Lyretail Anthias with one cloudy eye

hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
Have a question. I have a Lyretail Anthias in a 20 gal QT. I had 2 but one died last friday for no apparent reason. The water quality is fine.
Ammo - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - maybe .5 to .10
Phos. None
Sal. 1.023
She has been scratching against the PVC and rock a little but not much. Did a 25% water change today and I just noticed the one that is left is hiding in the rock. After taking a good look she has one eye that seems to be cloudy (maybe swelled up a little) it may just be a scratch on the eye but I am getting ready to put an Emporer in the same QT and want to make sure that would not be a mistake. I feed brine soaked in Selcon and garlic and after reading may threads on this site it seems I should just leave it alone and keep feeding with Garlic.
Again, I just don't want to make a mistake by placing an Emporer in with her if this could be something else. I wish I could take a pic and post it but I don't have the abitily to do that at this time. Any help would be wonderful.
Thanks in advance
Cory
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
A couple of things I notice here. The first is the diet. Brine shrimp has little to no nutritional value. Try to get this fish eating healthier frozen formula foods soaked in the vitamines and fresh garlic (Beth has a recipee in her common treatments FAQ). The second thing is the scratching. Have you looked this fish over carefully? Use a magnifying glass and take a good look at the fish. The eye will heal with a better diet but we need to figure out why the fish is scratching so she doesn't keep doing it and irritate the eye even more.
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
I have been keeping a pretty good eye on her up til now cause she is hiding in the rock, but there haven't seemed to be any spot, leaisons, or anything else.
I do know about the food and you make a very good point. I put mussels in my main take every other day and all of the fish just tear it up. I thought that might be enough to give them plenty of nutritution. Am I worng in my thinking? If so please let me know. I have tried Mysis but not many of my fish seem to eat it.
Just wish I could figure out what is up with her eye so I could make a decsion about the Emporer.
Thanks for the comments, looking forward to hearing more.
Cory
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Fish need a wide variety of foods. Think of all of the different things they eat in the ocean. I like formula foods because each kind has several different types of food mixed in together. If you have 3 different kinds of formula foods that you rotate then this gives them a varied and balanced diet. The muscles are good to throw in as well, but it isn't enough. If the fish don't have a healthy immune system then they are much more susceptible to disease and heal less quickly. Keep watching the fish. Do you have a magnifying glass that you can use to look at the fish closely? Scratching usually means that something is irritating them.
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
No I don't and she is pretty embedded in the rock right now. She did come out to eat a little while ago but has not come out since. I can always break out my glasses even though I really don't want to. Makes me feel old..........
BTW: I did a water change just to get the stuff off of the bottom and inadverntly brought the Sal down from 1.0245 to 1.023. Don't really think that will cause any real problems but just thought I'd through it in.
I will take your advice on the food and look at Beth's recipe and see what happens.
Should I wait on the Emporer for now? My LFS just ordered it today. I am sure they will hold it for me for a bit......
Thanks
Cory
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by HogCr8
No I don't and she is pretty embedded in the rock right now. She did come out to eat a little while ago but has not come out since. I can always break out my glasses even though I really don't want to. Makes me feel old..........
BTW: I did a water change just to get the stuff off of the bottom and inadverntly brought the Sal down from 1.0245 to 1.023. Don't really think that will cause any real problems but just thought I'd through it in.
I will take your advice on the food and look at Beth's recipe and see what happens.
Should I wait on the Emporer for now? My LFS just ordered it today. I am sure they will hold it for me for a bit......
Thanks
Cory
Yep, break out the glasses and look closely. How long have you had the Anthias? They can be territorial so it is probably not a good idea to add another fish into the 20 qt. That slight drop in salnity is no big deal. Please remember to always let your new water mix for 24-48 hrs and to always test it to be sure it matches your tank water before adding it.
 
hogcr8

hogcr8

Member
She has been in the QT to 10 days. Broke out he glasses but everytime I get to the tank she runs under the rock. From what I can see the eye is not that bad. A little puffy and a just a little cloudyness so I think it is just a scratch. It is highly possible that I caused it when I was trying to move the rock. She got herself enbedded in the rock when I was taking it out so I gave her just a little encourgement to move from the rock. At this point anything is possible. I will see how long the LFS will hold the Emporer for me and kinda go from there. The site says that they are peaseful and I have had them before with no issues with other fish. There is plenty of PVC and rock in the 20, so you don't think they will get along. I guess anything is possible.
Thanks for your help. If you can think of anything else please let me know
Take care
Cory
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
I am looking in one of my books and it says the lyretail are a common, hearty, and suprisingly territorial fish. That may just be with each other. Ask your lfs if the two have a problem with each other if he will then hold it for you. Remember to start the three week count over if you add the angel to the qt.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by fish addict
what are some prepared foods you would reccomend just for fish in general, I mean not for one specific fish?
I recommend formula foods. There are formulas A&B (or 1&2) Prime Reef, Julian sprugs sea veggies, Angel formulas. There are many. Any LFS with a freezer section would cary them. If you don't see a freezer section ask them if they have some. I recently stopped at an lfs that I had only been to once before just to look around. My hawk needed some food, I took a chance and stopped. I didn't see a freezer so I just asked if they carried frozen. It turned out that they did but did not keep the freezer out front, no room. They had just what I was looking for. Never be afraid to ask
 
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