HELP! New fuzzy dwarf sick!

shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Hello all.
I had recently posted about my new fuzzy dwarf. Ive had him about a week and a half.
He has been eating for me (live). Ive been soaking the ghost shrimp in garlic (so he gets familiar with the taste) while trying to coax him to eat prepared food (no luck yet). He ate yesterday- enough until his tummy was puffy- cant remember how many shrimp exactly.
He had been getting better color since I got him as he was kinda 'washed out' at first.
When I got hime from school today (about 3:30) he was sitting on top a rock and his back fin was kinda pursed rather than flared out like normal. I thought maybe it was just because of how he was on the rock.
I took a nap (school is tiring lol) and JUST woke up. He is on the sandbed, in betweeen the glass and a rock. He is looking pale towards the top of his body. His fins have the 'washed out' look, and he isnt too responsive when I get close to the glass (he doesnt flare up or anything).
All talk param are within limits. Last water change was the DAY I brought fuzzy home. I did the change out before I acclimated him so he wouldnt be in shock.
I also have a mandarin and a goby in there, they are fine.
I have corals like frogspawn, zoas, dendros, xenia, rics, a gorgornia, various caluerpa plants and a 'sleu' of inverts.
None of my other inhabitants are sick.
Did I do something wrong?
He ate the ghost shrimp FROM MY HAND yesterday and was very active.
He is breathing normally (no rapidly).
What should I do?
Did the garlic guard make him sick or something? Thats the only thing I think Ive done different in the past few days...
HELP!?!?!?
Jessica/Shrimpi
 
jhebi

jhebi

Member
Any pics of it? IMO ghost shrim is not enough for him to eat. You should try giving him, shrimp, mysis, squid, and etc...Did you just feed him ghost shrimp?
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
As I stated, I just got him so right now he will only eat the ghost. Ive only had him for 1.5weeks, so its not like he has only been eating the ghost shrimp for a long time.
I have been trying to trick him to eat the prepared food (like mysis, saltwater shrimp, clams etc) but Ive only had him 10days and he hasnt wanted it yet. I put it on the stick and wiggle it to pretend its alive... I do that in between each ghost shrimp I feed him to try and trick him.
The ghosts are not enough nutrition... I agree, but I just got him, Im trying!
Update: He just 'woke up'. I dont know whats going on. All the sudden he perked up, and started swimming (kinda faster than normal) around the tank. He is now perched up in one of the corners of the tank kinda hiding next to the powerhead and his fins are moving and spread out like normal.
The blue lights are only on right now in the tank (light timer) and I can still see that his color is still washed out, but he is more active.
What the heck is going on?
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
May have been Sleeping?
Mine do look washed out when they are perched during the day, heck they even sleep belly up, floating at the water surface.....

Are you feeding the ghost shrimp some thing nutritional before feeding them to your lion?
How often are you feeding your lion?
What size is your lion?
Are the eyes clear?
All fins look good, no tears, they are clear and not grey or milky in color in color?
Kaye
 
U

undulated guy

Guest
sleep belly up floating? this would scare me, i would think they were dying every time i saw this even if i had seen it a million times.
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
Yes, my daughter came over when I was not home and called me "I think all your lions died" LOL Lions have been known to do this in the wild, they will float under seaweed clumps, spines down for protection.
Kaye
 
rslinger

rslinger

Member
My lion does that to sometimes sleep floating belly up...never really bothered me though becasue the few saltwater fish i have lost all have sunk.
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Originally Posted by V-Lioness
May have been Sleeping?
Mine do look washed out when they are perched during the day, heck they even sleep belly up, floating at the water surface.....

Are you feeding the ghost shrimp some thing nutritional before feeding them to your lion?
How often are you feeding your lion?
What size is your lion?
Are the eyes clear?
All fins look good, no tears, they are clear and not grey or milky in color in color?
Kaye

I drip a little garlic( so he can associate the flavor with the frozen food eventually) in the shrimps water, and throw in a little mixture of mysis/shrimp(whatever I have cut up) and sometimes some flake so they can have that in thier belly before I offer them to the fuzzy.
Ive been feeding him about every 2 days as I am under the impression that they a quite often overfed and suffer from fatty liver disease. I feed him until his belly looks full- maybe like 5? shrimp and I throw a few in the tank for him to hunt for later.
My lion is about 4"
His eyes are nice and clear. I was checking that out too, but they look good.
His overall color is better today. I can see the yellow much better, actually, he looks pretty good. He even has these little spots on his fins that are blue and they were looking vivid today (thankfully)
He is still acting kinda fatigued I guess. I tried to offer him some food today and he was not the least bit interested, actually he swam away from the food.
Maybe he just didnt 'feel good' yesterday and he is recovering today?
I had my water tested to confirm my testing and the only issue was my calcium was low (250) so I need to drip some more Kalk- shouldnt effect fuzzy at all.
I hope he bounces back.
My other two fish are fine, and my corals look great, its just the fuzzy. I will wait till tomorrow to offer him food again.
Normally he swims right up to me and eats the food from my hand (or tweezers actually) so Im kinda concerned because he is looking better but not hungry.
Any help or criticism is welcomed. I have been trying to get him to eat frozen foods, I bought some 'prawn' today b/c it looks alot like the ghost shrimp so it may be easier to trick him into eating them and start the 'transition' of frozen food.
Thanks again
Jessica/Shrimpi
I think he is breathing faster today too.- this concerns me.
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
It is possible your lion is shedding, they will look faded and not hungry, they shed for many reasons, health, diet, water quality and so on......
Considering you have only had him 1 1/2 weeks, it may be shedding because of water quality through shipping. If your lion is shedding, watch for whitish stringy skin (cuticle) floating or on the rocks, watch for your lion to start darting or sitting in the flow more.
Keep an eye on him, you also want to watch for a bacterial infection, again, water quality through shipping would cause this, usually cloudy eyes are one of the first signs.
Kaye
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
you know what... I did see something that resembled 'skin' the other day. Hmmmm.
His color is back now- seems just like normal, but he isnt being very active. He was kinda laying on his side when I got home today.
How long until he will want to eat again?
He last ate on Monday and hasnt been interested in food in the last day or so. Im gonna try again today to feed him.
I had my water tested yesterday to confirm my tests and my water is fine so I dont think its my water that is the problem.
I dont see any spots on him or cottony things so I dont think he has a fungal problem,
He just seems 'not happy'. His fins arent all spread out like normal, and he was very social until this started. He is perched upside down by a rock right now. I guess Ill wait till later to try feeding him again.
Thanks alot
Jess
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
How long until he will want to eat again?
When my lions are young, they go around one week refusing food, as adults they seem to go anywhere from 2 - 4 weeks without eating. I don't think your water is the problem, your lion is still very new, I would look at problems that may occur during shipping, many times there is not a lot of water used in the bag or container, lions are messy and can foul that water pretty quick.
I dont see any spots on him or cottony things so I dont think he has a fungal problem,
I doubt that it is Fungal, Bacterial is different, and usually secondary, many times bacterial is the result of poor water quality, again, I would look at shipping, not your water.
Kaye
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
should i put some of that maracyn stuff in the tank just in case? I have some from a while back I had a sick clown.
Do they usually become more sluggish and 'sick looking' when they suffer from this ?
I just dont understand how he was doing good and then all the sudden he starts acting ths way. Wouldnt he have acted like this as soon as I got him home// or does it take a while for the sickness to set in?
Hes kinda on his side behind a rock. Im so worried hes gonna die.
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
he also looks like his tummy is full...
I read that a 'swollen' belly is a symptom of dropsy? bacterial disease?
Should I medicate:?
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
should i put some of that maracyn stuff in the tank just in case?
Only you can make this call, since you can visually see the lion, but you do not want to treat just because. From everything you are describing, there are no visible signs it is bacterial.
Are you sure it is not just sleeping right now?
Do they usually become more sluggish and 'sick looking' when they suffer from this ?
Yes, mine perch quite a bit when they are shedding, they look faded, wont eat, don't swim a lot, they just do not act normal and just sit there.
I just dont understand how he was doing good and then all the sudden he starts acting ths way. Wouldnt he have acted like this as soon as I got him home// or does it take a while for the sickness to set in?
Usually when somebody requires about getting a lion, I usually recommend having the LFS hold the lion 7 - 10 days before bringing it home, mainly because of shipping. Yes, fish can show many different signs, weeks even months after receiving the fish.
Kaye
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
His tummy looks full. He doesnt look like he has a golfball in there, but considering he hasnt eaten since monday he does look plump.
I dumped some maracyn in there. Normally I wouldnt medicate just in case, but I have to do something here.
He is upsidedown in the back of the tank, not perched on a rock, just upsaide down on the sand, between some rocks and the glass. Doesnt look like a happy camper.
What a crappy situation. Why cant people take more care when shipping these guys.
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
He is upsidedown in the back of the tank, not perched on a rock, just upsaide down on the sand, between some rocks and the glass.
I am pulling for him but it does not sound good....... Good Luck!
I agree, it is not just the shipping but everything along the way, from the time they catch the fish.
Kaye
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
thanks for all your help Kaye.

I hope he makes it. I think Ive done whatever can be done, its just a wait and see type of thing now.
Do they ever captive breed these guys?- if he does die Id like to try and get one that wasnt caught to avoid this circumstance in the future.
hope I dont have to worry about that anyway. Poor little booger, its soo sad.
Thanks again
Jess
Ill update as time goes.
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Rest in peace- even though Im not religious AT ALL.
Im afraid to say... my little fuzzy croaked. His color had returned, and whne I came home today he was 'blowing around' in the powerhead stream, then he started swimming around really fast... like it was his last 'effort' or something. Not even five minutes later he was dead.
He even died behind this massive structure of rocks, so I had to tear down like half the tank to get him out.
I think I did everything I could, and I do want to 'try again' as now that I had the pleasure of keeping a lion, I really do enjoy them.
I think lions have alot of personality, they are so unique.
He was really bloated at the end, but he was 'pooping' so iy couldnt have been a blockage, Im leaning toward a festering infection he must have had from shipping.
Im going to start another thread about another lion-related question.
Thanks to anyone who helped or just prayed for the little guy.
Jessica/Shrimpi
 
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