Help!!! Fuzzy Dwarf Is Dying

deltablack22

deltablack22

Active Member
The past few days she has been acting a little strange in my opinion and has been very comfortable out in the open water of the tank but my wife said she started doing this while I was deployed. She was eating every couple of days (handfed) and nothing has changed with her diet but would not accept food yesterday at her normal interval. I wake up this morning and there she is, hanging out in the front of the tank looking fine. Now I walk into the room and her fins are pressed against her body and she is wagging her tail but more or less at the mercy of the current. She is not gasping for air or anything but I have no idea what could be wrong.
Levels have been fairly stable however nitrates have been a little high and my water change the other day brought the nitrates from 40 PPM to 20 PPM. Nitrites and Ammonia are both at zero. Ph is slightly low at 8.0 - 8.1. We've had her over a year now and I dont want to lose her.... Any ideas or suggestions?
Im about to re-test the water and post results.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
It's not unusual for lions to not eat for a few days or even a week. So as far as the feeding, I don't think it's something to worry about. These fish can go a long time without food. In the oceans they don't get to eat every day. You shouldn't really feed it every day. I read it's bad for them.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
Do you have an electric current tester?. Small amounts of stray electricity could cause issues not noticeable from chemical testing. I'd also get a 2nd opinion on the water tests maybe have it tested at an lfs too. Have you used any cleaning products near the tank recently?
 
deltablack22

deltablack22

Active Member
--: I dont feed her daily, she is fed a variety of frozen foods and usually takes them every 3 days by hand.
Prime: No cleaning products near the tank and no electrical tester although I had thought of stray voltage. The other fish and coral are fine though so I've pretty much ruled this out.
My wife just called me and said she read of something called "gut blockage" where she may have eaten something in the tank and cant get it through her system. Anyone had experience with this? Sounds reasonable except her stomach isnt distended... Coloration is still normal. Test results are still out.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by prime311
http:///forum/post/2610862
You might want to try the disease forum, although I've seen Sepultian lurk here sometimes too.
Yep, I am always lurking somewhere

Delta, blockage will cause them to be reclusive but it is usually also associated with color loss and lethargy. It sounds as though he is still out in the open. Have you looked closely at his body to rule out an external infection?
 
deltablack22

deltablack22

Active Member
Well the results are in on the tests:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: 7.8
Amm: 0
Nitrate: 80
(never had a problem with this before)
Nitrite: 0
Sep, I've taken a close look at her and cant find anything that looks unusual externally. Body shape seems to be normal and her belly isnt sunken in or bloated. She has now gone behind the rockwork and is hanging upside down (like she normally does) but her fins are still pressed close to her body and her tail is still going back and forth somewhat quickly but she is stationary.
 
deltablack22

deltablack22

Active Member
My stupid Coral Beauty is now picking on her and has messed up her spines!!! I just moved her into a specimen container to keep them separated and I've got it to where the tank water is lapping into it providing heat and flow... Shes lost some color due to the coral beauty picking at her spines. I'll post some pictures in a minute.
 
deltablack22

deltablack22

Active Member
I can try but I dont know how good it will be for her. I've got a 3 Gallon tank I could convert from the existing tank water but it would only have a heater and powerhead for circulation... Would this be enough? I've got some spare PVC I could add but how often would I need to change the water?
Thanks Sep... She's not looking too hot right now either.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by DeltaBlack22
http:///forum/post/2611281
I can try but I dont know how good it will be for her. I've got a 3 Gallon tank I could convert from the existing tank water but it would only have a heater and powerhead for circulation... Would this be enough? I've got some spare PVC I could add but how often would I need to change the water?
Thanks Sep... She's not looking too hot right now either.
Three gallons is rather small, but it is better than the breeder tank. Add rocks so she can have her cave. The rocks will help with the biological filtration as well. I would check the water daily though. It is a shame because she would have likely been fine in a few days time. I don't see an infection on her. The loss of color is from stress.
 
deltablack22

deltablack22

Active Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2611303
Three gallons is rather small, but it is better than the breeder tank. Add rocks so she can have her cave. The rocks will help with the biological filtration as well. I would check the water daily though. It is a shame because she would have likely been fine in a few days time. I don't see an infection on her. The loss of color is from stress.
You have me convinced, I have some spare LR with no coral in my frag tank and Ill go ahead and set up the small quarantine with the display water, heater, power head and bare bottom...
 
deltablack22

deltablack22

Active Member
Quarantine tank is set up with what I had on hand... Not perfect but hopefully it will work. I have some stress coat, since she got tore up pretty bad by the Coral Beauty you think I should add a little?

 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Poor girl. Do not add the stress coat. That coats the body and can clog the gills. Her body is fine. It is her fins that need to heal. Keep a CLOSE eye on the water readings. I would turn the light off in the QT. Let her relax, if she can. I hope that the damage wasn't too bad.
 
deltablack22

deltablack22

Active Member
I was really tempted to add the stress coat becase I know she's stressed out and her fins are torn up. I didnt though. The light is off in the tank and will probably remain off (aside from ambient light) so she can be left alone. Temp is reading 81.7 in the quarantine right now but she has actually perched up on the heater out from behind the LR sleeping I suppose. I'll be sure to test the levels tomorrow - lets just hope she makes it that long. I'm still clueless as to why she was acting so strange this afternoon.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
I wonder if some posts got deleted. I thought i remember him posting the fish passed. Otherwise I''m going crazy and dreaming of posting here.
 
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