I apologize about the delay on this post. Below is a continuance from #1 and #2. By now all the butterflyfish had been freshwater dipped and were in quarantine under going copper treatment. The C. declivis, C. xanthocephalus and C. collare seemed fine, but the Hybrid at this point looked bad. Prior to the velvet (Amyloodinium [...]
I apologize about the delay on this post. Below is a continuance from #1 and #2.
By now all the butterflyfish had been freshwater dipped and were in quarantine under going copper treatment. The C. declivis, C. xanthocephalus and C. collare seemed fine, but the Hybrid at this point looked bad. Prior to the velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum) outbreak I had noticed issues with the hybrids fins, but now the hyrbid was not swimming… because it couldn’t
In just over 14 hours the hybrid’s pectoral, caudal and pelvic fins had reduced in size by ~25% due to bacterial infections. It increased to near 50% fin reduction over the first 72 hours while the nitrofurazone was still kicking in. During this time in QT the fish’s breathing was still labored and it alternated between laying flat on its side and propped up against the aquarium and a piece of PVC. The Declivis also experienced some fin rot, but to a lesser extent.Every time I peeked at the tank I was ready to see a dead fish. I have seen some drastic recoveries from sick fish, but this one has a shocker.
Over the next few days the Chaetodon xanthocephalus (key-toe-don zan-tho-sef-a-lus) died as did the Chaetodon collare. The Declivis and Hybrid held on and are doing fine to this day–they are currently in a quarantine tank awaiting a drastic rebuild of their 90g home. In a four week period they went from happy and healthy, to near death and back. Freshwater Dips, Cupramine and Nitrofurazone did the trick. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that if I delayed treatment by just a few hours they would have died.
One thing that was interesting was the effect the Cupramine had on the Declivis. It’s not uncommon for copper treatment to cause fish to stop eating. In this case even after the treatment the fish forgot what prepared food was. The fish would become extremely excited when I would approach the tank, as usual, but once food was added I got a dumb stare. The only way I was able to coax the fish to eat was through hand feeding–clam on the halfshell and blackworms did not even work. I had to hold on to the food for him to eat and quite literally hand feed the fish. It took a week of this before he accept food in any other manner!
A couple local aquarists saw the sick fish before and during treatment, and like me believe it was more than velvet and bacterial infections. It is possible that Uronema was the issue. The fish exhibited many signs (e.g. clamped fins and hemorrhaging). The freshwater dip could have knocked it out. However, without performing an autopsy it is impossible to tell.
Rebuild? Yes, the glassbox is going through some major changes as we speak. Currently all fish are in quarantine tanks and the 90g will be drained dry any day now.
All corals will be chiseled off, liverock and sand thrown away. A rash decision, but a better option for me than waiting 10+ weeks for the tank to go fallow.
Here’s a list of what’s to come:
- New Aquascape
- 250w DE Halide and a few other spotlights…
- LED lighting
- GHL / Profilux Doser Full Installation
- New return pump
- “Internal loop”
- Vortech MP10
Till then…
