Help!! Idk what’s going on in my tank!!!

[Floofdragon]

I have a 90g frag tank with a Porcupine Pufferfish, Lionfish, Zebra Moray, Orange Toadfish, Dusky Jawfish, Marine flounder and an sub adult engineer goby ((the puffer and lionfish are getting moved to a bigger tank in the next year)) I first noticed my puffer fish acting weird like laying on the bottom and rubbing up against the sand. Then signs of egg appeared on his fins and eyes. My marine flounder is relatively new to my tank I got him this past two months and he has all of these red lesions all over his stomach that keeps getting worse in multiplying every day. My jawfish is acting lethargic and stressed and his fins have the similar lesions plus it seems like he has fin rot because some of his dorsal fin is rotting away. My lionfish, toadfish, moray and goby are all acting relatively normal but everything else is going to hell. The parameters are all where I want them to be so I don’t think its related to that. I had a smaller marine flounder die last week when i started to notice the fish acting weird. I’m treating the tank with Metroplex, Neoplex, Kanaplex plus fish oil and vitachem to boost their immune systems. I soaked all of the fish (separately) in a concentrated solution of metroplex, Neoplex, and vitachem for 5 minutes each once today. I soaked my puffer, jawfish and flounder in the same solution for 10 minutes each earlier tonight. They seem to be getting worse every day and I’m so scared because they are my babies. Please help! Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[IKD]

Seems like a lot going on. Adding @Jay Hemdal who will have better advice than me.

 

[GHOSTLY]

Parameters? It could be ammonia but yes Jay will help

 

[Durhamreefer]

Those red lesions on the flounder look eerily similar to Uronema marinum.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have a 90g frag tank with a Porcupine Pufferfish, Lionfish, Zebra Moray, Orange Toadfish, Dusky Jawfish, Marine flounder and an sub adult engineer goby ((the puffer and lionfish are getting moved to a bigger tank in the next year)) I first noticed my puffer fish acting weird like laying on the bottom and rubbing up against the sand. Then signs of egg appeared on his fins and eyes. My marine flounder is relatively new to my tank I got him this past two months and he has all of these red lesions all over his stomach that keeps getting worse in multiplying every day. My jawfish is acting lethargic and stressed and his fins have the similar lesions plus it seems like he has fin rot because some of his dorsal fin is rotting away. My lionfish, toadfish, moray and goby are all acting relatively normal but everything else is going to hell. The parameters are all where I want them to be so I don’t think its related to that. I had a smaller marine flounder die last week when i started to notice the fish acting weird. I’m treating the tank with Metroplex, Neoplex, Kanaplex plus fish oil and vitachem to boost their immune systems. I soaked all of the fish (separately) in a concentrated solution of metroplex, Neoplex, and vitachem for 5 minutes each once today. I soaked my puffer, jawfish and flounder in the same solution for 10 minutes each earlier tonight. They seem to be getting worse every day and I’m so scared because they are my babies. Please help! Any advice would be appreciated!!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Lots to break down here:

First, what does "Then signs of egg appeared.." mean?

You say this is a frag tank. Does it have corals in it now? If so, how do they look? I use that as a "canary on the coal mine", if the corals are thriving, then I can rule out all manner of water quality issues.

You should not do this: "I soaked all of the fish (separately) in a concentrated solution of metroplex, Neoplex, and vitachem for 5 minutes each once today. " In my firm opinion, Vitachem should be used only as an oral food supplement, it can clog the gills if too much is added to the water. The components in it are not readily absorbed by the fish from the water, and it is broken down by bacteria fairly quickly. Same with fish oil - don't add that directly to the water.

The dip time for drugs is dependent on time versus concentration. Neoplex and Metroplex have a well-known dosage for a 24 hour bath, and I've sometimes increased the dose and gone with a 3 hour bath in special circumstances, but there is no efficacy known for using these as a five minute bath.

Are the fish still eating?
Are any breathing fast?

At this point, my diagnosis would lean towards a bacterial infection on the flounder, but possible protozoan infection on the other fish.

Jay

 

[Floofdragon]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Lots to break down here:

First, what does "Then signs of egg appeared.." mean?

You say this is a frag tank. Does it have corals in it now? If so, how do they look? I use that as a "canary on the coal mine", if the corals are thriving, then I can rule out all manner of water quality issues.

You should not do this: "I soaked all of the fish (separately) in a concentrated solution of metroplex, Neoplex, and vitachem for 5 minutes each once today. " In my firm opinion, Vitachem should be used only as an oral food supplement, it can clog the gills if too much is added to the water. The components in it are not readily absorbed by the fish from the water, and it is broken down by bacteria fairly quickly. Same with fish oil - don't add that directly to the water.

The dip time for drugs is dependent on time versus concentration. Neoplex and Metroplex have a well-known dosage for a 24 hour bath, and I've sometimes increased the dose and gone with a 3 hour bath in special circumstances, but there is no efficacy known for using these as a five minute bath.

Are the fish still eating?
Are any breathing fast?

At this point, my diagnosis would lean towards a bacterial infection on the flounder, but possible protozoan infection on the other fish.

Jay

1. I meant ich (autocorrect is a beach)

2. I do not have corals but the tank was sold to me as a frag tank. I do have inverts which are thriving such as two urchins, a few snails and hermit crabs and 12 Oysters.

3. I will definitely stop doing that. The sick fish refuse to eat even when I add Garlic Gaurd so I thought adding it to the water may help.

4. The puffer is breathing more frequently like he’s stressed and the flounder is breathing fast. I’ve checked and rechecked the ammonia and it’s 0.

5. I don’t have a quarantine tank so should I use a Home Depot bucket and put an aerator in it then change the water every day?

6. My Dusky Jawfish passed today It’s wounds kept getting progressively worse like the flounders. Either it was an infection or he kept getting attacked.

 

[Floofdragon]

Seems like a lot going on. Adding @Jay Hemdal who will have better advice than me.

I knoooow Thank you!!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This is tough - the jawfish and flounder may have a primary bacterial disease. The puffer could be breathing fast due to protozoans. Quarantining in a bucket is difficult, and often doesn’t work.
Can you pull the invertebrates and treat the whole tank with copper and Neoplex?
Jay

 

[Floofdragon]

This is tough - the jawfish and flounder may have a primary bacterial disease. The puffer could be breathing fast due to protozoans. Quarantining in a bucket is difficult, and often doesn’t work.
Can you pull the invertebrates and treat the whole tank with copper and Neoplex?
Jay

I have a 20-30g square tank i can use. I can put the inverts in the bucket, puffer in the qt tank since copper is really hard on them, and treat the tank with copper. Gilbert (porcupine puffer) is basically my dog and I can’t lose him.

 

[Floofdragon]

Parameters? It could be ammonia but yes Jay will help

My pH is 8.3 and the ammonia level is less than 0.25ppm.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have a 20-30g square tank i can use. I can put the inverts in the bucket, puffer in the qt tank since copper is really hard on them, and treat the tank with copper. Gilbert (porcupine puffer) is basically my dog and I can’t lose him.

Porcupines are really prone to ich, but they are much less sensitive to organically bound copper. I’m worried if you don’t treat it with copper, you will lose it. Coppersafe, dosed to the exact water volume is fine for them. I have a one eyed puffer that I keep in a QT to keep the filter active, and it goes through copper with each batch of new fish.
As I said though, you have multiple issues here, and the outcome may not be successful.

Jay

Edit: I sent this around an hour and a half ago, but I see it didn’t send - sorry! I’m down at my boat and have no WiFi

 

[vetteguy53081]

My pH is 8.3 and the ammonia level is less than 0.25ppm.

What test kits are you using?

 

[LukeSivyer45]

I have no idea in diagnosing diseases but is it ammonia burns because that jawfish had some really bad almost like bleed and scale damage similar to ammonia burns. I do apologise if this confuses you more i am just trying to help.