sick fish

sick saltwater fish
(coral beuty)
rapid breathing, deteriorating fins, staying at the top of the tank, only owned for 3 weeks.
possibly ick?
all levels were checked and are fine.


(Anyone reading this: this is Jade's cousin and it was moved here because immediate information is needed. Please reply here or PM 'chris'.)

[Jade]

I know it's been set up for over a year and they've had it for 3 years. By levels are fine he meant all the ph levels, nitrates, etc. are fine.

there are other fish but are all smaller than the new ones.

[Jade]

can you give me some possibilities? i'm not able to contact him tonight and will be busy during the day tomorrow

[Dena]

You might want to check out the store where the fish was bought and see how their tanks are doing. I had many customers that would come in to the pet store and ask us to hold salt water fish to make sure that they were okay. One customer had his whole tank wiped out because of fish he bought from another pet store. I know this isn't much help but I want you to be aware of dangers to other fish and other livestuffs you might have in the tank - I know the expense of salt water and it could be devistating!

When I first got my ******Trigger he did this, lethargic, pale color, staying at the top of the water. The cause was internal parasites...he was sick when I bought him. The feces appears white and stringgy with internal parasites. With ick you see tiny white(like salt) spots on the fish. With fin rot the fins are clamped and theire is noticeable deterioration around the fin edges. If you havent had the fish long it was probably sick when you got it, if youve had it awhile its your water parms going haywire. If you have inverts in the tank move the fish to a hospital tank to treat, as most meds will kill them. Only use meds for saltwater fish. Do some frequent waterchanges like every day or every other day, and keep a VERY VERY close watch on PH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Good Luck!

[Crittercall]

when you do water changes with this guy (or any of your tanks) never do a complete change; only take out for instance a fourth of the old water and put in fresh, let that cycle, etc. And a hospital tank is always the best thing to have on hand - you never know when you are going to need it! (In my case, I have hospital cages and hospital crates on hand 'cause I'm not into fish but learned a lot when my daughter was into them big time and we were living in the same place).

Most of all, good luck. I have heard that salts are the hardest tanks to keep - we tried brackish once and tired quickly of that - so I hope everything turns out okay for you.

Critter

[Jade]

Just an update ... this was my cousin. His fish died about 3 days after the post. He says thanks for all the responses!!

Oh tell him we're sorry.. Did he go talk to the store he bought it at?! It seems he should be able to get some sort of compensastion........

[Crittercall]

I'm sorry, too. Fish can be so frustrating and no one seems to know much about them - although I did meet a vet once from NC who saw fish for $100 a visit (I'm sure he's upped that by now).

My daughter had a frontosa that got sick and I did everything I could for it - read up on it in every book I could get my hands on, talked to all kinds of dr's, etc., only to end up having to euthanize. Sent it in for necropsy with a very detailed explanation of what had happened, what I had done, etc. Know what I got back? Just about word for word what I had told them.

Hope the rest of his fish are okay and showing no signs of problems - he should probably still go through the testing of water, etc., that was suggested just to be on the safe side.

Critter