Small Rescue Collare Butterfly is Sick

[Uncle99]

Rapid breath is to me, ammonia, ick or velvet.
Most common, ick.
Hard to tell on that fish.
I might run 1.020 which would help him breath.
He’s using the bubbles as “something” is irratating.
I see something just left of the anus.
Again, hard to see.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Rapid breath is to me, ammonia, ick or velvet.
Most common, ick.
Hard to tell on that fish.
I might run 1.020 which would help him breath.
He’s using the bubbles as “something” is irratating.
I see something just left of the anus.
Again, hard to see.

Well I'm not ruling anything out yet but I've dealt with velvet multiple times and that's not what it looks like to me, I don't know how ammonia could've built up, ich I'd say is common with these fish but so are flukes...let's keep in mind though that he has probably barely eating anything for over a week

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

@Jay Hemdal what do you think? Flukes?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Flukes is a high ptobability

Rapid breath is to me, ammonia, ick or velvet.
Most common, ick.
Hard to tell on that fish.
I might run 1.020 which would help him breath.
He’s using the bubbles as “something” is irratating.
I see something just left of the anus.
Again, hard to see.

Also pertains to flukes.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Flukes is a high ptobability

Also pertains to flukes.

Like I said, he is scratching some similar to ich but the most obvious thing going on is the sudden twitching and shaking

 

[vetteguy53081]

Flukes are a high probability. Butterflies are susceptible to flukes and lymphocystis. Regarding flukes, although treatment not as urgent as ich or velvet, it can cause great stress and if in gill or prolonged on fish can cause further issues such as laboring for oxygen, refusing to eat which can weaken fish and its' immune system. When a fish first becomes infected with flukes, there are no immediate indications.
Some common symptoms with flukes that make reefers believe it may be ich or velvet are:
- Rapid breathing and swimming at the water surface. This is due to their inability to extract sufficient oxygen from the water as the flukes attach to their gills
- Lethargy. The fish may become lethargic, hiding amongst the rocks or in a corner of your tank
- Lack of appetite. Fish may eat very little or nothing at all
- Development of clamped fins or frayed fins
- Loss of color to infected area
- Cloudy eyes
- Fish may be flashing against the rockwork to try and dislodge the flukes
- Exhibiting yawning or a have their mouth hanging open in which the fish is trying to process more oxygen exchange when the gills are affected
- Fish may appear to shake it’s head from side to side

As long as fish is NOT distressed, a FW dip is a 4-5 minutes process using dechlorinated tap water or tap water with a pinch of baking soda the same temperature as display tank. It is NOT necessary to use RODI water as it offers no buffering of the water.
After dip, look for what looks like sesame seeds or fish scales on bottom of dip container (you may need flashlight to see them). Those will be flukes

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

T

Flukes are a high probability. Butterflies are ssceptible to flukes and lymphocystis. regarding flukes, although, treatment not as urgent as ich or velvet, it can cause great stress and if in gill or prolonged on fish can cause further issues such as laboring for oxygen, refusing to eat which can weaken fish and its' immune system. When a fish first becomes infected with flukes, there are no immediate indications.
Some common symptoms with flukes that make reefers believe it may be ich or velvet are:
- Rapid breathing and swimming at the water surface. This is due to their inability to extract sufficient oxygen from the water as the flukes attach to their gills
- Lethargy. The fish may become lethargic, hiding amongst the rocks or in a corner of your tank
- Lack of appetite. Fish may eat very little or nothing at all
- Development of clamped fins or frayed fins
- Loss of color to infected area
- Cloudy eyes
- Fish may be flashing against the rockwork to try and dislodge the flukes
- Exhibiting yawning or a have their mouth hanging open in which the fish is trying to process more oxygen exchange when the gills are affected
- Fish may appear to shake it’s head from side to side

That sounds spot on!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I have been able to get him to eat a little bit so far so I'm hopeful...again, I got him to rescue him from a shop that doesn't exactly give the best care... I'm 99% sure they've never even tried to offer it or any of their other butterflies anything but cheap artemia pellets

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I know it wasn't wise of me to buy a fish I suspected wasn't healthy but I love butterflies and hate to see one in that condition

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Have you heard of Tremazol? It's supposed to be effective against flukes as well and I can get it here easier.

Tremazol is just Sera's trade name for a praziquantel medication. I've never used it, but the company should have good products.

In the video, the water seems really murky, you need to do water changes and add mechanical filtration to ensure good water quality.

Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Not sure why but I can’t get the videos to load. Odd behavior but not sure it indicative of anything specific.

For the video, try clicking on the attachment, then, when it pops up to load, find the three vertical dots in the lower right, click on that, and then download the file and play it that way.....

Jay

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Tremazol is just Sera's trade name for a praziquantel medication. I've never used it, but the company should have good products.

In the video, the water seems really murky, you need to do water changes and add mechanical filtration to ensure good water quality.

Jay

Thanks! The reason for the murky water is because I've been offering him everything I can think of to get him to eat since this is the second day I've had him. Those oysters and clams especially clouded up the water even with me having changed the water at least a few times today. He did eat a little though so that's good...just did another water change while reading your post!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I wasn't sure what was in that medication I asked about earlier so instead I ordered powder praziquantel and ethyl alcohol to help it mix. It will probably be here tomorrow...is there anything I should know about doing it this way? I was just going to try to find a video on YouTube because it sounds not too complicated @Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I wasn't sure what was in that medication I asked about earlier so instead I ordered powder praziquantel and ethyl alcohol to help it mix. It will probably be here tomorrow...is there anything I should know about doing it this way? I was just going to try to find a video on YouTube because it sounds not too complicated @Jay Hemdal

Be VERY careful using ethanol as a solvent! Even if you use the least amount possible, the carbon loading on the tank will cause a bacterial bloom after a day or two. I've lost fish to this, even with good aeration. I stopped using ethanol as a solvent, I new use a fine mesh brine shrimp net, and wearing gloves, I express/rinse the prazi through it into the tank.

Jay

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Be VERY careful using ethanol as a solvent! Even if you use the least amount possible, the carbon loading on the tank will cause a bacterial bloom after a day or two. I've lost fish to this, even with good aeration. I stopped using ethanol as a solvent, I new use a fine mesh brine shrimp net, and wearing gloves, I express/rinse the prazi through it into the tank.

Jay

I actually happen to have some really fine mesh like you're describing. I didn't think of doing it that way...how labor intensive/ how long does it usually take to do it that way? I might try it

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I actually happen to have some really fine mesh like you're describing. I didn't think of doing it that way...how labor intensive/ how long does it usually take to do it that way? I might try it

It just takes a few minutes. You weigh out the prazi and add it to a dry net. Then, pour some tank water into the net and let it drip into the aquarium. Then, keep adding tank water and pressing on the prazi with your gloved had to force the small particle out into the aquarium. Keep doing that until the net is empty. I sometimes find that there is a bit of residual left, and then, I just invert the net and rinse that off into the tank.

If you do decide to use the ethanol, add it slowly to the prazi, stirring as you go and then stop adding it after all of the prazi is dissolved.

Jay

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

It just takes a few minutes. You weigh out the prazi and add it to a dry net. Then, pour some tank water into the net and let it drip into the aquarium. Then, keep adding tank water and pressing on the prazi with your gloved had to force the small particle out into the aquarium. Keep doing that until the net is empty. I sometimes find that there is a bit of residual left, and then, I just invert the net and rinse that off into the tank.

If you do decide to use the ethanol, add it slowly to the prazi, stirring as you go and then stop adding it after all of the prazi is dissolved.

Jay

I think your method sounds a lot smarter than adding alcohol to a small QT tank