Sailfin In Trouble

[kal2310]

Hey Guys. I just added a sailfin about four days ago and he was doing beautifully. He was swimming everywhere, eatting well, and getting along with all of his tankmates. I came hom etoday and the sailfin has tiny little white spots running down his lateral line, his color also seems to have faded. I am worried, I don't want the poor guy to die. Any input would be helpful. Thanks.

[JennM]

Tank specs/parameters please?

What's your temperature?

Any chance of any stray voltage in the tank?

Let's start there...

Jenn

[kal2310]

I'm sorry I do not understand what you mean by stray voltage. But the tank temp. is 81. it is a 54 gallon corner with a few corals. I just tested the water and I believe everything is in order. I really think it looks like ick. I have the book, The Marine Aquarium Problem Solver by Nick Dakin, and their pictures of ick look exactly like what my poor sailfin has (.

[JennM]

Please post the results of your water testing.

Stray voltage can come from your appliances (lights, heater etc) and you might not feel it when you put your hands in the tank, but the fish can "feel" it with their lateral line organ, and it can cause stress.

If it is Ich, it is likely due to some stressor. 81 is a bit on the warm side versus most LFS tanks (my FO system is at 78), could be that, could be just the move from LFS to your house... could be tank mates picking on him, could be a lot of different things.

Please post your test results, that will either rule a potential problem in, or out... then we'll play detective to see what the stressor was/is. Fix the stressor, fix the problem.

HTH

Jenn

[kal2310]

Okay Jenn,
Ammonia- 0ppm
Nitrite- 0ppm
Nitrate- 5ppm
pH- 8.2ppm

If you want me to test anything else let me know. And just to let you know his tankmates are 1 clown goby 2 false. percs and a firefish. All relatively easy going fish so I do not think he is having trouble with tankmates. And my previous statement about the dots being centered around the lateral line was incorrect. It its pretty much everywhere on him. poor guy

[JennM]

Good answers

So we can rule out parameters as a cause. He'll end up being king (or queen ) of the tank when the problem is solved...

Do you have a cleaner shrimp? This would be a big help right now, if the infestation is not too severe. Always a good idea to keep cleaner shrimp with tangs anyway, IMO.

Hard to say, sight unseen, what to do. If he's still eating well and not panting, I'd fortify his food with garlic, feed him well (watching water params) and watch and wait. If it's past that, I'd probably try a freshwater bath (5 minutes in RO/DI water to temp), each day until you get the upper hand. OR you could quarantine him and treat him - I have used Cupramine with excellent results (be very careful... poison the parasites, NOT the fishes...) but this MUST MUST MUST be done in a quarantine/hospital tank, not the main display. Sorry if it seems that I am over-stressing the elementary, but for anyobody else reading it might be necessary to stipulate this. Had a customer last week, nuke his live rock with Copper Safe because somebody somewhere else (not here!) told him it was OK...

How long was the fish in the store when you got it? Does the LFS treat their systems at all? How do their params compare with yours? Could just be stress of moving, but if he wasn't in the store long, he could have been brewing this infestation all along...

Best way for it not to happen again is to figure out why it happened in the first place, and not repeat the same mistake twice.

Jenn

[kal2310]

Well the LFS said he was there for about 2 weeks, so I thought it would be safe. I will go pick up 2 cleaner shrimp now though. And I will keep an eye on him, thank you for your speedy responses and help. Thanks again. Kenn

[JennM]

No worries - hope he gets better soon. 2 weeks would have been a safe bet too, assuming he looked perfect and ate well.

In a perfect world, all hobbyists would quarantine before adding to their main display but reality is, most don't.

You got caught with the hot potato this time.

Jenn

[kal2310]

Just an update, I added a cleaner shrimp 4 days ago, and the sailfin has fully recovered he looks great! THanks for the help Jenn