T. Perc Help

[USMCARTY42]

Good eve to you work wary reefers,

I have a small question that I turn to our SoCal Society of Sea Senators for a solution.

The Back story: Bought these two from Marks in SC about a month ago (perhaps more) they are hosting in my elegance coral. Which much to their dismay, likes to retract at night.

They were doing fine, eating normally, until the Female looked as if she was beginning to develope a small pin sized hole on one of her fins. In addition, it seems she had a small white disc on her side... perhaps a flat worm. I monitored the situation. The hole got bigger.

Fast forward 3 days to last night: I noticed she didn't look good at all. Not able to maintain her buoyancy in the waterflow. I quickly set up a freshwater dipping station and did a water change on the QT and added some formulin (might have been a bad move).

Freshwater dip completed... a few mysterious white things left behind and expedited to the QT where they have been for 16 hours.

Hypothesis: Possible bacterial infection coupled w/ a parasitic one (Coral Beauty also has a white disc-looking as if she is shedding a scale). Declining health as a result until the onset of mortality.

If you please, your thoughts and comments on this situation. Because of my reef tank,. I am forced to sift through the garbage bin for dinner and thereby can not afford a digital camera :jester:

All my best to you and your tank.

Josh

[OC CJ]

Sounds kind of like the same thing our female perc went through. We first noticed she had a white dot, like a zit, on the side by her fin. That got bigger and then left an open wound. Then the white bump came back even bigger. I put both percs in QT and treated with furan 2 for 2 full doses. Didn't try the formulin since NicoleC said it would be torture on the fish with an open wound. Anyway, after about 2-3 weeks in QT, the white spot was gone and back they went into the display. Hasn't come back since.

[USMCARTY42]

awesome. No open wounds here, but thanks for the tip on that and thanx very much for your time!

j

[USMCARTY42]

Well.... the female has finally perished. After two days in QT she started to look better, yet I think my mistake was allowing her to sit in Meth. Blue/formulin for too long.

The male is doing fine and looks healthy... although these two were very happy together. Particularly saddening.

Well I would like to find him a girl to get his mind off of his loss. She has to be classy... like Indie Music and of course like to snuggle in the anemone.

How long do I have to find his mate before he becomes a "T-Perc" for real?

Anyone selling a 2-3 inch True Perc?

Thanks and happy reefing.

Josh

[NicoleC]

I'm sorry I didn't see this before. :( It was probably either a bacterial infection or possibly a fistula. More likely bacterial, as you suspected. The appropriate treatment would have been furan-based antibiotics, then antiparasitic treatment afterwards if needed. If it was a fistula, probably nothing would have saved her.

I would get a small tank raised juvenile (i.e. proven unsexed juvenile) for your remaining fish. They will work out the sex issues. If you get one direct from a breeder, you could probably safely skip QT. Otherwise, I would keep the new fish in QT for a week to be sure there is no brook or other really serious diseases, then move your male clown into QT with the new fish and treat both with hypo and a dewormer. It won't hurt the old fish to get dewormed, it fact will probably make him healthier.

Keep an eye on your tank for other fish to show signs of this disease, and maybe ramp up feeding with added vitamins for a while to help them fight off the infection (if indeed it is contagious.)

[USMCARTY42]

Nicole,

Thank you for your wise advice. Certainly your reputation in these matters certifies the credibility of the above. Accolades.

What is your suggestion as to a good vitamin supplement for my fish? Breeder? You mention Hypo (i think you mean hypo-salinity) and can you recommend a good dewormer?

As you may have deducted from my hobby experience-I am unfamiliar with these protocols.

I would like to mention the unprecedented support and community nurturing that evolves on a daily basis in this forum. Thanks to all of you who stopped to read this post.

[USMCARTY42]

...and perhaps some more info on fistula? I google'd WWM, Google proper and RC and got no results (other than this thread).

Thanks and in the true spirit of Quid Pro Quo... please let me know if I can be of assistance in anyway. Thanks and have a good weekend! :wave:

J

[NicoleC]

Yes, hypo = hyposalinity. If you are careful to monitor salinity and proceed slowly, it is the most effective and safest treatment for a wide range of external parasites, like ick. If the salinity fluctuates, it won't harm the fish but may not be effective killing the parasites. For the 4 week period at 1.009, it is completely harmless to clowns, but do raise the salinity back up very slowly (.002 or less per day).

For a vitamin supplement, soaking their food any or all of these:
drop of Selcon/Selco or other commercially available fish vitamin supplement
a little beta glucan powder (crushed contents of capsules or pulverized caplets)
fresh garlic

For a dewormer, SeaChem's Metronidazole is a good broad-spectrum dewormer, the same med as in the now-defunct Hexamit. If you see any worms in the feces after that (stringy white poop), you will need to try a different dewormer.

A fistula is an channel that develops between organs. This is very dangerous and often deadly, but pretty rare. The skin is an organ, so when you mentioned a hole in her side it became a possibility. Other things can cause holes too, though. In humans, they operate to repair the hole and treat with antibiotics -- in fish, you just treat with antibiotics and good care and hope they heal themselves.

Meth and Formalin can both be pretty dangerous and should be used with caution.