Emergency! Help save my BSJF PLEASE!

[corrado007]

I just got home and found my BlueSpot Jawfish just outside of his burrow. He is breathing heavily and perched in the V of a rock. He appears to have what looks like a bunch of bristle worm bristles all over his head. They are translucent ~1/16" long needle looking things. You can see what I'm talking about in the picture below. He's been in my tank since Friday the 18th and has been fine until now. He also ate a ton of pellets on Sunday the 20th.

Do these look like bristle worm bristles to anyone else? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing as a bristle worm attack or accidental encounter with a fish?
If so, should I try to remove him and remove the bristles with tweezers?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.



Also, here's the video of his labored breathing.



Thanks

[Dentoid]

What ever it is, it has affected the gills. Could it be a fungal infection? Perhaps, he tried to consume a bristle worm and the tail end whipped him in the face.

[corrado007]

Originally Posted by Dentoid

What ever it is, it has affected the gills. Could it be a fungal infection? Perhaps, he tried to consume a bristle worm and the tail end whipped him in the face.

Hey Scott, thanks for the quick reply.
I doubt a fungal infection but I won't rule it out. My reason for the doubt is because in person I can see a bit better than the pic illustrates that the stuff on his head looks a lot like bristles. I've had the very same thing (numerous bristles) on my finger before and it looked the same. As far as the breathing, I'm not sure about the bristle worm's "sting" and what makes it hurt but I'd guess it's a toxin of some sort and perhaps it is what is causing the labored respiration. Am I off base with that hypothesis?
Any thoughts on treatment if that is the case?
I'm currently looking up fungal infections as well.
Thanks.

[BoomerD]

Definitely looks like he tangled with a bristleworm! (reminds me of a dog after a porcupine encounter!)

Not sure if they'll affect him long term or not...but from experience, they're VERY uncomfortable in MY hands. I can't imagine how they'd feel with a face full.

[Dentoid]

I was just guessing. Bristle worm setae can be poisonous and irritating. If he did try, or succeed at eating a bristle worm, it's plausible that the bristles are lodged in his gills causing difficulty in breathing. How to treat that is beyond me. Perhaps something that will increase production of the slime coat. I don't know of any NSAIDs for aquarium use.

First and foremost is getting a positive ID before treating.

[sasquatch]

surely this would be a fairly common occurrence in their natural habitat? they must have some tolerance for it

[corrado007]

Would manual removal of the bristles be futile or worse, detrimental at this point? I don't want to further stress the little guy or irritate him any further by handling him.

[corrado007]

Originally Posted by sasquatch

surely this would be a fairly common occurrence in their natural habitat? they must have some tolerance for it

I would agree, especially with a burrowing fish such as he is. I just wonder if this is an extreme encounter. He's got quite a few visible bristles, who knows how many I can't see.

[Frankie]

I was going to say wait before trying to remove them just yet but had a second thought. If they are from the worm i would think there poisonous to the fish. This is the way nature works. I guess if the breathing gets worse i would take him out into a shallow dish and try to remove as many as possible with a pair of tweezers. Do you have anything you can isolate him with in the aquarium after? Try not to handle him with your fingers. Gloves would be best but if not use the net and do it quick to get him back into the tank again. Best to fill in his burrow also.

[Dentoid]

Originally Posted by corrado007

Would manual removal of the bristles be futile or worse, detrimental at this point? I don't want to further stress the little guy or irritate him any further by handling him.

This would be incredibly stressful. You would have to anesthetize the little guy and if you are not familiar with the process could be fatal. If it were me I'd leave it alone, until you get some expert advice that you are comfortable with accepting. You'll have to live with the consequences either way. It's a tough call.

[Frankie]

Hmm the more i think about it the more i don't think it is bristles from a worm. off to google i go...

[Dentoid]

Go Frankie, go!

[corrado007]

Ugh, this is a tough call. I'm in no way familiar with anesthetizing a fish. He's back in his burrow and seems to be breathing quite hard still. He opened his mouth really wide at one point as if severely irritated.

I don't want to take any action that would further stress him out or worsen his condition and since it would be extremely difficult to remove him from his burrow, requiring removal of a bit of rockwork I think I'll wait for a little while and observe his condition.
I'm extremely open to any suggestions or discussion anyone may have at this point. Also, thank you all for responding so quickly and with such concern. The more heads put together and experience the better.

[corrado007]

He has moved back to his burrow and seems quite uncomfortable.

I've been googling around as well but to no avail so far. Thanks Frankie for searching with me.

[corrado007]

You know, I wonder as well if the bristle worms would have such an effect on the BSJF. Don't 6 line wrasses and some dottybacks eat bristle worms? Perhaps some species have an immunity to their toxin as king snakes have an immunity to rattle snake venom. ???