JayM]

Sorry to hear.

That fin damage is not a typical symptom of Uronema, so there may have been another issue, or two issues at the same time. Uronema feed on bacteria, so it is pretty common to see mixed infections.

Overall, Uronema is not super-contagious. It can be found incidentally in many aquariums (25 to 80% based on various estimates) yet it usually only shows as a disease in newly acquired fish.

Jay

Agree about the fin damage. It was nearly non-existent last night at around 10pm. The vast majority came about in the following 10 hours or so. My guess is the Firefish attempting to get some relief from the lesion by scratching, or hermit crabs getting a head start on their work. I really don't know.

I'll keep an eye out on everyone else and keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for the insight.