Fish Help Please

[Gumby]

Ok, my regal has been scrappnig rock with its body and has some red lines/patches (he has been hiding quite a bit so I have been taking quitck looks at him) on it tail by where the sharp boney piece is. He is not eating as much as he used to.

My Royal Gramma has been real lethargic lately.

What disease fighter do you all recommend I use on my tank.

I don't have a QT tank, so what ever I do has to be done to the main tank.

I do not have any corals at the moment and do not plan on getting any soon.

Please help.

thanks,

Gumby

[Gumby]

BUMP^

[EdgeKrusher]

Gumby go get a 10 gallon rubber maid container, a heater, and a powerhead. That's a good enough QT tank. You want to get them out of the display. What are your tank parameter's like? how long have you had the fish? when did you first see signs of the disease? Do the red splotches look velvety at all.

Do the symptoms look like any of these?

Marine Velvet

Common Marine Fish Diseases

I'm no vet, but maybe these can help you determine what's going on, and how to cure it. Keep us updated.

EK

[Woodstock]

Red streaks? Sounds like maybe a bacterial infection. Definately step up on your water changes and check all the water parameters to be sure it's not a water quality issue. Also, make sure your not feeding old fish food (I keep mine at the longest 3 months) Moving fish to a 'hospital' tank/tub to treat it could help if you know what the disease is, but It really stresses the fish out.. so be careful.

Good Luck!! Let us know how it goes!!

[Cosmic]

I would start by following EK's recommendation of a QT tank. Depending on the size of your blue morpho, a 10 Gal might not be big enough to house all your fish.

Normally, scratching would suggest that your fish have come down with ich, in which case I'd recommend a good copper based treatment.
However, you mention red streaks in thier fins also, which could be a few different things. It's possibly caused by the scraping your fish have been doing, injuring themselves while trying to remove the parasites. It's also possible that it is a bacterial infection. Infections of this manner are treated with Erythromyacin with fairly good success by me. Even if it IS bacterial related, I still believe that you are seeing a mild outbreak of ich as well, since the fish are constantly scraping.

Be aware that copper added to a tank can be very difficult to remove since it binds to all the surfaces. It can also wipe out delicate inverts like snails, stars, shrimp, and crabs, not to mention anemones and corals.
Also know that Erythromyacin (or any other anti-bacterial medication) is going to do just as it's name implies.....Kill bacteria. This means both Good AND Bad bacterias, resulting in higher ammonia and nitrites while under use.

Best of luck in treating your fish,
Cos

[Woodstock]

Many (not all) fish are able to fight off parasitic infestations if given pristine water conditions and a good diet. Sometimes chemical treatments can kill the already weakend fish.

I would perform extra water changes and add garlic to their food for the next month; transferring them to a quarantine tank/tub and treating with a chemical only as a last resort. JMO

[EdgeKrusher]

The 10 gallon rubbermaid was just an idea of what could be cheaply done. You could go bigger. But if you do decide to treat with any kind of "medication" you have to QT, it's not worth the risk of contaminating your display, JMO. Hope all goes well.

[Gumby]

THanks all for the replies.

I am pretty sure its a water issue. I purchased a 6 stage RODI this week from Aquasafecanada via ebay ($82 and change before shipping) so once i get that in it ought to change rather quickly to better water.

I could possibly use my wifes tank as QT, its just a matter of catching those two with the issue.

Can I get the eurythmociacin from a fish store?

[EdgeKrusher]

yes, I belive it's call Myacin or Myacin 2 or something like that. If you think it's a water quality issue, then don't even treat the fish with the Erythromyacin, there's no need. If it's Ich the best way to treat it is with a quarentine period of 6 weeks.

[Gumby]

I have a skunk cleaner shrimp, but the coral beauty believes the shrimp is his personnal cleaner and no one else is allowed to use it.

Skunk shrimp are the best with ich.

BTW, i do not see any white cottony spots like ich.

[BigReepher]

I agree with what has already been said. I would like to add that food soaked in garlic can help boost the immune system of fish. It's is commonly used to treat mild cases of ich, but it also promotes overall health. It can also persuade a finicky eater to chow down.

[Cosmic]

I am pretty sure its a water issue. I purchased a 6 stage RODI this week from Aquasafecanada via ebay ($82 and change before shipping) so once i get that in it ought to change rather quickly to better water.

If your fish are exhibiting scratching and redness of fins, a few water changes with a "good" (RO) water isn't going to do much unless your water parameters are way off. The main thing a "clean" water will do for you is reduce the amount of algae you fight by reducing phosphates of incoming water. Phosphates don't cause ich. Stress generally causes ich.
What I'm saying is that I'd try something else in conjuction with the water changes because I don't think that's going to help very much, fwiw.

I'd also go ahead with treatment at this time. Normally I'm one to let my fish fight things naturally, but the redness of fins means it's getting out of hand, and the fish isn't going to have an easy time recovering without some help, imho.

Cos

[Gumby]

I started dosing this evening with Marycin. Tnaks water looks green.

I also had my LFS check my water params and they say that with the exception of slight phosphate reading, everything else is right on the money. ( I say slight because I cannot remember the number he said).

[Craig Manoukian]

You may want to turn off your skimmer whilre you are treating your tank.

[Gumby]

THanks, I figured that one out after my skimmer overflowed last night.