Sick Clarkii - Velvet maybe?

[nicenakago]

A few weeks ago I put my 2 Clarkii in QT for flashing, I didn't see any white spots, but did see black ones... They have been in hypo for about 3 weeks.
Now the female is obviously stressed about something, rapid breathing, won't eat, trying to hide... Now her eyes are bulging out of her head and her color is VERY pale. They only way I know how to describe it is... She looks like she has "dry flakey skin." last night she was spitting up what looked like small pieces of food, but I had not fed her since the morning before...
Adding her has caused a mini cycle, as this week the water was testing .15 of trites. All other levels are perfect.
I didn't think the trites were high enough to cause all of the symptoms above, maybe the loss of appitite... but let me know...
Help....

 

[beth]

Any nitrite level is harmful, and could be potentially deadly. You need to do water changes until you get those trites to zero.
Do the fish still have black spots? Describe them and their location? Does it look like ich only black? Your fish do not have velvet, so rest easy there.
Are they still in QT? Hypo-ing still?

 

[nicenakago]

The spots are down to one. It is on her first stripe starting from the head back.
But what really has me concerned is her pale color and bulging eyes. Her "skin" looks like she is about to start flaking or something. Thanks for the attention Beth....
And yes, still in QT, hypo-ing...

 

[beth]

What is your specific gravity and what are you using to measure?
You need to get those nitrites down. So, do a big water change ASAP!
Did the black spots look like ich? Like salt sprinkled on fish, but black instead of white. Are both eyes bulging? Any cloudy eye?

 

[nicenakago]

doing a huge water change now.
SG .009 - refractometer
the spots looked more like pits, not like black salt (???) - but like I said, now down to one, this may be a spot on the fish and not a problem (???)
Both eyes are bulgging - no cloudy eye.
Thanks again.

 

[beth]

Well, I'm thinking of black spot disease for the black dots. This is a parasitic problem, not as problematic as ich, and certainly not as lethal as velvet. It is treated with formalin baths. Since there is only 1 dot now, lets see if it re-develops, and not treated at this point.
As for the popeye and the scale problem, lets see how the fish does after water changes and zero nitrites. If the fish is eating, offer it garlic soaked food, and, if you have it or can get it, Zoe or Zoecon.
In the meantime, if you don't have maracyn2 for SW fish, see if you can get it, or, at least see if your LFS sells it. If you can't find it locally, you may need to go ahead and order it online so that you can have it on hand for treatment of popeye, if that becomes necessary.
Be prepard for more water changes. Since you are in hypo, what is your pH?

 

[nicenakago]

I can get some maracyn2 for SW fish at PetsMart close by, so thanks for that.
PH is 8.2 - 8.4 (before the water change) will check it again later...
formalin eh? - Not sure where to even get that stuff, Common in LFS???
BTW - Know why she was puking like that?

 

[beth]

No, I don't know. That fish is obviously very sick. What have you been feeding it?

 

[nicenakago]

garlic soaked flake and garlic soaked brine shrimp

 

[beth]

Nice, is that all the fish is eating at the moment, or is that the only food that you've been offering? If its all you've been offering, then you definately need to add more variety and better quality.
Good quality frozen foods, or fresh foods, needs to go into that diet.

 

[nicenakago]

Once a week they get some squid... should I up that?

 

[beth]

Take a look at some of the frozen foods offered at the LFS. As far as the squid is concerned, that's a good start. I mix up a batch of fresh raw seafoods I get from the seafood section of the grocery store about 1x a month in the food processor [a small unit that is just right for processing a month’s worth of fish food], then section up the mix into portions. I get whatever is available: squid, shrimp, conch, octopus, clams, scallops, etc. [no oily fish]. Mix this with dried seaweed [Seaweed Selects or just Nori from the Oriental section of the grocery store] and a few drops of Zoe or Zoecon. Keep potions sealed in foil and tight container for storage in freezer. Fish love it. Cheaper then processed hobby foods. Variety is what is needed with most fish. Its best to study up on the particular dietary needs of the fish you have, and try to offer them that diet to whatever extent possible. Flakes are ok, but not the best choice as a dietary mainstay. Besides, flakes and highly processed dried hobby foods, tend to add more organic material [pollution] to the tank.
As for popeye, often improvement of environmental conditions as well as diet will turn the problem around.