Help! My Royal Gramma is Sick

[TurboDan]

Hi All,
I have had a Royal Gramma in my tank for about six months now. The fish is usually somewhat shy, only coming out of the hiding spots for an hour or two every day when the lights are off, and usually during feedings.

Yesterday, I found the fish on the sandbed and acting very lethargic. I immediately moved it to my quarantine tank, was very easy to catch which is not normal. This is my first sick fish so I am not entirely sure what to do next. It seems to be hanging out on the bottom of the tank, and occasionally trying to swim. No response to food. I'll post a video of one of the swimming attempts. I'm thinking Ich or Velvet (hopefully not). Hopefully I can nurse him back to health!

 

[TurboDan]

Tank Parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: about 5 (API kit)

The two other clowns in the tank seem ok and are eating heartily.

 

[coralfishreef]

From the video, that kind of looks like a spinal injury. @Humblefish

 

[TurboDan]

From the video, that kind of looks like a spinal injury. @Humblefish

Oh no! Poor guy... Do you think one of the Clowns could do that or maybe he got stuck in the rock somewhere?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

It isn't breathing fast enough to be velvet. It is however, breathing very deeply. The fish's color is good and body condition is also. I can't rule out a spinal injury, though those are pretty rare, you really need to have a rock collapse or something for a fish to be injured like that.

At this point, I also can't rule out gill flukes (but I would have thought they would have shown up within 2 1/2 months, not six. Still, there isn't much to lose in giving the fish a 5 minute freshwater dip - it isn't likely to survive in this condition unless you try something. If it survives the dip and improves a bit after 24 hours, then that would confirm gill flukes and you could treat your tank with Prazipro two times.

Jay

 

[TurboDan]

It isn't breathing fast enough to be velvet. It is however, breathing very deeply. The fish's color is good and body condition is also. I can't rule out a spinal injury, though those are pretty rare, you really need to have a rock collapse or something for a fish to be injured like that.

At this point, I also can't rule out gill flukes (but I would have thought they would have shown up within 2 1/2 months, not six. Still, there isn't much to lose in giving the fish a 5 minute freshwater dip - it isn't likely to survive in this condition unless you try something. If it survives the dip and improves a bit after 24 hours, then that would confirm gill flukes and you could treat your tank with Prazipro two times.

Jay

Thanks for your help, I just read the thread on freshwater dips and will post back with an update. My rock is all stax rock in layers, so very stable.

 

[TurboDan]

Freshwater dip complete! I do have some MetroPlex would that be similar to the Prazipro?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Freshwater dip complete! I do have some MetroPlex would that be similar to the Prazipro?

No, metroplex is anti-protozoan and Prazipro is for use against worms and flukes. General Cure combines both ingredients.
Jay

 

[TurboDan]

Ok great i will get some and report back. The fish seems to be moving a bit more now so thats good.

 

[coralfishreef]

Was there anything in the water?

 

[TurboDan]

Not that I could see, I was looking for sesame seed looking dots but nothing...

 

[Reef.]

Sounds exactly what my gramma did, it maybe not sick, mine hide for 5 months then like yours came out on the sand bed, I thought it was dying turns out it was in breeding mode, and started building a nest by digging in the sand, at one point I got the net as I thought it had died as it was acting so different to how it was the first few months.

 

[TurboDan]

UPDATE: The fish seems to be moving a bit more than before the freshwater dip, still not eating though . When he is moving, it seems like he is trying to brush up against the walls of the tank.

Will continue Prazipro and hope for the best. Thanks for the help.

 

[sixline]

Best of luck. Watching this thread and hoping for the best.

 

[TurboDan]

Good News: Today I was able to get him to eat 2 Hikari pellets! I tried mysis first but he didn't seem interested in that. I'm just glad to see things improving. Hopefully the Prazipro keeps helping.

 

[sixline]

Good News: Today I was able to get him to eat 2 Hikari pellets! I tried mysis first but he didn't seem interested in that. I'm just glad to see things improving. Hopefully the Prazipro keeps helping.

It it were me, I would have take the mysis shrimp over the hikari pellets. Those things taste terrible!

Glad to hear he's doing better. Starting to eat is a really good sign.

 

[TurboDan]

It it were me, I would have take the mysis shrimp over the hikari pellets. Those things taste terrible!

Glad to hear he's doing better. Starting to eat is a really good sign.

Thats what I would have thought too! I was super worried at first but glad I tried both foods.

 

[TurboDan]

A quick positive update: He is doing well and as of last week has graduated back to the main display tank. Thanks again to everyone for your help!

 

[str8fan]

Ours are kind of doing the same. We have 2 tanks and 1 RG in each. We've had 1 for 7 months a d the other for 4 ½ months. The "older" one has always been extremely shy and hides in the rocks if anyone is around. She comes out during feedings and if no one is around. She was alone in the tank for a bit, but shortly after shares the tank with a Fire Fish (who is also extremely shy and hides) and we added a Goby. All very shy, go figure. Our tank looks empty.. Anyway, about a month and a half or so they both, again in different tanks, started laying vertically against the glass, on the sand bed and on the rocks. At one point I thought each had died and got the net and they moved away. They do that for awhile then they go into the rock again. They come out at feedings still and eat normally. They will come out at times and swim around just fine. The "younger" one was shy when we first got her, however she came out of that and shared the tank with her mates very well, but has gone back to hiding all the time now. I'm so confused. Any ideas about this? It's similar to Turbo Dan, but not exactly. I was interested in the breeding mode, however, would it last this long?