HELP!!! 1 fish down already!

[alison]

:happyfish Hi, I have a 55 gal. fish only with one lion, and a clown, and a damsel in it. My Lion is a volitan lion about 6 months old. Everyone was eating great. About an hour ago I noticed my damsel in the intake tube, as he probably died, and drifted up there. I got him out, and flushed him. He was a 2 inch damsel. My lion now is acting REALLY funny. He is doing this small jerking, lunging thing. I notice no holes, spots, fin rot, eye bulging, nothin. He looks great. His belly is a little bigger than usual though, and he has labored breathing, and is doing the lunging thing, and no food interest, and stays near the back or bottom! What do I do? I did a 3 gal. water change, added stress coat, and turned off the lights. I have not added any fish in like 8 months. 8 months ago I stupidly bought a little goby that I didn't qt, and he got ick, and gave it to everyone. I ran the tank fallow for 8 weeks, and treated all the fish with formulin, and hyposalinity in my qt 55 gal. for 8 weeks, I had visible ick for 2 weeks. I kicked it, but now what is this crap? Not more sickness! What is it, and how do I beat it. Sorry no pix, digital camera down. All stats were great all at 0, or only 10ppm. Oh, and just in case it was electronic shock, I put in one of my extra heaters for emergencies. Thanks for ANY info. I think this is a fast progressing disease as my damsel and lion ate like pigs just yesterday, with no problems. All my other fish are 100% fine. Thanks in advance, hope my lion doesn't croak overnight.:nope:

, ali

 

[squidd]

Originally posted by alison
[B... All stats were great all at 0, or only 10ppm. ...[/B]
Could you be a bit more specific on the water testing...ie: which are 0 and which are 10ppm...
Ammonia...
NitrIte...
NitrAte...
pH...
Temp...
Salinity...
:thinking:

 

[beth]

Yes, that info is needed. 10 in nitrite could be fatal, for instance. And with a dead fish in the water, that could have been the case. Post all your water readings, temp, etc.
Also , NEVER use formalin in the QT. Formalin is formaldehyde. It is a serious medication with very specific applications and should never be used in the QT. It is not that effective for ich anyway. It could be that your fish are experiencing the after effects of long term exposure to formalin. How much did you use?

 

[alison]

:happyfish Thanks guys, My lion is 100% now. I figure he must have tried to eat him, and got it stuck in his mouth, which he's done before. I think he just got stressed, 'cause maybe he had it stuck for a while, and killed the damsel. He is just fine this mornin, and ate good, and color returned, and hopefully this is all over.:happyfish By the way it was just my nitrate, not nitrite that was 10 ppm, and today only 5 ppm with the water change. I'll let ya know if he changes. The clown is just fine today too. Thanks again for responding, I was having a major cow. :nervous: He is my ABSOLUTE favorite fish. His name is MR. FINNY. Thanks again, ali

 

[beth]

If you are going to keep a lion, you can not have any fish in tank that is larger than his mouth.
And don't feed feeders to a lion.

 

[alison]

:happyfish Ya I know Beth, but the damsel was bigger than his mouth so I figured it was safe. It was a large unidentified damsel. SOOO cool lookin. I miss the guy already

. Well that's how it goes I guess. I feed my volitan lion formula 1 and fresh seafood, and krill. I just vary it every day, like in the wild. Thanks sooo much for your fast responses, and I really appruciate it.

By the way it's been a while now, and all fish are doing great. I don't know what it was, so I'll just keep a sharp eye out for any disease. Thanks again, ali

:happyfish