Signs of cyanide

[jasonrusso]

I just got a new harlequin tusk who is in QT. He isn't blind and is eating like a champ. I read that a lot of HTs are caught with cyanide because they are fast. What are the signs of cyanide poisoning?

How would I know? I read methelyne blue helps with cyanide. Should I treat him with that proactively?

Yes, I know I am being paranoid here.

 

[EmdeReef]

Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to confirm cyanide poisoning without an autopsy...

The tests can be done for detection of thiocyanate anion in fish urine but you’d have to keep a fish in a clear batch of saltwater and have access to a lab.

There are a couple other ways to detect cyanide but nothing too friendly to the fish/

In terms of symptoms - lethargy, not eating, flashing, trouble breathing are all common but could be associated with other illnesses. Generally troubles breathing would be my first thing to look for although in my experience many fish poisoned with cyanide die well before you can catch any symptoms.

 

[jasonrusso]

Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to confirm cyanide poisoning without an autopsy...

The tests can be done for detection of thiocyanate anion in fish urine but you’d have to keep a fish in a clear batch of saltwater and have access to a lab.

There are a couple other ways to detect cyanide but nothing too friendly to the fish/

In terms of symptoms - lethargy, not eating, flashing, trouble breathing are all common but could be associated with other illnesses. Generally troubles breathing would be my first thing to look for although in my experience many fish poisoned with cyanide die well before you can catch any symptoms.

So he seems pretty relaxed. He just cruises around the tank and eats whatever I put in.

Hopefully he is ok.

 

[Idoc]

The latest issue of Coral magazine had an article about the advances in testing for cyanide poisoning in fish. They have a pretty accurate test looking for thiocyanate markers in the fish blood plasma now... but it requires the fish to be killed to extract the blood plasma. Right now, they aren't so much looking to make a home test kit but rather one for government agencies to test wholesalers, dealers, etc... the idea is to spot check one or two fish in batches of fish to see if cyanide was used prior to accepting the batches from overseas wholesalers.

 

[lion king]

As far as I know there is no test, no treatment, no definitive symptoms, it is what it is, a crap shoot. Back 3 decades a go when the cyanide issue hit the scene, the majority of the fish would just die within a few weeks. Sometimes eating, sometimes not, sometimes acting normally, sometimes a lethargic decline. It took a while to figure it out, and was found by a huge percentage of losses coming from select few sources that later proved to be using cyanide. I was working in the industry at the time so I saw huge volumes of fish. It also took a while to realize that fish were not eating because they went blind, that still happens alot today. I have had fish a couple of years before going blind and have seen this many times elsewhere. So even then the causes of the blindness, lethargic decline, and overnight unexplained deaths can only be guessing as if it were cyanide. It's really not something to worry about, no matter how hard you try you will never really know how the fish is caught.

 

[lion king]

Another side note: I've also seen blindness occur in fish with a history of copper exposure. Fish that had been kept long term in systems running copper, treatment and repeated treatments of copper. Just like in most circumstances, some species more affected than others. This further confusing the blame, cyanide vs copper poisoning, or perhaps a combination.

 

[Mjrenz]

If you are worried and want to give him a methelyne blue bath it's a safe thing to do and very gentle on the fish. Here's how to do it
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/methylene-blue.257467/

 

[Mark Novack]

Floating upside down with white eyes and beginning signs of decomposition. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[Lateral72]

Methylene Blue isn't really going to help at this point. It will have been far too long if the fish was exposed to cyanide at collection. Unfortunately, cheap Indo Harlequin Tusks are notorious for being juiced.

There's nothing you can really do except sit back and wait.