My little blue spotted jawfish is sick-ich?

tkucifer

tkucifer

Member
On Saturday we noticed the posterior 2/3 of our blue spotted jaw was patchy and white. He was acting normally and seemed to be eating appropriately but this was clearly a big change that we hadn't noticed before (it's mostly on the parts he keeps hidden in his burrow). He's been in our tank for just over a month after a 3-week quarantine at the research facility associated with our LFS (we are very lucky!)
I consulted them and they suggested ******, oodinium or Brooklynella (which I guess would have covered 98% of issues even if I hadn't described the history). We built a hospital tank right away but couldn't get him out of the DT to move him.
Yesterday, after a major ordeal consisting of hours of patience trying to lure him out, we were finally able to net him (I know, but no other option) and get him into the hospital tank. It's bare floored with a PVC pipe, but he didn't like it at all.
He now seems exceedingly unhappy and very stressed. I added 1 gtt/ gallon of cu/formalin mixture and blacked out all but a tiny window of the tank.
This morning he was jumping (common to the species, but a first for him) and hitting his head on the cover (glad it's there!) I removed about 3-4 inches of water and fed a tiny bit, which he didn't seem to eat.
Tonight he's looking rough, still totally unhappy but I'm not sure what else to do for him.
Any ideas? I'm wondering about a trial of hyposalinity but I'm a noob so I don't want to do too much at once. I also read that I might put some rubble in with him, but I've heard both yes and no on that idea. At this point I want him to recover but I also hate to see him so unhappy.
Please forward any suggestions. Or you could just send him happy thoughts.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by TKucifer http:///forum/thread/381125/my-little-blue-spotted-jawfish-is-sick-ich#post_3318413
On Saturday we noticed the posterior 2/3 of our blue spotted jaw was patchy and white. He was acting normally and seemed to be eating appropriately but this was clearly a big change that we hadn't noticed before (it's mostly on the parts he keeps hidden in his burrow). He's been in our tank for just over a month after a 3-week quarantine at the research facility associated with our LFS (we are very lucky!)
I consulted them and they suggested ******, oodinium or Brooklynella (which I guess would have covered 98% of issues even if I hadn't described the history). We built a hospital tank right away but couldn't get him out of the DT to move him.
Yesterday, after a major ordeal consisting of hours of patience trying to lure him out, we were finally able to net him (I know, but no other option) and get him into the hospital tank. It's bare floored with a PVC pipe, but he didn't like it at all.
He now seems exceedingly unhappy and very stressed. I added 1 gtt/ gallon of cu/formalin mixture and blacked out all but a tiny window of the tank.
This morning he was jumping (common to the species, but a first for him) and hitting his head on the cover (glad it's there!) I removed about 3-4 inches of water and fed a tiny bit, which he didn't seem to eat.
Tonight he's looking rough, still totally unhappy but I'm not sure what else to do for him.
Any ideas? I'm wondering about a trial of hyposalinity but I'm a noob so I don't want to do too much at once. I also read that I might put some rubble in with him, but I've heard both yes and no on that idea. At this point I want him to recover but I also hate to see him so unhappy.
Please forward any suggestions. Or you could just send him happy thoughts.

Picture?
 
tkucifer

tkucifer

Member
As you can imagine, it's very difficult to get good pics of a fish that prefers to burrow! Here are a couple that might be helpful, although I'm sorry to say I can't get enough detail to make a differential diagnosis from the pics. The first are of course as we were trying to coax him out of the DT, then we put him in the hospital tank only to see his stress level skyrocket.
After the addition of a rock and some rubble (not shown here) he seems more relaxed and natural, but keeping up with the ammonia in the HT is something I just can't seem to get ahead of (three 50% water changes today!)

 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Are those scales that are missing? Fins torn? What is the particle size of the sand in your display tank?
What other fish are in the display? It may well be aggression.
 
tkucifer

tkucifer

Member
He doesn't seem to be missing any scales, and his fins look to be intact. The substrate is crushed coral mixed with aragonite, with some bigger pieces for him to build his burrow. He shares a 34 gal reef tank with two medium sized black clownfish, a starry blenny and a yellow clown goby who's about 3/4 of an inch long along with a host of CUC (fire shrimp, cleaner shrimp, 2 emerald crabs, hermits, peppermint shrimp and snails). I have never witnessed any aggression in the tank; he's able to eat undisturbed. I did see him chase away the emerald crab once or twice, but the crab immediately took flight. I have wondered whether the corals (he lives near my galaxia and Australian maze) could be stinging him, but wouldn't he move away from them if that were the case? And would he act differently if aggression were the issue? He has always seemed healthy and happy. Thanks for your help!
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Crushed coral is exactly what it is called. Coral that is crushed. If you have ever handled bleached coral you would know how sharp the edges are. Crush it, and you basically have a media that is like shattered glass. Sand burring creatures, including any inverts you have such as snails, worms, stars, will not fare well at all.
The goby, because it lives in the sand, will be the same.
Give it some TLC in the QT, insuring that it is well fed and that water quality remains good. You can submerge a small glassware or plastic container containing real sand, not crushed coral, which the goby can use in QT. If it regains health, then it may be time to find him a new home.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
You can't argue with facts. Even though the truth is hard to take. Also, cc is a very poor choice for substrate in a marine aquarium for other reasons besides this. It traps wastes therefore interfering with the natural waste export process of the nitrogen cycle. How high are your nitrates?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Poor fish, if you are to keep this you will need to deep six the CC and get some nice sand. Not a big deal to do, look around and you will find many posts where people have made the change.
With extra maintenance it is possible to keep a reef with crushed coral. But not the jawfish you are trying to keep. Take a bunch of mouthfuls of crushed coral in your and spit them out. See how totally abrasive it is. The Jawfish must really be in some pain.
 
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