coral beauty problems

[insanity4224]

Hey guys, i have a very bloated coral beauty angelfish which i believe is due to an ammonia spike in the quarantine tank. its stomach has inflated ALOT and the fish is swimming on its side, a lfs said i should lower the salinity to .010 and i am in the process of doing this now. They said it has something to do with the digestive system and its swim bladder. Does any one have any tips on how to treat this problem???

 

[steve-s]

You don't need to drop the salinity that far. 20-21 ppt would do just fine for easing the stress of this fish. It will not cure the problem either. The problem could be from several sources; damage from netting at the LFS, an internal bacterial infection or blockage. The swim bladder could be damaged or pressure from blockage/infection are not allowing it to function properly.

Since we cannot make any assumptions as to which one, we need to treat for the ones we can. So a proper gram negative antibiotic will be needed. Go to the LFS and see if they have either Maracyn II for SW (Minocycline @2mg/gal first day and 1mg/gal afterwards for 10 days), Gentamicin (20mg/gal for 7 days) or Kanamycin (190 mg/gal added every 3rd day for 3 treatments) and purchase an appropriate amount for your QT size. If this is a dietary problem and the fish is still accepting foods, get some frozen peas and make sure they're cooked/soft before using them. Mash an appropriate amount in with the angels food and see if it will take to it. The peas will "grease the wheels" so to speak and help pass the blockage. We will also be added some of the med to the food so be sure to post back with whichever you get. The biggest contributor for blockage in a fish like this is a mainly meat diet. Once the diet is corrected, the fish will recover quite quickly.

I will warn you though if the bladder has been damaged, it may not be a good outcome. Was the fish easily caught at the LFS or difficult? At any time was in pinned?

How did you acclimate the angel?

 

[insanity4224]

thanks dude,

ok... the fish was farely easily cought but was removed from the water for a few seconds in a net before put into the bag. I got it with an eye infection which has recovered after being treated with tetracycline. I have dropped the SG to .014 as this is what i was told to do by another fish store. The fish now is very fat and slowly losing reserve fats and has not yet eaten in captivity. i don't believe it can eat at all. Lowering the SG has helped as the fish responded by being able to swim upright again.

Unfortunatly i do not have the internet at home and only just got to read this reply so i think it is too late for the fish. i slowly acclimated the fish in the bag over about an hour before i released it into the quarantine tank and it responded very well. i believe the ammonia spike is what has caused this problem.

Now to the hard part... to be honest i think this fish is really suffering and as much as i hate to say this i would like to put it out of its misery, any humane suggestions?? btw thanks very much for the help i will print this discussion out for future reference.

-jason

 

[steve-s]

Euthanasia would be something to consider at this point. Clove oil (from the health food store) would be the most humane method.

By the sounds of it, the fish has a severe internal bacterial infection. This can be rather difficult to remedy, especially if the fish is not eating. Proper antibiotic dosages are also paramount. Bacteria can easily gain resistance if meds are under dosed. When treating the eye, you most likely used it at the recommended packaged dosage? At full SW strength (35 ppt) it would have little effect. Many antibiotics need a much higher dose in SW. At the reduced salinity your QT is now, the Tetracycline would have possibly done the trick. Really depends on the severity at the time.

 

[insanity4224]

Thanks for the help dude, i learned alot. I froze the fish as i thought it would be a humane way to kill the fish (i hope). As for the tetracycline treatment i mixed up a 20litre bucket of saltwater the day before and airated it for a couple of hours while it heated to the same temperature of the tank, i put a higher dose of tetracycline in the water as well as a lower salinity (18ppt). I put some garlic oil and some vitamins in also and left the fish in for a about four hours to fix the eye. i believe this worked well and improved the health of the fish. As i said i strongly believe the ammonia spike is what weakened the fish and started the infection.

Thanks again for your help with this fish i will definetly come here fist if i have any more q's.

-jason

 

[steve-s]

Let's just say freezing is not what you might think. Clove oil is the prefered method.

On the antibiotics, duration is just as important as dosage. It's very much the same as when your doctor tells you to finish the entire script even nif your feeling better. You have to make sure the bacteria is beaten completely. Antibiotics do not directly kill the bacteria, they interfere with their reproduction. If you back off the med too soon, they multiply again. Usually much faster as well.