Dying foxface

ottbry

ottbry

Member
So, the title pretty much says it, my foxface is dying. I don't know why. I just got him today, the acclimation didn't go exactly as planned, but he was doing fine for about five hours. After that he got dark, he his spines started flaring, and he lays on the bottom puffing hard. sometimes he will float at the top, and somtimes he swims a little, but he is pretty consistently sickly looking. I think he will almost definitely be dead by morning.
What I'm wondering is, what could have happened, and any things that I could do to save him. My other fish didn't harass him too much, my tang would swim up really close to him and then back off, but that's all. I am a bit worried that the tang may have stung him. If that is the case, will he survive?
Also, if he does die, will he poison the tank? It's a ninety with ten gallons in the sump.
Last thing, do they act different with the lights off? I know my chromis acts like it's only got seconds left all night, but then in the day, he's perfectly happy, maybe that could be contributing to his behavior.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by ottbry http:///t/393586/dying-foxface#post_3502087
So, the title pretty much says it, my foxface is dying. I don't know why. I just got him today, the acclimation didn't go exactly as planned, but he was doing fine for about five hours. After that he got dark, he his spines started flaring, and he lays on the bottom puffing hard. sometimes he will float at the top, and somtimes he swims a little, but he is pretty consistently sickly looking. I think he will almost definitely be dead by morning.
What I'm wondering is, what could have happened, and any things that I could do to save him. My other fish didn't harass him too much, my tang would swim up really close to him and then back off, but that's all. I am a bit worried that the tang may have stung him. If that is the case, will he survive?
Also, if he does die, will he poison the tank? It's a ninety with ten gallons in the sump.
Last thing, do they act different with the lights off? I know my chromis acts like it's only got seconds left all night, but then in the day, he's perfectly happy, maybe that could be contributing to his behavior.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Hi,
What exactly do you mean when you said that the acclimation did not go as planned? New fish are very stressed, the fox face will change to the color brown when they are upset. You SHOULD of had him in a QT to give him a chance to adjust quietly....Oh well, too late now.
It actually sounds like he is in shock from being added too fast to a tank with a different temp and SG. He may adjust and be Okay in the morning, just leave him alone and hope for the best....playing dead/dying is just a trick and he might be just fine.
The tang might be in danger if it bothered the foxface since they are venomous....I have never seen a tang dumb enough to bother one.
 
ottbry

ottbry

Member
Well, never mind about a lot of that stuff, i went down just now and it was dead. I still would like to figure out what happened.
Now, I haven't done a full on water test in quite a while, but none of my fish or inverts have been acting out of character until today. I did do a test strip, and it said my nitrites and nitrates were zero, and my ph was a touch low, but not enough to affect anything else. The temperature has been low all day, but it has been steadily rising, and like I said, the foxface was happy and swimming around for four to five hours before he started acting up. Also, the change was pretty sudden. I was showing him off to my brother, and then after about a half hour to fortyfive minutes, he was down.
I have three other fish, A chromis, a cardinal and a tang. The tang was the only one I saw interact with the foxface. I know he is poisonous, but he has always seemed skittish, so it doesn't seem like he wold have stung him, but that is the only thing that makes sense to me at this point.
One last thing, What are the symptoms of a poison sting between fish? Does it happen often at all? I asked because my yellow tang has got a brown spot on his side now, about three quarters of his length. It could just be a color change that happens at night, I've never gotten a good look at him this long after the lights have been off.
 
ottbry

ottbry

Member
The acclimation didn't go well because I got him set in the tank and realized the temp was way low. I just moved from a fifty five to a ninety recently, and i was still waiting for the new heater to ship. the old one was doing fine, but last night must have been really cold. I got the new heater today, and I've got them both running, but it is taking a while. i did however float him for at least a half hour, so I don't think it was a shock.
 
reefr

reefr

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by ottbry http:///t/393586/dying-foxface#post_3502093
The acclimation didn't go well because I got him set in the tank and realized the temp was way low. I just moved from a fifty five to a ninety recently, and i was still waiting for the new heater to ship. the old one was doing fine, but last night must have been really cold. I got the new heater today, and I've got them both running, but it is taking a while. i did however float him for at least a half hour, so I don't think it was a shock.
how were the other fish in the cold water?
How did he look when you bought him? any signs of ich?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Sorry about the loss...I had hoped he was just pissed off and would get over it. How does the tang look this morning, concerning the brown spot you mentioned? Also do you have an amenome in the tank? New fish may not know to stay clear and get stung.
 
ottbry

ottbry

Member
Okay, So, as of now, everything is completely normal. the temp is back up, and all of my fish are solid.
As far as the tang's spot is concerned, i think i was just being paranoid. he has a long lighter spot on his side, and I think it was just a trick of the light and me freaking out.
I don't have an anenome.
I think next time i'm going to just be very very thorough when i add a fish. i had a divider in my tank to separate the foxface, but it wasn't tight enough, so i'm going to work on that. Also i am going to check and recheck everything before i buy next time. I guess i just trusted my heater too much and i figured it couldn't go wrong. At any rate, I'm just going to cover the hell out of my bases.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by ottbry http:///t/393586/dying-foxface#post_3502285
Okay, So, as of now, everything is completely normal. the temp is back up, and all of my fish are solid.
As far as the tang's spot is concerned, i think i was just being paranoid. he has a long lighter spot on his side, and I think it was just a trick of the light and me freaking out.
I don't have an anenome.
I think next time i'm going to just be very very thorough when i add a fish. i had a divider in my tank to separate the foxface, but it wasn't tight enough, so i'm going to work on that. Also i am going to check and recheck everything before i buy next time. I guess i just trusted my heater too much and i figured it couldn't go wrong. At any rate, I'm just going to cover the hell out of my bases.
Umm, the REASON for a QT is not to keep a new fish safe from the other fish so it isn't stressed, it is kind of a perk to have the QT where the fish can feel safer. It is basically needed to keep the established fish from getting cooties from the new fish. One sick critter could wipe out your tank. You are not covering all your bases at all if you just set up a divider, since all cooties would be in the display if the fish turned out to be sick...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top