Firefish is sick...please help with Red spots

[woody189]

I have a 46 gal tank 2/ 45 lbs LR...these are my fish in this order
1) 2 clowns
2) royal gramma
3) purple firefish, and regular firefish ( added together)
CUC-emerald crab, turbos, nass, redlegs, camelback shrimp, cleaner, and blood shrimp
My reg, and purp. firefish have been in the tnak for a few weeks now but i think there's something wrong w/ the regular one. He hides a lot and doesn't eat much (which he's always done). But his mouth looks weird. It looks like it's kind of shredded or something, don't think it's normal. And there is red on his abdomen, especially on teh left side there is red dot beneath the skin.
Could it be an infection?? I should put him in a QT right if i can catch him??
My gramma seems to pick on him every once in a while but the firefish doesn't really pay him any mind. He's usually in the rocks anyway.
any ideas?? It's tough to get a clear pic
Is a regular firefish's mouth supposed to look similar to purple firefish's???
and i'm feeding once a day...pellets, flakes, and mysis shrimp (frozen), i feed various combinations of the three, some days just one type, sometimes more.
thanks

 

[sepulatian]

The "regular" firefish sounds like he has a bacterial infection. I am not surprised. You have a royal gramma, a purple and a red all in a 46 gallon tank. You should probably get rid of the red fire fish. Will your LFS take him back? He is the most timid of the three and will not be able to take the aggression.

 

[woody189]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2592940
The "regular" firefish sounds like he has a bacterial infection. I am not surprised. You have a royal gramma, a purple and a red all in a 46 gallon tank. You should probably get rid of the red fire fish. Will your LFS take him back? He is the most timid of the three and will not be able to take the aggression.
i did a lot of research on here before buying them and saw good results w/ mixing purple/red firefishes, and even grammas in the same tank...Not sure about the size though.
I am starting out, but i even posted questions about my stocklist multiple times, and nobody really tried to tell me not to get all three.
as for the aggression...i put 2 firefishes together in the QT and they got along, hiding in the same place together (i had more than 1 hiding spot). When i put them in my tank, the gramma was aggressive but calmed down a lot the next day. gramma still picks on him a little, but the purple doesn't bother him at all.
Are there any other solutions other than returning him?? should i QT??
thanks sep

 

[beth]

Sounds to me like harassment is going on and there's not much you can do about that, except remove the one being picked on.

 

[sepulatian]

You can try treating the red one with Maracyn 2 for SW fish in the QT. That will take care of the bacterial infection. It is likely to happen again when he goes back into the display though.
They usually do get along in the QT. Once they settle into their home the fighting begins.

 

[woody189]

should i treat it and then give it to the LFS or just give it back??? will they take care of it??
I know you can't be positive, especially since i don't have pics, but are you fairly certain it's aggression?? I don't want to give my fish back if i don't have to.
One more thing, it would be a bad idea to replace him w/ another, bigger firefish right?? I know grammas pick on things twice their size so i would probably run into the same problem right?? just replace it with other fish??
are bacterial infections contagious? and approx how long does it take to cure??

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by woody189
http:///forum/post/2593658
should i treat it and then give it to the LFS or just give it back??? will they take care of it??
I know you can't be positive, especially since i don't have pics, but are you fairly certain it's aggression?? I don't want to give my fish back if i don't have to.
One more thing, it would be a bad idea to replace him w/ another, bigger firefish right?? I know grammas pick on things twice their size so i would probably run into the same problem right?? just replace it with other fish??
are bacterial infections contagious? and approx how long does it take to cure??
Bacteria (the kind that caused this) is as common as cold germs. It is always there, in any tank. The bacteria multiplies when it finds a nice, immune deficient, body to infest. I have had a gramma go off on a black clown that was more than twice it's size. You want these fish to co-exist. What would be the point of adding a larger red firefish? Pick fish that will get along together in your sized tank. Pick fish that do not have the same body shape, that is mostly the problem that you are having.

 

[woody189]

I decided to take him out, but i haven't seen him since i first started this thread. I was waiting for him to come out so i can net him and put him in QT, but he never came out, not even to eat.
I took every last piece of LR out of my tank, shook it up, and put it in an empty bucket w/ no water for like 20 seconds, thinking if it's in the rock it'll jump out...he didn't
I can't find it. I'm assuming it's dead in a whole in the rock. I don't think he went carpet surfing, and i only have an emerald crab, 2 small hermits, and 7snails, so i doubt my clean up crew took care of him.
Also my ammonia hasn't spiked. What do you think?? could he be alive?
thanks again

 

[sepulatian]

Have you checked in your overflow or any other small openings? They can get into the tightest spots. Do you have household pets that may have grabbed him if he did jump out of the tank? Don't give up yet, it has only been a few days, he may still be in there.

 

[woody189]

all i have are a few powerheads, a skimmer, and filter, and he's not stuck in any of them.
I do have a cat that could have easily grabbed him, but i have it covered pretty well w/ eggcrate and glass. It is possible though.
I'm trying to be optimistic, but i doubt he's alive. If he was, wouldn't he have jumped out of the rock when i took it out the water (like my royal gramma did).
would my ammonia go up if he died?? or is my tank big enough that it wouldn't make a big difference?? (46 gal w/ skimmer, canister filter & 45lbs LR)
i appreciate all the responces sep

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by woody189
http:///forum/post/2600302
all i have are a few powerheads, a skimmer, and filter, and he's not stuck in any of them.
I do have a cat that could have easily grabbed him, but i have it covered pretty well w/ eggcrate and glass. It is possible though.
I'm trying to be optimistic, but i doubt he's alive. If he was, wouldn't he have jumped out of the rock when i took it out the water (like my royal gramma did).
would my ammonia go up if he died?? or is my tank big enough that it wouldn't make a big difference?? (46 gal w/ skimmer, canister filter & 45lbs LR)
i appreciate all the responces sep
You would be surprised at the tiny places that fish escape from. My diamond goby jumped from a tiny section, in the back, that was open. My cats played with him more than I would like to remember. Unless you have a large cleanup crew you would have seen a spike. I am so sorry.