Sick Blonde Naso

K

krakdaddie

New fish?nothing has really changed with him since I open the UPS box. He has some white marks on his side, but not sand like particles that I have seen pics of when a fish has ich. I still assumed this was due to some stress from shipping (crappy phone pics below are from Day1 Friday about an hour in QT). He was drip acclimated for a few hours then introduced to a 30g long tank for QT. I haven?t seen him really eat yet. He did pick at rocks for a few seconds, grabbed some flake and then let it float out of his mouth. Figured I would give him a few days to relax and then worry?that is now ;). I stopped on my way home yesterday and got new garlic and red algae?tried the veg clip and also rubber band to a rock w no luck. I have been doing 4-5ish gallon water changes each day, and dropped the salinity on Sunday to 1.021. There is still some crap floating in the water from the first day algae eventually falling apart. I had a skimmer setup in the QT tank, but when I ran it the fish seemed to REALLY stress out, so it has been removed (ran it for about an hour on Sunday). I did a fresh water dip this morning and I think I saw some white sand size particles come from him. This was my first time to do that so I wasn?t sure what to watch for, nor did I inspect the container after I added the RODI before adding the fish to verify that it really did come from him. I?m thinking I will do the dip again when I get home and then go the store armed with any new knowledge I may have to pick up some meds.

Anything I am missing that I should also be doing, or that I am doing wrong?

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tj-
 
He looks pretty stressed, did you cycle this qt tank and let it get established or are you cycling the tank with it in there? Do you have a place for it to hide in there like a piece of 4" PVC tubing? I wouldn't just buy med's since you wouldn't know what you would be treating and as I mentioned, it just looks stressed. I would make sure there is zero ammonia or nitrite reading in the tank. You really also should have a small hob filter on there that is cycled.

Cheers,
 
The tank was setup 24hrs before he came using 1/2 water from dt and half new sw. There is a hob filter w filter material from my sump. Inside the tank are 2 4" PVC glued side by side about 6" long, 2 halves of a 4" PVC 6" long and 6 pcs of live rock from my sump and dt ranging from baseball to softball+ size. I have also now wrapped the tank in towels to help relax him.

TJ
 
@krakdaddie wrote:
The tank was setup 24hrs before he came using 1/2 water from dt and half new sw. There is a hob filter w filter material from my sump. Inside the tank are 2 4" PVC glued side by side about 6" long said:
If you think about it...you are more or less cycling this tank with the fish in there. A QT tank should really be setup, fully cycled and well established for weeks/months before putting fish in, the sponge should soak in the fuge or tank for a week or so to get populated with nitrifying bacteria. Although it's not a good idea, you really would be better off moving the fish to your more established main tank.

Cheers,
Click to expand...
 
The filter/sponge was from the sump and has been in there for at least 2 months. I did tests the day I put him in, but I will check again to verify one did not kick off.

TJ
 
The reaction of the fish after this much time has passed should be setting off bell's that it's not liking the environment it's in....that's the most accurate test kit you could ever look at.

Cheers,
 
ammonia 0.5, others are in line w my DT. He had his fin stuck in a rock when I got home today...looks like he was digging headfirst into one of the rocks with a cavity in it and tried to back out at the same time he raised his dorsal fins. I was able to get him out but I think it really kicked his butt (note to self, don't put large live rock in the QT). I have him on a drip from my DT to get him acclimated and clear the ammonia from his water. I should have been doing daily tests on the water, but I did the same acclimation on every fish I've had with no cycle issues. This is the first time using a 30g as a QT tho, I typically use my 10g. Wish I would have learned this lesson on a $5 fish.

I think I am going to try and fashion a makeshift home for him in my DT out of some eggcrate sheets I have to keep any of the others from harassing him, and to keep him from getting stuck in anything else. I will have to say that I don't have a lot of hope for him after being wore out from the stuck fin.

tj
 
Assuming this guy doesn't make a miracle recovery...what should I change about my QT for my next fish? I'll test it weekly until the water tests level out. Do I need to be doing any water changes? Running pumps? Salinity lvl? Run lights?

Currently it is a 30g long setup w 6pcs of live rock(baseball and 1 softball+ size), various 4" pvc sections, hob filter w white filter from DT(month plus hanging out in the bubble trap baffles), heater, maxijet

tj
 
While not good for ongoing use, the ammonia alert badges work very nicely for QT/hospital tanks and you can see at a glance if you get an ammonia spike. You'd probably do good to do water changes no less than once a week, using aged water from your DT. That will also keep everything acclimated to the DT. You also want to make sure that any equipment that goes into the QT does not go back into the DT. That includes nets and sponge filters.

Otherwise, the equipment sounds like a good setup to me.
 
Any update? I always use live sand from my display for quick Qt's along with plently of rock for hiding places.

I bought a blonde Naso several years ago at a 50% off sale that looked just like this. I knew when I bought him that he had parasites but not sure which type. I ended up treating him with copper and all the weird markings went away. He is a beauty now.
 
The big fella didn't make it. I did learn what a sick fish looks like straight out of the bag tho :)

My QT was ready to give it another shot, so this time around I got a new guy with the help of my LFS. He came in today and just finished the drip and freshwater dip. This one is about 5", so 1-2" smaller than the last guy. I took some pics but don't have the cable handy ATM, so they will be posted later. I wish I knew what I know now about caring for sick fish. Maybe my original blonde would be looking at getting to swim in the DT soon.

tj
 
i hate to hear that, i lost my blonde this week. just to let you know , blonde naso tangs will get white splotches form stress but it will go away once the fish becomes home in the aquarium and you feed with vitamins. it took mine about a month or so. secondary bacteria is what kills them and then ich sets in. mine almost died from being delayed at the airport and i brought her back, she was very sick and i worked with her for a long time getting her better. unfortunately she died Monday morning after becoming healthy over the last 3-4 months. not sure what happened. Blonde Naso tangs do not seem ot be as hardy as the normal ones but use vitamins in their diet.
 
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