What is wrong with my tailspot blenny? Struggles to keep weight, bones or insides visible on belly, now fins missing and red mark

[Brad Coughlan]

I cannot figure out what's wrong with my blenny. I've had him 7 months, a few months ago, he started becoming skinnier. Even now when I feed him 3x per day, he puts the weight on and this is what I see:

His belly is all lumpy and bumpy. When I first got him, he had a smooth belly

He also has a pinched area near his belly:

He has been like this for a few months now. Once I did notice one of his fins all ripped up, and now I've noticed it again. I think something has attacked him, I can't imagine more than 1/2 of his left fin just falling off overnight. It grew back last time but this time I notice this red mark by it:

Hard to see on the pic, but more than half of his left fin is missing. It isn't a clean straight cut, it is sharp on different parts.

I also can say that there might be flukes in the tank. I notice occasional flashing from the blenny, sometimee on the firefish but only when there's bubbles floating past when tipping water change water in. I don't notice it on the clowns, but I do notice "yawning" from them and the blenny and firefish.

I have tried PraziPro in this tank before but treatment failed since I don't think I shook the bottle, it may be the reason.

Any thoughts?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I cannot figure out what's wrong with my blenny. I've had him 7 months, a few months ago, he started becoming skinnier. Even now when I feed him 3x per day, he puts the weight on and this is what I see:

His belly is all lumpy and bumpy. When I first got him, he had a smooth belly

He also has a pinched area near his belly:

He has been like this for a few months now. Once I did notice one of his fins all ripped up, and now I've noticed it again. I think something has attacked him, I can't imagine more than 1/2 of his left fin just falling off overnight. It grew back last time but this time I notice this red mark by it:

Hard to see on the pic, but more than half of his left fin is missing. It isn't a clean straight cut, it is sharp on different parts.

I also can say that there might be flukes in the tank. I notice occasional flashing from the blenny, sometimee on the firefish but only when there's bubbles floating past when tipping water change water in. I don't notice it on the clowns, but I do notice "yawning" from them and the blenny and firefish.

I have tried PraziPro in this tank before but treatment failed since I don't think I shook the bottle, it may be the reason.

Any thoughts?

This fish is starving and while it relishes algae needs meats and other supplements.
What have you been feeding and is it still eating?
The missing fin may be due to aggression but firefish are generally peaceful tank mates. Pics are a little blurry to clearly see the fins

 

[MnFish1]

Ripped fins usually starts as aggression - they may become infected (which can cause redness) - Ithink the redness looks more like an infected area behind the fin - but its impossible to tell for sure - since I don't know the order in your pictures. If it is infected, the treatment would be an antibiotic such as kanamycin or neomycin in a hospital tank.

As far as flukes in general the issue with Prazipro may have been 1. you dosed the tank improperly for the volume, 2. You needed more than 2 doses (did you start with 2 doses 8 days apart. 3. The problem in your tank isn't flukes.

In both situations, the best most appropriate option would be to treat in a hospital tank as compared to the display. For flukes all fish should be treated.

Lastly, the most important thing I see here is the condition overall of the fish which looks poor. It may have internal parasites, old age or some other issue - if it is really eating 3x/day it suggests parasites, something causing high metabolism, etc. Stress, chasing from bullying may also be playing a role.

 

[Brad Coughlan]

What I feed it:
Mainly brine, mysis, and as of the past few days, seaweed. Not sure if I remember correctly, but when he was doing well I had algae all over the rocks then I got more CUC and it is now gone, then the blenny began shrinking. Could be a coindidence though. There is still alage on the back wall.

I'll try get some better pics when I can

In terms of the agression, from what I have seen the blenny hides far away from the clownfish, there is a bristleworm in the tank, could it be that?

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Ripped fins usually starts as aggression - they may become infected (which can cause redness) - Ithink the redness looks more like an infected area behind the fin - but its impossible to tell for sure - since I don't know the order in your pictures. If it is infected, the treatment would be an antibiotic such as kanamycin or neomycin in a hospital tank.

As far as flukes in general the issue with Prazipro may have been 1. you dosed the tank improperly for the volume, 2. You needed more than 2 doses (did you start with 2 doses 8 days apart. 3. The problem in your tank isn't flukes.

In both situations, the best most appropriate option would be to treat in a hospital tank as compared to the display. For flukes all fish should be treated.

Lastly, the most important thing I see here is the condition overall of the fish which looks poor. It may have internal parasites, old age or some other issue - if it is really eating 3x/day it suggests parasites, something causing high metabolism, etc. Stress, chasing from bullying may also be playing a role.

I followed the advice of Jay Hemdal for the prazipro, 2nd dose 8 days after, could the lack of shaking the bottle have been the problem?

Is there a way to treat the infection in the DT? Catching smaller fish is hard

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I followed the advice of Jay Hemdal for the prazipro, 2nd dose 8 days after, could the lack of shaking the bottle have been the problem?

Is there a way to treat the infection in the DT? Catching smaller fish is hard

Prazi n the water is mostly effective against external flukes. It does have some minor benefit in treating tapeworms internally though.

Some blennies have issues with becoming thin and emaciated over time, usually seen in Midas blennies, but we also see it in algae eating blennies.

Skinny Blenny issue

Skinny blennies: Midas blennies are much more difficult to maintain than their common presence in the pet trade would have you believe. They are very prone to starvation. It is unknown if this is due to not feeding them often enough, not feeding enough, feeding the wrong foods, or if internal...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Prazi n the water is mostly effective against external flukes. It does have some minor benefit in treating tapeworms internally though.

Some blennies have issues with becoming thin and emaciated over time, usually seen in Midas blennies, but we also see it in algae eating blennies.

Skinny Blenny issue

Skinny blennies: Midas blennies are much more difficult to maintain than their common presence in the pet trade would have you believe. They are very prone to starvation. It is unknown if this is due to not feeding them often enough, not feeding enough, feeding the wrong foods, or if internal...

www.reef2reef.com

Judging by the pictures what would you suggest I do to fix the bumpy belly and skinniness? I'm going away in 2 weeks, so anything that takes longer than that is impossible. Unsure what to do here

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Judging by the pictures what would you suggest I do to fix the bumpy belly and skinniness? I'm going away in 2 weeks, so anything that takes longer than that is impossible. Unsure what to do here

Another pic of the red mark

 

[Jay Hemdal]

In looking back at the other pics, it looks like its left pectoral fin is severely shredded, the red mark may be related to that. I think you need to either put a tank divider in or move it to an isolation tank and feed it multiple times a day.

 

[Brad Coughlan]

In looking back at the other pics, it looks like its left pectoral fin is severely shredded, the red mark may be related to that. I think you need to either put a tank divider in or move it to an isolation tank and feed it multiple times a day.

So no meds needed?

I do have an isolation box, but catching it will be no easy task, what would be the best way?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So no meds needed?

I do have an isolation box, but catching it will be no easy task, what would be the best way?

No - it might need antibiotics if the infection worsens. An isolation box isn’t the best option - a tank divider would allow it to have more room and you wouldn’t have to catch it. Moving it to a new tank would give you the option of being able to treat it if needed.

 

[Brad Coughlan]

No - it might need antibiotics if the infection worsens. An isolation box isn’t the best option - a tank divider would allow it to have more room and you wouldn’t have to catch it. Moving it to a new tank would give you the option of being able to treat it if needed.

Ok then

And as for the skinniness and bumps on the fishes belly, I assume this indicates internal parasites. Does this require treatment? If so, which meds?
I am guessing metro in food, but I have seen some posts on here about shrimp eating the medicated food and then being found dead, just some reports that concern me

I mean, the blenny has been going like this for months, but I know something is not right with him, pics I see of other tailspot blennies look like they have a flat belly and don't look deformed like mine, it is sad to see a fish in this state and especially with the suspected aggression.

I should also note that it looks like the infection has worsened, as in the red mark looks larger

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Ok then

And as for the skinniness and bumps on the fishes belly, I assume this indicates internal parasites. Does this require treatment? If so, which meds?
I am guessing metro in food, but I have seen some posts on here about shrimp eating the medicated food and then being found dead, just some reports that concern me

I mean, the blenny has been going like this for months, but I know something is not right with him, pics I see of other tailspot blennies look like they have a flat belly and don't look deformed like mine, it is sad to see a fish in this state and especially with the suspected aggression.

I should also note that it looks like the infection has worsened, as in the red mark looks larger

What may have happened in this case is that the blenny got thin, which weakened it. Then, another fish in the tank took advantage of that and attacked it (causing the ripped fin). That may be infected, since it looks pretty red and you report the lesion is getting larger. If so, the fish has two issues: the thinness and then the injury with a bacterial infection.

Not all thinness in blennies is caused by an internal parasite. It could be the unknown issue that I discussed in the post I copied for you, where some blennies get thin over time due to unknown issues - this might be dietary, but could also be a virus, a protozoan infection, or an internal worm parasite (parasites are the last two causes). Rectifying that can be very difficult since there is no real way to know the actual cause.

I agree that metronidazole in the food can be an issue for invertebrates that eat it, but also because most everyone just "mixes some metro with the food" - and of course, the dose is usually wrong if you just do that. Metro needs to be fed in food that is 1% metro by weight.

In the end - fish with multiple severe issues are very difficult to save. I think that the best bet would be to move the fish to a treatment tank and dose it with Neoplex for the infected fin. Then, feed it small feedings multiple times a day to see of you can bulk it up. Internal parasites don't really want to kill their host (since they die as a result). Isolating the fish and feeding it more can turn the tide on that, giving you time to try prazi in the water, or even in the food.

 

[Brad Coughlan]

What may have happened in this case is that the blenny got thin, which weakened it. Then, another fish in the tank took advantage of that and attacked it (causing the ripped fin). That may be infected, since it looks pretty red and you report the lesion is getting larger. If so, the fish has two issues: the thinness and then the injury with a bacterial infection.

Not all thinness in blennies is caused by an internal parasite. It could be the unknown issue that I discussed in the post I copied for you, where some blennies get thin over time due to unknown issues - this might be dietary, but could also be a virus, a protozoan infection, or an internal worm parasite (parasites are the last two causes). Rectifying that can be very difficult since there is no real way to know the actual cause.

I agree that metronidazole in the food can be an issue for invertebrates that eat it, but also because most everyone just "mixes some metro with the food" - and of course, the dose is usually wrong if you just do that. Metro needs to be fed in food that is 1% metro by weight.

In the end - fish with multiple severe issues are very difficult to save. I think that the best bet would be to move the fish to a treatment tank and dose it with Neoplex for the infected fin. Then, feed it small feedings multiple times a day to see of you can bulk it up. Internal parasites don't really want to kill their host (since they die as a result). Isolating the fish and feeding it more can turn the tide on that, giving you time to try prazi in the water, or even in the food.

Thanks Jay.

The flashing has increased noticably today, and I mean from noticing it once every few days (depending on when I watch, he might've done it without me looking) to at least 7 times today. He tries to scrape his gills

The red mark seems to be dissapearing which I am happy about

I also have noticed heavy breathing from the fish recently, after it is done swimming and sits on the rock
(Gill flukes?)

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks Jay.

The flashing has increased noticably today, and I mean from noticing it once every few days (depending on when I watch, he might've done it without me looking) to at least 7 times today. He tries to scrape his gills

The red mark seems to be dissapearing which I am happy about

I also have noticed heavy breathing from the fish recently, after it is done swimming and sits on the rock
(Gill flukes?)

Yes - the fish is breathing too fast. However, there are many reasons for that, not just gill flukes. Any systemic infection can cause that.....

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Yes - the fish is breathing too fast. However, there are many reasons for that, not just gill flukes. Any systemic infection can cause that.....

Right ok

I will step up feeding and see how things go, any meds that will require a QT will likely not be possible as I am leaving in 2 weeks and won't be around the tank for a week, I have someone that will look after it but most likely won't be able to help out with the QT... At this point, feeding is my only hope, I could retry prazipro, but I need a new bottle, and it will take 8 days minimum not sure if I'll have enough time, so any suggestions?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Right ok

I will step up feeding and see how things go, any meds that will require a QT will likely not be possible as I am leaving in 2 weeks and won't be around the tank for a week, I have someone that will look after it but most likely won't be able to help out with the QT... At this point, feeding is my only hope, I could retry prazipro, but I need a new bottle, and it will take 8 days minimum not sure if I'll have enough time, so any suggestions?

You could likely get two prazi treatments in before you leave.....

 

[Brad Coughlan]

You could likely get two prazi treatments in before you leave.....

Do you think it could help in this case? The yawning and flashing are the main symptoms I see of flukes, although it has been this way for many months now. Could the fish having flukes shorten their lifespan, dispite minimal symptoms?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Do you think it could help in this case? The yawning and flashing are the main symptoms I see of flukes, although it has been this way for many months now. Could the fish having flukes shorten their lifespan, dispite minimal symptoms?

Prazi treatments are typically low risk, so aside from the cost, I don’t see any downside to treating with that.

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Prazi treatments are typically low risk, so aside from the cost, I don’t see any downside to treating with that.

Thanks

I checked on ebay and I found some for sale (I'm in England where I have never seen it in an LFS) fastest delivery will be August 1st or 3rd, I leave on the 10th so to play it safe I'll have to treat when I'm back. Luckily, the blenny seems better today, I have fed heavier and it seems to have also maintained its weight from yesterday, the infection seems to have gone too.

When I did prazi last time, not long after I lost one of my hermits, could it be due to it? It also seemed to have stripped nitrates down to around 0