Emperor not eating much

[toughguy80]

Hi all,
My Emperor's been in the QT about 2 weeks now and has shown no signs of sickness. The problem is he will only eat off LR and algea sheets. Yesterday I noticed he's starting to get white spots on him. They're not raised or anything, it looks like his scales are just turning white? I was wondering if this was due to lack of other foods or if maybe this is part of the process they go into as they change into adulthood? Or could it be something else? He's about 3" right now. Here's some tank info:
180G FOWLR with 160Ibs LR and 150Ibs LS
Ammo 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10
Tank mates include a:
Blue Hippo 4"
Foxface 4"
Ant. Lion 5"
Maroon Clown 3"
Coral Beauty 3"
All get along well and I'd say the Emperor along with the Hippo would be the "bosses" of the tank

 

[toughguy80]

They are the faded looking spots mainly seen on the top half of him.

 

[beth]

Good thing he is in a QT. That is a symptom of infection. Can you get me a closeup shot.
Also, do you have Maracyn Two for SW fish?

 

[toughguy80]

Here's a couple closeups

 

[toughguy80]

And another, also I don't have Maracyn Two. Could I find it online easily? Also, this is the same Emperor who had the white growth on his right fin not to long ago.

 

[beth]

What are you feeding this fish and what are the water readings in the QT [not your tank]? This fish is in the QT, right?
It takes too long to get it online. Try the LFS, call first.

 

[toughguy80]

LoL, I guess my top post doesn't make much sense huh? Yeah he's in a 29G quar. I got the QT water from my main tank so their exactly the same. I ran to the LFS and picked some Maracyn Two up. I've been feeding formula one and two frozen cubes, flake food and a home made mix of shrimp, clam and silversides (all fresh). Also the algae sheets which is the only thing he'll eat.

 

[toughguy80]

Today I started the treatment, I got a couple of questions though, if you could answer them?
1) Can I use Maracyn Two with LR in the tank with him?
2) Is it alright to slightly overdose? I'm calling my 29G a 30G for measurement purposes. It says 1 tablet per 20G, would it be ok to treat with 2 tablets and just overdose a little or should I break a tablet in half?
3) When I put the tablet in water it didn't disolve or anything, it just sat there for 10 mins. I then rubbed it with my hand and sure enough it disolved as I rubbed it. Should I continue doing this or is it suppose to slowly disolve? Thanks

 

[beth]

Yes, use double dose. Be sure that you have really good circulation and water movement going in the QT. Also, do a water change just before each redose.
Please report progress back daily.

 

[toughguy80]

Update: Day 2 of treatment
Did water change and added another tablet. Emperor looks unchanged, still has white spots and to my disappointment, looks like the white spot is returning on his right fin Fed him some flake and homemade mix, no interest. Then tried some formula 2 which he ate a little of and of coarse his algae sheet which he ate with no problems. He's still very active and alert.

 

[beth]

Continue the treatment.

 

[toughguy80]

Day 4
Emperor still has spots although they might be fading a bit. He is now eating all foods that I give him so things are starting to look up

 

[beth]

Please keep us posted. Another pic of him would be helpful?
Are you feeding with garlic soaked food? I would do so if not. What foods?
Don't neglect to do with water change just before redose of medication.

 

[toughguy80]

Day 6
Yes, I have been feeding with garlic soaked food and I do a 3-5G water change everyday. He looked a little better yesterday but looks really bad today. He still eats and is active but it just seems like this won't go away. He also has fully redeveloped the white spot on his fin! He's been eating flake, algae sheets, formula 1&2 and a homemade mix of silversides, clam and shrimp (all uncooked). Anyway, here are some pics...

 

[toughguy80]

Another...

 

[toughguy80]

And the white "spot" on his fin...
(note: This is an old pic but the white spot looks the same)

 

[beth]

Is the fish still in the QT? Looks like some LR in tank?
What are the water readings in tank?
Also, can you please bump other topics you have posted on this fish?

 

[toughguy80]

He's still in QT, I left in LR for him to hide in and peck at. I didn't think it would hurt anything since the package says it won't harm inverts, was I wrong? Tests came back: ammo:0 Nitrites:0 Nitrates: 5-10. The only other post on him is one about his fin which I'll bump now.

 

[beth]

toughguy80, you have done an antibiotic treatment now which would address any latent infection problem. This fish has a little growth on its side, which looks suspiciously like lymphocyctis. Seeing the most recent picture you posted actually jogged my memory about something I had seen yrs ago in one of my books...an Emperor just like yours with those blotches. My dang scanner software is messed up so I can't post up a pic for you so you could see it. It looks exactly like this.
Lymphocyctis along with those blotches, to me spells poor living conditions for this fish [or possibly poisoning]. At this point, its an educated guess for me, but this is what I think.
Do you want to hazard moving him to your display to see if the better environment there can save the fish? He has been in QT long enough, that I feel we can rule out contamination with ich, etc.
I would rarely think about moving on obviously sick fish into the display, but I really believe we are dealing with unhealthy environment conditions.
You need to decide, though, as I am not going to say that I know this 100%. .
As for the rock, you can't return that to the display since it has been in antibiotics.

 

[beth]

If you decide to move him, do another water change, then add stress coat to the QT. You can then move him 12 hrs later.
Try to avoid netting the fish. Chase him into a submerged ziplock.