HELP! Problem with fish?

[fluidimagery]

I have a 100g reef that has been setup for about 2 months.



About a month ago I added an Eibli Angel, Cleaner Shrimp... and some small chromis. Everything was going great... I've had cleaner shrimps before in other tanks but never have seen them actually "clean" For the first time I was watching the cleaner clean the insides of the Angel's gills and thought it was the coolest thing. Figured it was normal for them to do this. The angel was never scratching it's head but would just on occassion make it's way over to the shrimp. This may be completely unrelated... but



2 Weeks ago I purchased a trio of Lyretail Anthias, 1 male and 2 females. I noticed a few times the 3 of them would also be getting cleaned by the shrimp. Lately they've been going over even more and now it's gotten to the point where they don't leave the shrimp alone and are constantly looking to be cleaned. The male seems to be the worst, the shrimp cleans the inside of it's mouth and gills. The females just get their body cleaned. The fish are not out in the open like they used to be, and they don't seem to be eating as ferociously as they have been. They seem to be more interested in getting cleaned.



I've also been noticing that the male and one of the females will scratch their head on the powerhead. I don't see them breathing very hard but their not as animated as usual. The angel seems to be normal and is out in the opening and eating like it always does... It sounds like fluke to me, but I have no idea since I've never dealt with this before.

I forgot to mention before... the male anthias doesnt' seem to be closing his mouth. He seems to be breathing normally and I see whatever is in his mouth respirating but his mouth isn't opening and closing... Although I'd hate to... I'll pull the trigger and do some freshwater dips or whatever I need to.



Some pics from a few minutes ago.

http://scott.fluidimagery.com/fish/95/flukes1.jpg

http://scott.fluidimagery.com/fish/95/flukes2.jpg

http://scott.fluidimagery.com/fish/95/flukes3.jpg

http://scott.fluidimagery.com/fish/95/flukes4.jpg

http://scott.fluidimagery.com/fish/95/flukes5.jpg

[TerryB]

I would not panic. Watch for white salt like spots (ich) and violent, frequent scratching with rapid breath (velvet or Amyloodinium). Scratching can also be caused by gill flukes. Best treatment for gill flukes is a series of three formalin dips. Do you quarantine all new fish for 30 days prior to adding them to the reef?

Terry B

[fluidimagery]

I didn't quarantine the fish :(

I would love to dip the fish but I'm probably going to need to clear the tank to get the fish out... one of my least favorite things to do. Since the fish isn't really eating much it's going to be very hard to trap him.

Will / Could the cleaner shrimp rid the fish of the gill flukes... I'm pretty sure that's what it is.

The Angel and the Male Anthias are breathing a little harder than normal.

[TerryB]

Cleaners may help, but not cure gill flukes. Not much good for ich, velvet, or brooklynella. Scratching and rapid breath could be early signs of Amyloodinium, pray it isn't that! Fish with it often quit eating. With ich the fish usually continue to eat well until advanced. I guess you will quarantine all new fish for 30 days after this. Amyloodinium kills quickly and it is usually too late by the time the fish get a fine dusting showing. I would get a Qtank up and running yesterday. Best to keep a cycled Qtank running at all times.

Terry B

[fluidimagery]

Well, I'm still thinking it's Gill Flukes... I'll attempt to get them out of the tank tomorrow and into the sump where I can do some freshwater dips.

I was just looking at them with the lights off and the heavy breathing has definately subsided. The Male anthias isn't really eating... but I don't think he would if he had gill flukes either... He seems interested in the food but didn't take any. I'll try again tomorrow to feed him with some food soaked in garlic and see what happens.

How contageous are the gill flukes? The other fish don't seem to be effected... I have

3 Lyretail Anthias
4 Chromis
1 False Perc
1 Eibli Angel
2 Green Mandarins (mated pair)
1 Chalk Bass

[TerryB]

Gill flukes are contagious, but not as bad as amyloodinium or ich. More than one species of gill flukes and resistance does vary between species of fish. Best treatment for gill flukes is a series of 3 formalin dips.

Terry B

[fluidimagery]

anything reef safe that I can treat the tank?

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=PP2111

or

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_medications_ruby_reef.asp?CartId=


I would never suggest the "reef safe" but I really don't want to tear the tank apart.

[TerryB]

I actually arranged for several LFS to test Kick Ich at the request of the president of the company that makes it. Sorry to say that the results were less than satisfactory. I wish it were that easy. Never seen any reef safe treatment that works with any consistency (maybe not better than pure luck). One reason why I am a huge advocate of quaranting all new fish for 30+ days prior to adding them to the display to prevent this sort of problem. Very short list of effective treatments for any of the three parasites we are talking about.

Terry B

[fluidimagery]

I don't get it... I got home and was all ready to start tearing the tank apart.

The Male Anthias is now eating, but he is still flashing against the rocks and is down by the cleaners quite a bit. His mouth is now normal and he's not breathing fast. I've noticed him "yawning" a few times tonight. The other females seem to be too. I noticed one of the females down by the cleaner and flashing one time on the powerhead

The angel seems perfectly fine, haven't seen him flash once.

Is this fixing itself?

[TerryB]

Some parasites (including ich and amlyoodinium) have a life cycle in which they fall off of the host to reproduce. I hope you are not seeing the calm before the storm.

Terry B

[fluidimagery]

I have some fromalin coming today and I plan on clearning them out and diping the effected fish today.

What is the best process... or should I just follow the instructions on the label?

[TerryB]

This link should help.

http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com/formaldehyde_friend_or_foe.html

Terry B