Please help! CLOWN TRIGGERFISH!

[Triggerfishlover]

Sorry for your trigger loss & ailment with your humu humu, could be water quality or disease issue, maybe @Humblefish & @4FordFamily can help. Another possibility could be your lionfish, what kind of lion do you have? I know some species of lions can & will sting other fish if they get too close to them(protection), having been stung by them myself, I know some of the tissue around the puncture can become necrotic. Maybe that’s what happened to your clown trigger, you mentioned a brown splotch on his side. Some survive lion stings, some don’t. By the way, how’s your lion doing?

I was concerned reguarding maybe a possibility with a lionfish sting- the pineapple trigger I lost was really messing with him- bit off a few of his fins but acted fine up until yesterday (he past away today )... was concerned that maybe clown had gotten to close & got stung and caused him to pass- lion is acting great. Fins are growing back no concern..
wasn’t sure if a lion sting would kill them / unsure if they ever got stung but it is for sure a possibility... my huma huma trigger acting great he always swims back and fourth in front of tank still acting like himself (He’s the first fish I’ve ever put in the tank) eating like a pig.. I really don’t want to lose anymore fish!

 

[Triggerfishlover]

Eyes glazed over can be flukes or velvet as well. Any spots? The hiding from light symptom got mentioned, any flashing, scratching? Heavy breathing? Dusting on the skin? With the remaining fish?

I am going to assume you don’t QT. If so, it’s highly likely velvet or another parasite. A freshwater dip in a dark bucket for 5 minutes would tell if flukes are an issue. They’ll look like sesame seeds at the bottom.

Eyes glazed over can be flukes or velvet as well. Any spots? The hiding from light symptom got mentioned, any flashing, scratching? Heavy breathing? Dusting on the skin? With the remaining fish?

I am going to assume you don’t QT. If so, it’s highly likely velvet or another parasite. A freshwater dip in a dark bucket for 5 minutes would tell if flukes are an issue. They’ll look like sesame seeds at the bottom.

No flashing or scratching- the 2 fish that I lost were great and then the next day eye glazed over hiding not eating.. lasted about 2 days and passed . As for Dusting on skin I’m not sure what that looks like (but my clown trigger prior to not eating / hiding did has very small white spots appear that looked like sand / dust if that is what you poss. May be referring to). My other fish have no signs of any
Of this they are doing perfect as far as I am concerned as of right now. But I want to figure out what happened if possible to prevent / fix if possible.

 

[4FordFamily]

No flashing or scratching- the 2 fish that I lost were great and then the next day eye glazed over hiding not eating.. lasted about 2 days and passed . As for Dusting on skin I’m not sure what that looks like (but my clown trigger prior to not eating / hiding did has very small white spots appear that looked like sand / dust if that is what you poss. May be referring to). My other fish have no signs of any
Of this they are doing perfect as far as I am concerned as of right now. But I want to figure out what happened if possible to prevent / fix if possible.

Dusty or sandy screams velvet, as do many of your other symptoms :/

Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum)

Marine Velvet Disease (Amyloodinium ocellatum) What You Need To Know: * Fast killing parasite capable of wiping out most of your fish in just a matter of days. Sometimes there are survivors, sometimes not. * Can be treated in a quarantine tank using Chloroquine phosphate or Copper. A 5...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[WMR]

+1 with 4FordFamily

 

[Triggerfishlover]

Dusty or sandy screams velvet, as do many of your other symptoms :/

Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum)

Marine Velvet Disease (Amyloodinium ocellatum) What You Need To Know: * Fast killing parasite capable of wiping out most of your fish in just a matter of days. Sometimes there are survivors, sometimes not. * Can be treated in a quarantine tank using Chloroquine phosphate or Copper. A 5...

www.reef2reef.com

Dusty or sandy screams velvet, as do many of your other symptoms :/

Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum)

Marine Velvet Disease (Amyloodinium ocellatum) What You Need To Know: * Fast killing parasite capable of wiping out most of your fish in just a matter of days. Sometimes there are survivors, sometimes not. * Can be treated in a quarantine tank using Chloroquine phosphate or Copper. A 5...

www.reef2reef.com

Gotcha... :/
Could the clown had had it before I got him? My other trigger who passed after clown had been with me for over a month without any symptoms..
Why is it my lion and huma trigger haven’t gotten it. Are they just lucky?

 

[Triggerfishlover]

Gotcha... :/
Could the clown had had it before I got him? My other trigger who passed after clown had been with me for over a month without any symptoms..
Why is it my lion and huma trigger haven’t gotten it. Are they just lucky?

I really want to prevent this from happening to my other fish- I really would like to get more fish at some point but is my water infested with velvet? How do I prevent it? Sos.

 

[j.falk]

I really want to prevent this from happening to my other fish- I really would like to get more fish at some point but is my water infested with velvet? How do I prevent it? Sos.

@Humblefish

 

[Triggerfishlover]

I went to my LFS for some advice. I bought some of their pre mixed water they recommend 40-50% chance today which I am doing today. Then another change In a few days after that.
they also recommend adding copper to the tank which I am going to do so..
hoping that will take care of what’s going on in my tank.
does this sound like the right step? What is your guys opinion?
thanks everyone for all your opinions I appreciate them so much!

 

[Humblefish]

To confirm whether or not your DT is infested with velvet, I recommend using black mollies as canary fish: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/black-molly-quarantine.640235/

Keep them in an acclimation box or down in your sump if you have predator fish. Within two weeks you should know if your tank has velvet.

 

[4FordFamily]

I went to my LFS for some advice. I bought some of their pre mixed water they recommend 40-50% chance today which I am doing today. Then another change In a few days after that.
they also recommend adding copper to the tank which I am going to do so..
hoping that will take care of what’s going on in my tank.
does this sound like the right step? What is your guys opinion?
thanks everyone for all your opinions I appreciate them so much!

Don’t add copper to a display tank. It’s almost impossible to maintain therapeutic levels (because rock and sand absorb so the levels fluctuate). It’s also difficult to remove, and will harm any invertebrates including coral/live rock.

 

[Triggerfishlover]

Don’t add copper to a display tank. It’s almost impossible to maintain therapeutic levels (because rock and sand absorb so the levels fluctuate). It’s also difficult to remove, and will harm any invertebrates including coral/live rock.

I do not have any coral / live rock..
it is just dead rock & I don’t have any invertebrates.
my LFS had warned me about that I letthem know about my rank & they had said it would be mybest option, tho I haven’t added it yet I wanted to see the opinions here prior to doing so

 

[Humblefish]

I do not have any coral / live rock..
it is just dead rock & I don’t have any invertebrates.
my LFS had warned me about that I letthem know about my rank & they had said it would be mybest option, tho I haven’t added it yet I wanted to see the opinions here prior to doing so

It can be done, but it's tough. You'll add a bunch of copper, but continue to get a low reading. Eventually the rock will absorb all it can and things will stabilize. But you'll need to test daily (using the Hanna checker) to be sure it doesn't suddenly drop below therapeutic.

 

[Triggerfishlover]

I have done 2 huge water changes so far... no copper being added.
my 2 fish I have left both are doing great. Still nervous to get any new fish but my tank feels empty. Going to wait it out a little bit longer before doing so.

 

[dyno]

Hi there!
I have a clowntrigger fish in my tank- (75 gallons) he’s about 3 inches..
have had him for about 4 weeks he has been doing fantastic! Eating well, no concerns! He is absolutely gorgeous I love him!
About 2 days ago he was hiding & today not eating at all- some of his bottoms fins look to be that they have been chewed on by a few more fish .. he’s just in the coral won’t come out.. I also noticed on his side he has this brown splotch, I will try to get a photo and add to this in a few- has anyone heard of this? What it is? What can I do for my guy? I really want him to live!
Thank you!

Hi I am in thr same boat as you are. I jave beautiful 8-10 adult clown trigger that was doing exceptionally well. All of a sudden he turn dark colors black/brown for a few days and the other fish started picking on him. My trigger has seizures and bangs into the glass at high speed. Its hard to watch so I put in in a specimen container. Hope you didn’t loose you trigger I know how you feel. mine is like a pet dog to me.

 

[Crustaceon]

Get your fish into QT and treat them all for bacterial infection.

 

[dyno]

Get your fish into QT and treat them all for bacterial infection.

Hi, he did go through a round of PraziPro and both of SeaChems Metroplex and Kanaplex medications. I think he is going or has gone blind. He cannot see where the glass of the aquarium is but can avoid the rock work and find his cave. Have to decide what to do now. I have been feeding him by placing krill right in front of his mouth. He has good appetite. I am lost, maybe i"ll try a fw dip. He stays in his cave all day and cannot put of with harassment from the larger angels.

Never have seen this before, he's such a beautiful fish. What do I do?

 

[Crustaceon]

Hi, he did go through a round of PraziPro and both of SeaChems Metroplex and Kanaplex medications. I think he is going or has gone blind. He cannot see where the glass of the aquarium is but can avoid the rock work and find his cave. Have to decide what to do now. I have been feeding him by placing krill right in front of his mouth. He has good appetite. I am lost, maybe i"ll try a fw dip. He stays in his cave all day and cannot put of with harassment from the larger angels.

Never have seen this before, he's such a beautiful fish. What do I do?

It does sound like your trigger might be going blind, which would explain it being picked on and randomly freaking out as it would make any creature nervous and want to hide after having things randomly slap them out of nowhere. I had a valentini puffer who lost sight in one eye and was extra paranoid after that. I ended up taking it out of the display partially because it was eating my corals and partially because of how skittish it had become.