Help Please

P

Phroger

Reefing newb
I have a juvenile sailfin tang that has been in my tank for about 2 months. Over the last week, he has gotten really skinny and seems to have stopped eating. All the other fish in the tank are swimming, active, and eating and the coral I have are also growing and spreading. He also seems to have gotten lethargic and stopped swimming around as much. I transferred him to a quarantine tank because I thought I saw signs of ick but since I've never dealt with it before, I'm not entirely sure. I've given him plenty of food choices all pretty much soaked in garlic and have started medicating with copper, but he just kind of sinks to the bottom of the tank and doesn't move. Have I waited too long to start treatment, and is there any hope when the fish seems to have also given up? Thanks for any advice. Oh, and before I forget:

Water parameters:
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 10
pH - 8.2
ammonia - 0
 
Sorry to hear about your sailfin and with him not eating and just sinking to the bottom i hate to say it but it sounds like it is going to take a miracle to bring him back that is how my regal blue tang acted in my qt tank b4 he died
 
Only thing new was a small fire goby which was in the last month. He's doing fine and he really eats during feeding time so I know he is not stressed. I think I'm just going to be done with any fish that can even have the possibility of being stressed easy...its just rough seeing a fish like this, especially one of my favorites.
 
what do your test readings say? what kind of food has the tang been fed? we need to info to try to figure out the cause...
 
The test readings are in the first post. I've been feeding a frozen spiraline (spelling?) mix in addition to having a seaweed strip in a clip constantly in the tank. He was originally eating both but stopped eating completely in the last couple of days. I've even tried soaking the food in garlic but that doesn't seem to be working either.
 
could be internal parasites... i had a flameback angel act that exact same way and Biff told me about internal parasites and after a little research, the symptoms fit perfectly.

try dosing the QT tank with copper... there are also many medications for parasites as well
 
Quick update...He's still alive. So far I've managed to warm his QT a little bit higher then the display and dosed with copper. While he still hasn't really eaten that I could see, he does seem to be a little more responsive. I'm still holding onto that thin thread of hope.

cthegame said:
how large is the tang?
Click to expand...

He is still very small. Only about 1.5 inches long.
 
Phroger said:
Quick update...He's still alive. So far I've managed to warm his QT a little bit higher then the display and dosed with copper. While he still hasn't really eaten that I could see, he does seem to be a little more responsive. I'm still holding onto that thin thread of hope.



He is still very small. Only about 1.5 inches long.
Click to expand...

Dont give up hope. I had a fish not eat for 3 weeks in the QT and still managed to recover and i still have her to this day.

Keep up water changes on the QT. There is not much you can do at this point so supplying fresh clean water consistently might help it. Do you have a powerhead in the QT?
 
Final update - He didn't make it. The swimming around must've been the idea of getting better just before dieing. That is what's frustrating about this hobby, a perfectly healthy fish that shows no sign of stress for a long while suddenly just plummets down hill for no apparent reason and there really wasn't much more that I could do to help him. :frustrat:
 
Phroger said:
Final update - He didn't make it. The swimming around must've been the idea of getting better just before dieing. That is what's frustrating about this hobby, a perfectly healthy fish that shows no sign of stress for a long while suddenly just plummets down hill for no apparent reason and there really wasn't much more that I could do to help him. :frustrat:
Click to expand...


Sorry about your loss. I was really hoping he would make it.
 
Last edited:
Hate to hear that Phroger.
It happens to all of us though.We tend to forget that fish are like anything else.They can get sick or have some disease that we cant see untill their on their way out.
 

Similar threads

F
New to marine.
Replies
2
Views
2K
kbuser92
kbuser92
Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
943
Mike
Mike
J
Help with Nitrates!
Replies
0
Views
1K
Jeff P.
J
J
Help With Dying Fish!
Replies
0
Views
1K
Jeff P.
J
G
What is this on my Dragon
Replies
0
Views
1K
Goofiegirll
G
Back
Top