Parasitic Disease: Tough Treatment Choices
Well, unfortunately, the passer didn't survive through Thursday night...  Not sure if it was Amyloodinium or Brooklynellosis, but it was pretty fast...less than 2 days from first sign of any symptoms to death. I suppose I should have done the freshwater dip to try to verify which parasite it was. Might have made a small difference... Happened so fast...
<Sorry to hear that...Scott F. following up for Marina today>
My concern now is the Ranford...extreme sensitivity to copper and other meds...Do I just wait and see, let nature take it's course?  (can you see me cringe?)  Or is there another course of action for these little fishes?  I can find so little written on treatment, that I'm stumped...the disease/parasite might kill them, but the medication will kill them too.
Thanks.
<Well, you could use a medication containing Formalin. The fish may have difficulties with it as well, but it may be worth the shot if it is very sick. Marina's treatment advice was right on. Unfortunately, at this point, you may be compelled to use a medication to save the fish's life. I suppose if I had to weigh the risk of losing the fish to an aggressive disease or possibly killing it with treatment, I'd rather go down "with guns blazing", as they say, and try to intervene. Knowing the potential risks, you'll be going in with your eyes wide open. Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

How to do the Q/T on the Ranford
>You guys (and gals) rock!  Bob, when ya comin back to northern California?  
Recently, I got a Ranford goby( Amblygobius Ranford) for my 90 gallon soft reef.  Great fish, and will find lots of pods and even some hair algae to munch on once it makes it through the quarantine period.  My concern is it's survival in the quarantine tank.  So far, (a little over a week) it has shown little interest in flake or frozen foods, and I'd really hate to see it starve.  
>>I'm sure!
>While I am a firm believer in the 4 to 6 week quarantine period for ALL fishes, I have read in your goby FAQ's that some of the smaller gobies might not do well with a typical quarantine, but instead would be better with a shorter one to make sure there are no obvious problems, then right in the main tank.  
>>Well, I don't know that I'd shorten the q/t without trying a couple of things first.  I would try siphoning water from the display from the pod-rich areas.  I might try placing some cured live rock in the q/t for him to pick on.  I'd also try to get a hold of some live Mysis.
>Would this require a freshwater dip first?  Maybe a "medical" bath with formalin or Methylene blue or something similar?  
>>I like to dip most fish in freshwater with Methylene blue pre and post-quarantine anyway.  So the additional requirement specific to this situation doesn't really apply.  However, I will add the caveat that there are some fish I don't like to dip - those that create a heavy mucus/slime coat - mandarins, cowfish/trunkfish are those that immediately come to mind.
>Also, are you familiar with what are being called "tulip anemones"? Seeing them again this year on Reef Central.  
>>Only in reading posts about them.  Not sure what they are exactly, but if they're Majanos they sure are purty!
>Here's a link:  http://wwwreefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=256164
>Some of the pics sure look very much like the majano anemone that we all fight with from time to time, but in a nicer color. http://www.hivemind.com/fish/pics/tulip.jpg
>>Agreed.  May be a nice thing as long as they don't reach plague proportions.
>Thanks for all you've done for me and everyone else.  The best aquatic site around!  Neil
>>You're most welcome.  Glad we're of help.  Marina

Why are my fish dying in QT?   2/1/06
Well I just had another fish die in QT. A Randall's goby.  It was 4 weeks along.  It died over night.
<This is too long to quarantine Amblygobius... or most small gobies, blennies... the stress, starvation is way worse than the small risk of disease introduction after a week or two>
My QT setup is a 20G with 2 Aquaclear HOB filters; a 30G and a 20G. So I have lots of filtration. I set the bacteria population with BioSpira. I have used this in the past with good results. Tank has been used for 3 fish now and was bleached out in between fish. Well rinsed out. Other 3 fish lived and are in the display. Temp control through a titanium htr with controller. Separate digital thermometer to keep tabs. I also have a ph probe constantly on to monitor ph. Lighting by a 96W VHO. Couple pieces of PVC for caves. Using Copper Power proactively just for the last 2 fish.
<Not always a wise precaution...>
I seem to have this issue with fish getting in distress at about the 3-4 week mark.
<... opinions vary (to put this euphemistically)... but I am a big fan of two week limits here...>
I do WC every week and siphon out every couple days. My problems seem to coincide with algae growth starting. The past 3 fish that lived flasher wrasse, laboutei wrasse and royal Gramma) also seemed to be in some distress about this time. I did 100% WC and they pulled through. The fish start hanging out at the top of the tank near the most water turbulence. This time the goby went back down and seemed to be ok. Not breathing heavily. No visible spots etc. He did stop eating that I could see about a week ago. He's never been a big eater but he could have eaten when I wasn't looking. He did eat earlier in the QT.
My theory is oxygen deprivation and the fish are having trouble breathing. I do scrub the algae out but seems if anything to make it worse. I have added an airstone in the past not this time) but doesn't seem to help. Since the fish die overnight I'm thinking this lends more credence to the O2 theory since with lights out the algae won't be contributing O2. But I'm not sure what would be sucking up the O2? The water while not as crystal clear as starting wasn't too bad. I had done a 30% WC day before and cleaned out the filters. I never measured any NH3, temp 78C ph 8.3 SG 1.026.
I have done lots of reading on QT and the things that seem to trip up are ph, SG, NH3 due to inadequate biological filter. I have not run across any accounts of the fish having issues breathing without visible signs. Not at the 4 week mark.
Any ideas? I'm tired of losing fish. I lost others when my QT was a 10G in similar fashion. This is the first I've lost since moving up but all the fish seemed to have trouble 3-4 wks in. Sorry for the long email.
Thanks,
Phil
<No worries... please see my articles on quarantine... especially for the sorts of fishes you list, two weeks is about the "magical breaking point" for getting more value than damage. Bob Fenner>