Sick Clown. Help needed

[sc50964]

Swollen gill, looks like the work of gill flukes to me.

 

[K9Fish]

Wow! I hope you get this figured out.

 

[Pickle_soup]

It’s hard to see what you see on that gill. If there is something on it, then it’s a parasite which I believe is more likely to be gill fluke than anything else given the time frame and what you have already described. Prazipro is the way to go now but you need to aerate the water heavily and take the skimmer cap off. Also need to turn your UV off if you got one and remove all chemical filter. With those said, i think it’s already too late for him but you got to worry about others

Why take the skimmer cap off? To leave more bubbles in the water?

 

[sc50964]

Why take the skimmer cap off? To leave more bubbles in the water?

Right so you get to keep the meds plus the benefits of the air bubbles

 

[vetteguy53081]

I can now see what looks like a chunk taken off of his gill. Can see it best in this new video.

Yes there is flesh missing and may be from bite or injury but looks like a bite from aggression.
A water change may help lower respirations but no guarantee

 

[kdsmithey]

Yes there is flesh missing and may be from bite or injury but looks like a bite from aggression.
A water change may help lower respirations but no guarantee

I’ll do that. Should I still hold on prazipro?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I can now see what looks like a chunk taken off of his gill. Can see it best in this new video.

I can see the notch in the operculum, but I’m not sure that would cause such rapid breathing.
Here is a thought - the goby you added two weeks ago may have died from something else and the clowns just helped it along - gill flukes line right up with that time line.
A word of caution though - fish that go down due to gill flukes typically don’t recover - when you FW dip them or hit them with prazi, so many flukes drop off, that the fish literally bleed out.
Jay

 

[kdsmithey]

I can see the notch in the operculum, but I’m not sure that would cause such rapid breathing.
Here is a thought - the goby you added two weeks ago may have died from something else and the clowns just helped it along - gill flukes line right up with that time line.
A word of caution though - fish that go down due to gill flukes typically don’t recover - when you FW dip them or hit them with prazi, so many flukes drop off, that the fish literally bleed out.
Jay

If you were in my shoes, what would you do considering the rest of the fish?

I understand what you’re saying about the goby—that very well may be correct. They got ahold of it within minutes of it being introduced in the tank. They hunted it like orcas, pinned it in a corner and she grabbed it in the midsection and thrashed it back and forth. I’ve never seen anything like it. It all happened in a matter of seconds and I intervened as quickly as I could. It hung on for another 14-16 hours, but it was a goner. Very well could have had flukes at the same time though…

 

[K9Fish]

If you were in my shoes, what would you do considering the rest of the fish?

I understand what you’re saying about the goby—that very well may be correct. They got ahold of it within minutes of it being introduced in the tank. They hunted it like orcas, pinned it in a corner and she grabbed it in the midsection and thrashed it back and forth. I’ve never seen anything like it. It all happened in a matter of seconds and I intervened as quickly as I could. It hung on for another 14-16 hours, but it was a goner. Very well could have had flukes at the same time though…

It sounds like the recommendation is to treat to protect your other clown who is possibly sick along with the other fish in your tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

If you were in my shoes, what would you do considering the rest of the fish?

I understand what you’re saying about the goby—that very well may be correct. They got ahold of it within minutes of it being introduced in the tank. They hunted it like orcas, pinned it in a corner and she grabbed it in the midsection and thrashed it back and forth. I’ve never seen anything like it. It all happened in a matter of seconds and I intervened as quickly as I could. It hung on for another 14-16 hours, but it was a goner. Very well could have had flukes at the same time though…

Well, if the clown is still alive this morning, you could try a 5 minute FW dip as sort of a Hail Mary scenario.

Otherwise, Prazipro is mostly reef safe if you dose it with good aeration. Flukes can be treated with two doses, 8 days apart.

Jay

 

[sc50964]

Well, if the clown is still alive this morning, you could try a 5 minute FW dip as sort of a Hail Mary scenario.

Otherwise, Prazipro is mostly reef safe if you dose it with good aeration. Flukes can be treated with two doses, 8 days apart.

Jay

Aren’t gill flukes ones that don’t seem to drop off during a fresh water dip?

 

[kdsmithey]

Well, if the clown is still alive this morning, you could try a 5 minute FW dip as sort of a Hail Mary scenario.

Otherwise, Prazipro is mostly reef safe if you dose it with good aeration. Flukes can be treated with two doses, 8 days apart.

Jay

Thank you, Jay. He did not survive the night. Poor guy put up a good fight. I ended up dosing with prazi last night and will do a 2nd in 8 days as recommended.

I read in other posts where you mentioned a water change prior to the 2nd dose. How critical do you think that is? Of course timing worked out where I’ll be traveling when the 2nd is due. I am contacting my LFS to see if they’re able to come by to do the water change while I’m gone, but not sure if they’ll be able to. If you feel it is pretty critical, I’ll find a way to get it done.

 

[MDAquatics]

Sorry to hear about your fish. My first course of action is usually to out the fish in an acclimation box where they can be closely observed and separated short term. I also add an airline into their sump. From there I start troubleshooting other issues if it doesn't resolve in short time.

 

[kdsmithey]

Sorry to hear about your fish. My first course of action is usually to out the fish in an acclimation box where they can be closely observed and separated short term. I also add an airline into their sump. From there I start troubleshooting other issues if it doesn't resolve in short time.

Thank you, I appreciate this advice. I had moved him to an acclimation box and added an airstone to the display yesterday (I have an AIO, so not sumo). It all happened in a matter of 6 hours, and by the time I found him, I believe there was no saving him. I wish I could determine what the true issue was, but I suppose that’s often the nature of this hobby.

I just hate that it happened to that little guy . I believe all I can do now is try to protect the rest of the fish. Hopefully if it was flukes, the prazi will take care of it before any further losses.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thank you, Jay. He did not survive the night. Poor guy put up a good fight. I ended up dosing with prazi last night and will do a 2nd in 8 days as recommended.

I read in other posts where you mentioned a water change prior to the 2nd dose. How critical do you think that is? Of course timing worked out where I’ll be traveling when the 2nd is due. I am contacting my LFS to see if they’re able to come by to do the water change while I’m gone, but not sure if they’ll be able to. If you feel it is pretty critical, I’ll find a way to get it done.

Sorry to hear....

The water change prior to the second dose is more critical when using Prazipro, than with Praziquantel powder itself - the drug will have decomposed by then, the water change is really just to dilute the organic build-up from the solvent in the Prazipro.

Jay

 

[kdsmithey]

Sorry to hear....

The water change prior to the second dose is more critical when using Prazipro, than with Praziquantel powder itself - the drug will have decomposed by then, the water change is really just to dilute the organic build-up from the solvent in the Prazipro.

Jay

Ok. I used prazipro, so I’ll make sure to have a water change done. I appreciate all of your help.