New QT Bicolor Blenny looks weird

[Neocold]

Good Evening, today I picked up a few fish at the LFS and I am doing the 80/20 BRS quarantine. I did a freshwater (RO/DI) dip for 3 minutes then a half freshwater/half saltwater dip for 3 minutes before putting the fish into the 10 gallon QT with Copper Power at 2.5 ppm and Nitrofurazone at 200mg per 10 gallons as recommended.

The fish are:
1x Bicolor Blenny
1x Diamond Watchman Goby
1x Blue Eyed Bristletooth Tang
2x Banggai Cardinal

The Diamond Watchman Goby and the Blue Eyed Bristletooth Tang are in the main part of the tank together and getting along perfectly.

The Bicolor Blenny and Banggai Cardinals are in separate boxes just to be sure they don't get harassed.

The Bicolor Blenny is looking weird, it looked fine during the dips and didn't get the white weird look until after it was in the QT tank with Copper Power and Nitrofurazone so I don't think it's flukes.... See the attached photos. I attached a few to try and get a good look.

Is it just stressed due to the whole QT process or something else?

Thank you for your thoughts on the matter.
EDIT: Fix ml to mg

 

[vetteguy53081]

Good Evening, today I picked up a few fish at the LFS and I am doing the 80/20 BRS quarantine. I did a freshwater (RO/DI) dip for 3 minutes then a half freshwater/half saltwater dip for 3 minutes before putting the fish into the 10 gallon QT with Copper Power at 2.5 ppm and Nitrofurazone at 200ml per 10 gallons as recommended.

The fish are:
1x Bicolor Blenny
1x Diamond Watchman Goby
1x Blue Eyed Bristletooth Tang
2x Banggai Cardinal

The Diamond Watchman Goby and the Blue Eyed Bristletooth Tang are in the main part of the tank together and getting along perfectly.

The Bicolor Blenny and Banggai Cardinals are in separate boxes just to be sure they don't get harassed.

The Bicolor Blenny is looking weird, it looked fine during the dips and didn't get the white weird look until after it was in the QT tank with Copper Power and Nitrofurazone so I don't think it's flukes.... See the attached photos. I attached a few to try and get a good look.

Is it just stressed due to the whole QT process or something else?

Thank you for your thoughts on the matter.

This fish is starving and least hopefully starving and not feeding off its liver which occasionally is the case. Its a misconception that this fish is an algae eater and often will deteriorate. The challenge with keeping blennies is assuring they get enough to eat. You can tell by looking at its abdomen, which should be golf ball shaped. A blenny with a pinched belly isn’t getting enough food.
Although blennies needs algae , it cant survive on algae alone. You will notice they comb areas of coral and sponge scraping these surfaces in which they pound and gnaw on the coral, and also ingest detritus, or waste material from coral skeleton, sand, gravel and small inverts. If a blenny doesnt get enough calcium in its diet, it will rapidly go downhill. Offer occasional algae wafers or pellets as a supplement.
Personally I would return the blenny and make them aware of its dietary needs

 

[Neocold]

This fish is starving and least hopefully starving and not feeding off its liver which occasionally is the case. Its a misconception that this fish is an algae eater and often will deteriorate. The challenge with keeping blennies is assuring they get enough to eat. You can tell by looking at its abdomen, which should be golf ball shaped. A blenny with a pinched belly isn’t getting enough food.
Although blennies needs algae , it cant survive on algae alone. You will notice they comb areas of coral and sponge scraping these surfaces in which they pound and gnaw on the coral, and also ingest detritus, or waste material from coral skeleton, sand, gravel and small inverts. If a blenny doesnt get enough calcium in its diet, it will rapidly go downhill. Offer occasional algae wafers or pellets as a supplement.
Personally I would return the blenny and make them aware of its dietary needs

Copy. Unfortunately my LFS does not accept returns so I can only try to save it. I have given it some of the attached photo. I just thought it was odd that the color changed so much after putting it in the QT.

 

[Neocold]

Copy. Unfortunately my LFS does not accept returns so I can only try to save it. I have given it some of the attached photo. I just thought it was odd that the color changed so much after putting it in the QT.

Forgot to mention according to the LFS display they received it on 6/26/2024 so hopefully it isn't too far gone. Depending on where it came from and how long it hasn't been fed.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Forgot to mention according to the LFS display they received it on 6/26/2024 so hopefully it isn't too far gone. Depending on where it came from and how long it hasn't been fed.

I agree, the blenny looks thin. The mottled coloration is just a stress pattern, it may be stressed from being in a box like that.

Is it currently eating?

 

[Neocold]

I agree, the blenny looks thin. The mottled coloration is just a stress pattern, it may be stressed from being in a box like that.

Is it currently eating?

It does not seem to be eating. I can either try letting it and the Banggai Cardinals out of the box or try putting some PVC pieces for it to hide in in the box with it. It's still within the first 24 hours of the 15 day quarantine.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

It does not seem to be eating. I can either try letting it and the Banggai Cardinals out of the box or try putting some PVC pieces for it to hide in in the box with it. It's still within the first 24 hours of the 15 day quarantine.

I'd opt for trying some plastic pipe for it to hide in - the tank itself is base, so moving it won't give it anywhere to really hide.

Does your QT have sufficient biofiltration? I couldn't see anything in the picture, you need to manage the ammonia.

Also, two weeks is pretty short for a quarantine period. I know that's what BRS suggests, but I think that is more because people prefer shorter quarantine time, not because it is all that effective.

 

[Neocold]

I'd opt for trying some plastic pipe for it to hide in - the tank itself is base, so moving it won't give it anywhere to really hide.

Does your QT have sufficient biofiltration? I couldn't see anything in the picture, you need to manage the ammonia.

Also, two weeks is pretty short for a quarantine period. I know that's what BRS suggests, but I think that is more because people prefer shorter quarantine time, not because it is all that effective.

No bio filtration. I have a 55 gallon brute drum with the saltwater premixed and copper power pre dosed to 2.5ppm.

Following the BRS schedule I will do a 100% water change with the premixed water every 3 days. Since the water was all missed at the same time the parameters are exactly the same and shouldn't cause any acclimation issues. I also have 3 different 10 gallon tanks to make cleaning the tanks after each water change easier and I can prefill and heat to the perfect temperature before moving the fish for each water change.

How long would you recommend with the QT in copper power at 2.5ppm? I have an ammonia badge in the tank and a Hanna master checker so I can verify ammonia levels. If ammonia is acceptable I can extend the water change schedule and this the quarantine or just mix up another 55 gallons of water to extend it.

 

[Neocold]

Ok, good news is that its color is from it being scared, I went in and it did not see me and it had good color (attached) but as soon as I got close and it noticed me it instantly showed the white coloring.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

No bio filtration. I have a 55 gallon brute drum with the saltwater premixed and copper power pre dosed to 2.5ppm.

Following the BRS schedule I will do a 100% water change with the premixed water every 3 days. Since the water was all missed at the same time the parameters are exactly the same and shouldn't cause any acclimation issues. I also have 3 different 10 gallon tanks to make cleaning the tanks after each water change easier and I can prefill and heat to the perfect temperature before moving the fish for each water change.

How long would you recommend with the QT in copper power at 2.5ppm? I have an ammonia badge in the tank and a Hanna master checker so I can verify ammonia levels. If ammonia is acceptable I can extend the water change schedule and this the quarantine or just mix up another 55 gallons of water to extend it.

Ugh, I don’t really like their method - too rough on the fish and too short to handle some common issues.

A 100% water change every three days may not control ammonia satisfactorily - plus it is stressful to the fish. I’ve had small tanks with no bio filter build up more than 1 ppm of ammonia in 24 hours, so in that case, even 100% per day won’t keep up.

I prefer a 30 day coppersafe treatment with a biofilter to mitigate the ammonia. The full process is here:

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