Heniochus breathing through one gill & not eating  6/11/08
Hello all,
<Hi there>
I recently acquired a Heniochus acuminatus. He's about 3-4" and is nice and fat. However, since I got him 5 days ago, he has been refusing to eat. I offered the most tempting things I could think of including frozen bloodworms, Cyclops eeze and some of the spectrum finicky fish food (no experience with that before this though) and got only a miniscule amount of interest from the bloodworms/Cyclopeeze. Any other suggestions or should I just stay the course and hope he warms up a bit each feeding?
<Do you have a good deal of relatively "fresh" live rock? Have you tried appetite-stimulating additives (vitamins, HUFAs, garlic)?>
In addition to this, he sometimes breathes through just one of his gills, basically double as fast since that one gill is doing the work of two. The other gill is of course simply closed during this time. I'll then check back 30 minutes later and he's back to normal breathing at a leisurely pace again.
<Not to worry much re... this "happens">
I know that this "one gill breathing" is often a symptom of gill flukes.
However, I already performed a long temp, pH adjusted FW dip with Methylene blue prior to adding him to quarantine. He was tolerating it extremely well with very little sign of stress so I let him stay in there for 20 minutes.
I was pretty careful making up the dip water. Between the acclimation water (gave 5 hours to drip acclimate), the bath water and the quarantine water there was only about 0.1 difference in pH (measured digitally) and temp was within 1 degree.
I would have assumed that this would kill off any gill flukes.
<Mmm, actually, no... Trematodes can take more than even formalin additives sufficient to kill their hosts... oftentimes requiring longer-term organophosphate administration>
I understand a FW dip won't knock out everything hitchhiking on a fish, but I figured that of any place, the gill tissue would be cleared up by this.
For my QT procedure, I've previously had success swapping fish between two bare bottom tanks that are cleaned and allowed to dry in between use.
<Good technique>
Every 2-3 days I'll swap the fish to the new presumably sterile tank essentially giving them a 100% water change (has worked well at disrupting ich which I've unfortunately had to deal with a lot in the past). I'm careful that the parameters of the water are matched and that I'm not shocking them beyond the stress of handling. So far he's had 2 swaps. As you can tell, I'm hoping to avoid using meds but of course I'll do whatever is best.
FWIW, I have another Heniochus acuminatus who sometimes breathes through one gill only. I haven't seen him do it in a while, but he also seemed
sporadic. He's also currently very happily swimming around in my main tank and gorging himself at every feeding.
<I would "move up" the process of acclimating/quarantining here and summarily dip/bath and place the new Heni>
All of the above tactics I've learned from studying your site as well as a
few others. I tried searching for the answer, but I'm hoping there's something I'm  missing or that you can clue me in on. My fish as well as I sincerely thank you!
Best,
Fred
<Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>

Heniochus acuminatus with Ich 6/23/06
Hi WWM crew!!
<Hi>
I have an Heniochus acuminatus that show symptoms of ick. <Uh oh> It has white spots, that look like salt. It doesn't have that much but it still concerns me. <It should> It is still eating well. It doesn't breathe rapidly. All the other fish are healthy. <All other fish are infected with Ich, just not symptomatic.> I don't want to treat the main tank, because I have some invertebrate. <Almost always a bad idea.>
I am not able to set up a hospital tank, I don't have the space for it, since I live in an apartment.
<Really need one, doesn’t need to be always set up, can be taken down when not in use.  Without a QT/hospital tank expect to continue to have problems with communicable diseases.>
Yesterday, I have give it a freshwater bath( specific gravity: 1.008) with blue methylene for 10 minutes. <Provides temporary relief, not a cure.> But, today, it still shows symptoms of ICK. <Most likely will continue until the ich life cycle is broken.>
What should I do to treat my fish? <If you are unable/unwilling to get a hospital/QT tank and remove and treat all fish and allow the tank to run follow there is not much you can do.  Provide good quality water and food and hope the fish's immune system and fight off the ich.> I have bought a Formaldehyde - green malachite solution to use it in a bath, but I am not sure if it is a good idea and how much should I use and for how long. <Toxic stuff, I'm not a big fan of it.  Baths will help temporarily, but when the fish is returned to the tank they will be reinfected.>
Could I use copper in a bath that would last for a long time? <Not effective.> If yes, how much should I use and for how long?
Any other treatment I could try? <Not that wouldn't nuke the tank.  Medications are not specific enough to kill the ich and not destroy the live rock and biofiltration.>   
Thank you very very much!!! I hope my fish will be fine, I really like it!!
<Hope so.>
Steve T.
<Chris>

Heniochus acuminatus with Ich Part II 6/30/06
Hi Chris,
<Hi>
As per your advice, I am actually looking to setup a hospital tank for my fish, to help to get ride of the ick problem... I have 2 clown fish, 2 green Chromis, 1 neon goby, 1 six line wrasse and the Heniochus. What size of hospital should I go with?
<Good to hear, at least a 20 for all those fish.  If easier you could go with a couple of smaller tanks and split up the livestock.>
Today the Heniochus have stopped to eat... :(
<Uh-oh>
What is my best bet with it? Should I give it a freshwater bath until I set-up the hospital tank? Any other ideas?
<A bath may help, make sure its ph adjusted and the right temperature.  Try adding either Selcon or garlic to the food.  Both seem to stimulate the feeding response.  If it goes too long try some live brine shrimp.>
Thank you very much...
Steve
<Good luck and remember to QT any new additions to avoid these problems in the future.>
<Chris>

Heniochus acuminatus with Ich Part III 7/1/06
Hi again Chris,
<Hi>
Sorry to bother you again,
<No bother.>
I promise I will quarantine any new addition to my tank in the future.
<Good>
But, I just have a idea of what I could try to cure my fish from ick and get it out of my main tank. I know that the WWM crew are not big fan of hyposalinity, but could I just buy a tank (the one I would use in the future to quarantine any new addition) and use it to put all my hermit crab. They are the only invert I have in my system. I would put many pieces of live rock with them. So I would not kill all the zooplankton in LR and the crabs would be more safe...
Could I lower the SPG in the main tank to kill the ick in it? I would keep the hermit crab apart for 6 weeks. Would it be effective? If yes, at what SPG would it cure the fish without being stressful to the fish? I have read from ATJ (the only name I have found of that guy) that the SPG should be at 1.009 to kill the ick. You can see this article here : ''
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html''
What do you think of that?
<Well, it will get rid of the Ich if kept at that salinity long enough.  However, it will also kill off most of your live rock, and in the process cause a huge ammonia spike.  If you remove all the LR there will probably not be sufficient biofiltration and cause the same problem.>
Thank you very very much for your help. If I found that the better treatment is the copper in a hospital tank, I will do it... Honestly, I don't feel confident about my capacity to keep them all alive in a basic none established system, though.
<With lots of water changes should be fine.  Could also use Bio-Spira to jump start the biofiltration.>
Steve
<Chris>

Heniochus acuminatus with Ich Part IV 7/3/06
Hi again,
<Hi>
I just wanted to say that I should have listen to you one week ago. I mean I should have treated it as fast as I could. Even if the Heniochus had finally eaten yesterday, I have found it today in my overflow box dead. <Sorry to hear.>  I just feel like crap. The worst thing, it was my girlfriend fish... It was her birthday present. <Yeah, I learned that lesson the hard way too, no fish for gifts.>  I don't think she will like the tank anymore... I feel right now like I would give up too... It is sad that I had to make that fish die just to learn a so simple lesson!!
<Been there, done that.  Almost quit after losing my possum wrasse, loved that fish.>
So, I know that I will sing the same old song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TO EVERYONE, don't be damn stupid like me, DO QUARANTINE YOUR FISH!!!!!!!!
<A convert, and ready to give others the advice, some good out of a bad situation.>
So now that the only really sick fish is dead (the wrasse only had 2-3 spots and it is now gone), should I just wait 1 week or 2 before I start to treat them in a hospital tank? <Start immediately.> I mean that way I could let some sponge in my tank to have some biofiltration ready for the quarantine process.
<See if you ca find some Bio-Spira to kick-start the biofiltration.  But do not buy it if it hasn't been kept refrigerated, some stores don't and without it the bacteria will die.>
Should I start using the biofiltration right at the beginning or after the copper treatment so, the copper would not kill the biofiltration?  <From the beginning.>  Can I use filter pad that absorb ammonia with a copper treatment? <No, all will also remove the copper as far as I know, just have lots of new salt water ready for water changes.>  If not, would it be better to use hyposalinity, so I could use absorbent resin to help to maintain good quality of water ?
<Most of the bacteria cannot survive the salinity change anyway, so copper is probably the better way to go.>
Again Thank YOU VERY VERY MUCH for your patience Chris!!!
<Anytime>
<Chris>

Heniochus acuminatus with Ich Part V + Bacterial Infection 7/11/06
Hi Chris and the WWM crew,
<Hi again.>
I have tried to find information about it on Reefcentral and other forum, but even here on Wetwebmedia there were not that much information about bacterial disease. Here is my little horror story:
<Ok>
I had an ick outbreak in my main tank. So, I have set-up a hospital tank a few days ago and decided to go with hyposalinity to get rid of the ick. So I have lowered the SPG from 1.025 to 1.008-1.009 in 2 days. It seams to go fine for my 2 Chromis and 2 clown fish. <Tough fish generally.>  The hospital tank is a 30 gal. <Good size.>  I have installed my pinpoint monitor on it to follow the ph to make sure it does go too low. <ok>
I have tried to find information about it on Reefcentral and other forum, but even here on Wetwebmedia there were not that much information about bacterial disease.
<We'll try to help.>
I did have some problem to catch my sixline wrasse from my main tank. It took me 4 days to catch it. For the first 2 days I was trying with a net. At the end, I have try to remove as much LR as I could to catch it, but it always have found a way to hide from me... <Quick little buggers for sure.>  So I have done some research and have found the fish trap made from a coke bottle. After 2 other days, I have finally caught it.
<Nice>
The problem is that the morning after I put it in the hospital tank (the SPG had not been lowered yet...) I have noticed a pink red spot on is head and the dorsal fins seam almost gone on a small part of it. There is some white stuff around the sore and the fish is staying on the bottom of the tank and don't swim a lot (the swim bladder disease??).  <More likely from stress from move, new tank, injury, etc.>  It does not eat anymore. <Not good.>
I have try to treat it with Pimafix, but it does not look like it is working. <Junk, Tea Tree oil.> Anything I could try ? Now the SPG of the hospital tank is at 1.009. Would it work to treat it with Neoplex from SeaChem. It contains neomycin sulfate and it is supposed to be good against fungal and bacterial infection. <Broad based antibiotic I believe.> What disease do you think it is? And what do you think is the cause of it?
<Sounds like physical trauma that became infected.  Probably ran into something running from the net.  Had this happed to fish myself.  With the specific gravity lowered I wouldn't add any more stressors (medicine) for now. Good water quality is really important now, so lots of water changes to try to help.  Try feeding "enticing" foods, frozen Mysid, bloodworms, frozen formula 1 are all things that have made my fish go crazy for food. Selcon also helps and adds some valuable fatty acids as well.  If desperate garlic, may help, but is at best an appetite stimulant only in my opinion.  Brine shrimp also may help getting him started eating as well, although of limited nutritional value. But don't worry too much if its only been a couple of days since he last ate.  Keep the lights off as much as possible too to help reduce stress.  These fish's immune systems are quite impressive when give the right chance, so don't give up hope yet.>
My hope to save the poor fish are not too high, but at least I would like to prevent it from happening again and if there is anything I could do I would be willing to try it...
<Keep at it, good water quality and foods will help.>
Thank you very much
Steve
<Anytime>
<Chris>
P.S. Here is below my communication with Chris about my ick outbreak ... I
thought it could maybe help!

Heni, Porc, Oodinium:
We have a porcupine puffer & 2 H. acuminatus amongst our 15 fish in our 95-G tank. The puffer developed Oodinium, which we treated & appeared to have eradicated. I understand that Henis are cleaners when they are young. I have observed the Henis nipping at the puffer's sensitive skin & fins, which irritates the puffer. Is it possible that the Henis' harassment of the puffer caused the disease? If so, I am concerned hat the disease may reappear. Will the Henis leave the puffer alone asthey grow?
Thanks for your insight.
>>
Good observation on your part. Yes, many Butterflyfishes are facultative (they don't have to) cleaners of other fishes as juveniles, including the species of the genus Heniochus. I doubt that the cleaning behavior actually caused the Puffers outbreak... and it is more than able to reject the Heni's attentions.
And yes to the last question. These Butterflies will leave off with much of their cleaning behavior as they grow more... stopping at 3-4 inches in length.
Bob Fenner

Heniochus woes
Hi Bob:
I really enjoy your site and admire your knowledge.
<Ah, good and thank you>
Two quick questions:
About two weeks ago, I bought three small Heniochus acuminatus. The tips of their long fins (dorsal fins?) <yes> have become limp. Do you know what the cause might be?
<Most likely "just" from the move... and will return to more upright orientation. Perhaps nutrition, water quality effects... >
Also, I have a 46-gallon tank. In it, I have the three fish mentioned above, plus a Comet grouper, two clownfish, 5 snails and some live rock. I'd like to add one or two more fishes if that isn't too many. Do you have suggestions of what others will be compatible with the group I already have?
Thanks so much.
Vickie J. in Vienna Va.
<Um, this is already a bit much for such a size, shape tank... Your "henis" will be crowded (if not so already), with growth. I would add no more fish livestock to this system. Thank 
you for writing. Bob Fenner>

Heniochus Butterfly
Greetings, Bob!
I've searched your site but can find no answer to my question. I bought a Heniochus Butterfly the other day, and the skin at the top of his long top fin seems to have separated from the bone (about 1/8th of an inch). Is there anything I should do for him? He's eating and otherwise okay, but it looks uncomfortable to me. What happens if the top fin of a H. butterfly breaks?
Does it regenerate?
<Good question, and a common occurrence. Especially Heniochus acuminatus and larger H. diphreutes have tendencies to have their trailing dorsal fins tear like this during capture, handling and shipping from the wild... some collectors, transhippers even purposely cut the dorsal to prevent further damage... and yes it will, does grow back... Just try to keep the system optimized, stable and the fish feeding...>
Also, can I add an Atlantic blue tang to my 75 gallon fish only aquarium which already houses a yellow tang and a purple tang?
<Likely yes. But wait a good month from now plus... to allow the new social dynamic to sort itself out, the Heni to cure>
Thank you very much! I appreciate your guidance.
Yours, Sherri Lindsey
<A pleasure. Bob Fenner>

Hopefully help my Heni?
Hi, Sorry about the subject line...I couldn't resist. :-)
<no... pleased to proffer a possible pedagogy>
<alliteration can actually be awesome :)>
One of my two Heniochus singularius has begun to develop white spots on the outside ends of his tail fin & side fins (sorry...don't know the proper names). 
<no worries... caudal and pectoral respectively>
I looked through the 'Disease' section and the best I could guess was lymph. I don't have a digital camera or I'd send you a picture. The spots do look rather thick in a few places. I don't remember seeing them yesterday, but I was gone for most of the day & night. He's been feeding fine (and is particularly fond of Nori!).
<yes... Lymphocystis is common on angels and butterflies. And if the spots you see are larger than a grain of salt and/or dissimilar in size then not a parasite. Lymph is a viral infection... not fatal or curable>
Would you please affirm/disaffirm my tentative ID of problem?
<as per above... looks lumpy and like cauliflower small scale>
Also...what steps should I take to resolve? I do have a cleaner shrimp in the tank already...
<helpful>
should I just watch & wait? 
<yes... and be prepared to scrape off with a razor if they grow to bother the fish>
I'm a little concerned as I'll be taking a weeklong trip 8 days from now. I do have a friend coming by daily who also has a saltwater tank.
<no worries... its not fatal>
Thanks for your counsel & time. John
PS--a photo ID section added to your 'Disease' section would be GREATLY beneficial, allowing us to see & compare diseases side by side!
<yes... agreed... all in due time. We are hard working, overachieving and overextended friends here. Unpaid keeps the dream alive and very different from government work :) Anthony>

Re: Bannerfish with Velvet
I am writing with another follow up to my Bannerfish trouble. The last time I wrote I had purchased a Bannerfish for my main tank and placed him in quarantine when he developed white spots and a cloudy eye and would shake like crazy while stating in one spot of the tank.  We thought it was marine velvet so we did 10 minutes freshwater dips and put CopperSafe in the quarantine tank.  We freshwater dipped the fish for ten consecutive days and left him in the 20 gallon quarantine tank with CopperSafe for over three weeks.  A few days into the above treatment his eye cleared up but he kept making the shivering motion in the water.  I sent an e-mail to The Crew and someone said his was more than likely due to the irritation from the copper and not the parasite that was probably gone by this point.
<Agreed>
  I thought he was better but left him in the CopperSafe for a total of 25 days to kill any parasites in the resting stage.  Well about a week into the above mention quarantine, I realized the growths I was seeing on the fishes fins were Cauliflower disease and then I read through the archives about this in your web site and found this is not uncommon for different types of Butterfly fish.  I also read many articles where Bob described it as an environmental disease and he stated the water conditions must be improved for the fish to be able to fight this virus.
<Yes, this is so>
   In a few archives Bob even recommended placing the fish back into the main tank for stability.
<Yes>
This is the route I
chose as the water conditions in my 55 gallon sparsely populated tank with live rock were much better than the 20 gallon bare bottom quarantine tank with no live rock or carbon due to the copper necessary for treatment.  I thought I was in the clear as the CopperSafe would have wiped out the Velvet over the three weeks of treatment and the move of the fish to a copper free tank would stop the irritation to the fishes skin and stop him from shivering.  Well to my surprise, I added the Bannerfish to my main tank and six days later, he shivers worst than ever and has a cloudy eye again. My main tank had been stable for a long time now and the three fish living there have been very healthy.   As of now, they seem to not have caught anything from this mysterious Bannerfish but do you think I should move the Bannerfish back to quarantine or allow him to beat the cauliflower in the main tank?
<I would leave it in the main tank... which is too small for this species. Do you have a much larger system you can move it to?>
  Does the shivering and the cloudy eye mean he has another form of problem other than cauliflower?
<No... all tied together with environment>
Please tell me what to do as I thought I was going to be able to sit back and enjoy my new fish finally but now only sit around and worry!.
Thanks, Amy
<No sense worrying. Re-direct your energies, concerns to positive action. Bob Fenner>

- Bannerfish Flying at Half-Staff -
I have a long fin butterfly or Bannerfish as some people call them and his long extended dorsal fin seems to be getting limp. Just the top inch or so. What can cause this? <Well, this part of the dorsal fin is really like any other - there is a ray of cartilaginous material, sometimes bone that gives the fin its rigidity. In your fish's case, there is a break at that point - not all that uncommon in capture/handling. Will heal in time provided a lack of aggression from other fish and calm/quite for the Bannerfish... will take months, but will heal.>
Also my new Ocellaris clownfish likes to lay on his side. He is new to the tank (2 days). I acclimated him along with all the others, but he is the only one laying on his side and not moving from the corner of the tank. Any suggestions. <Is this a constant? Does the fish ever get about swimming? If not, things do not fare well for this fish - as you might guess, would be a highly vulnerable position to take in the wild, and this fish may have just given up.> My other clownfish, also Ocellaris did this too and they died! <Yes... would be what I would expect, sorry to say.> The pet store tested my water as well as I did before I put them in and it was in perfect parameters. What else can it be? <Could be compromised livestock - perhaps something you are doing in acclimation. Please tell more about this tank - size, age, etc.>
Confused in Colorado
Kelly
<Cheers, J -- >

Cotton like growth / Is this fungus?
Howzit Guys:
<Fine>
I really enjoy your site and I refer to it as my living marine encyclopedia.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and all your support.
<Welcome>
I have a 5" Heniochus that has developed a white fuzzy cotton like translucent growth about 1/32" round on one of her fins. All the rest of my fish are doing well (flame angel, yellow tang & 2 clowns) in a 100 gallon tank with live rock, 40 gallon sump w/ refugium & Chaeto, 4" sand base and protein skimmer which has been running almost 1 year.
I would like to say it is a fungus because that's what it looks like, but understand that fungus on live fish is not that common or am I mistaken?
<Mmm, may be a fungus... but sounds like a case of Lymphocystis...>
She eats primarily thawed brine shrimp and will not take other food stuffs,
<Not good nutrition... but a good clue>
is very active and has nice colorations. I am worried about not providing all the nutrients to sustain her good health that may also contribute to this condition because brine shrimp has little nutritional value.
<Bingo>
I tested my water parameters and the ammonia, nitrate & nitrite are all in check. The salinity is about 1.020, water temp @ 74 degrees and the PH 8.3. She is the newest addition to my tank prior to a 2 week quarantine and a 10 minute freshwater dip with Methylene blue.
Please help me identify the problem so I'm sure I know what I dealing with, suggest a cure and provide me with some alternative foods that my Heni may take a liking to. I have tried a mash of thawed scallops, vitamin flakes, Nori, garlic, vitamins mixed with the thawed brine to no success.
Mahalo and Aloha,
Les
<Please see the pix and read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/viraldislymph.htm
on to the Related FAQs linked above... Bob Fenner>

Help with Wimple, pop-eye/exophthalmia
Hi Crew,
<Eric>
        Thanks for you help in the past I've had great advice from you. My setup is a Juwel Trigon 350 with Live Rock, Polyps and the following tankmates:
Atlantic Anemone
Bubble Anemone
Bamboo Crab
Hermit Crabs (Various)
Turbo Snails
2 x Cleaner Shrimp
Golden Cleaner Wrasse
<Am wondering what species this is>
2 x Tank bred Clowns
Regal Tang
Yellow Tang
Wimple Fish
The problem I'm having is with my Wimple, which I just put into my tank a week ago from my quarantine tank along with my regal tang. They both had white spot and were cured after a long stay in the quarantine tank. After two days I spotted a couple of white spots on the Wimple and decided to give it a fresh water dip, which helped and hasn't had a spot since. I've noticed now that his eye has swollen up and not sure what it is.
<One sided? Likely resultant from a physical trauma... a bump, net whack...>
I've tried to take a picture of both eyes, which I've uploaded to http://www.jooste.f2s.com/Gill.html
<Good pix... left eye exophthalmia>
I've tested the water and found everything to be fine other than my Nitrates at 20ppm, which I'm battling to get down, and it looks like a hint of Nitrite (testing with Salifert, which results in a very light pink). I've been dosing the tank with Amquel+, to try and get the Nitrates down, and I also use Kent ZOE, Kent Iodine, and sometimes the Kent ZooPlex.
If you could please help me find out what is wrong with my Wimple and how can help him get his eye back to normal.
Thank you in Advance
Eric
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/popeyefaqs.htm
and the linked files at top. Bob Fenner>
 

Heniochus diphreutes maybe in Trouble - Urgent - Please advise Hello WWM Crew - Need some advice. I purchased a 5" Heniochus diphreutes about 3 days ago, which is in my 40 G quarantine tank. My quarantine tank is cycled and I don't usually use copper in it unless I really need to. The water parameters are: Ammonia 0, pH 8.3, Nitrites 0, Nitrates ~ 10, Temp 80. I do about a 5 - 10% water change in the quarantine directly from my 300 Gal reef which has very stable water conditions. o.k. -- Now the problem - The butterfly is eating very well and I feed it vitamin enriched Mysid shrimp fairly frequently in small quantities. It also seems to be swimming around the quarantine, somewhat curious and looking for food all over. However, over the past three days, I have started to see a small white growth/sore on one of the sides of the fish. It started out looking like a small wound, but it is starting to show some white foam like growth on it. The fish does seem to shiver every now and then. I was originally planning on using Melafix to see if I could disinfect the wound, but now I am not so sure that this is not a parasite. <I would not use this tea mixture> I have attached a picture of the fish, and have marked the wound/parasite as well. Could you please help me identify what this may be? Should I start copper sulphate? Or move ahead with my plans for a MelaFix treatment. <Likely either an "owee" from capture, transport... or an expression of stress...> I look forward to your advice. Thank You as always.  -Azim <If it were me, my fish, system, I would subtend the quarantine procedure in this case... dip/bath the Heniochus... place it in your main system... where there are hopefully biological cleaners... This is "worth the risk" (small) of actual biological disease transmission. Bob Fenner>

Heniochus acuminatus health    3/2/06
Hi Bob, <James with you today.>
Just a quick question regarding H. acuminatus. I am expecting to buy two 3" - 4" size specimens within the next week. Is a freshwater dip with a commercial dip mix a safe option for these fish? How long should this dip last? <I wouldn't do a freshwater dip unless I have a valid reason to do so.  Quarantining is your best option.  Plenty of info on this on the Wet Web.  James (Salty Dog)>
Thanks in advance,<You're welcome.>
Joe

Re: Heniochus acuminatus   3/3/06
Thanks James. <You're welcome.> However I am curious as to why there is an acceptance among
the marine hobbyist community of dips/baths as a necessary step in quarantining, when you have suggested that it need only be done when there is a reason for it... By this do you mean visible signs of parasite infection? <Yes...I don't take cold medication as a precaution.  Why stress the fish out if it isn't necessary.  My opinion.> In furtherance of my question yesterday on H. Acuminatus, my quarantine tank is only 10gallons. Since these fish require a large amount of space,
will the 2-3 weeks in quarantine be more stressful for them and outweigh the benefits of the actual quarantine? <I'd suggest a larger QT.  Putting the fish in the main display without QT just risks possible disease outbreak to the other fish.>
Thanks, <Your welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
Joe

H. acuminatus, sel. dis.    4/14/06
Hi Bob,
<Joseph>
I have a quick question on my 2 newly acquired H. acuminatus which I bought 2 weeks ago. I picked them up from my LFS as soon as they were delivered from a wholesaler.
<Mmm, generally better to leave most all marines at a dealers a week or more... with deposit if you "must have them"...>
They are about 3 inches in size and both looked healthy.
They have been in quarantine since then and during that time I have noticed that one of them absolutely loves every food I give it: brine shrimp with Spirulina, sea veggies, flakes, tiny pieces of shrimp and squid, and Nori seaweed. This one has maintained a healthy weight. The other fish, however, will only eat the Nori seaweed and spits out everything else. I would like it to start eating some fleshy foods. I have noticed that this fish has slightly lost a bit of weight. Other than this both fish look healthy and very happy.
My question is whether I should be concerned about this fish's eating habits ahead of it's release into the display tank next week?
<Ummm, a tough one... w/o seeing the actual specimen. But I would very likely risk moving this/these "Heni's" in the hopes of furthering the ones appetite... and not worry re the small risk in disease transmission here>
By the way, this is the first time I have used a quarantine tank and I now appreciate the benefits it gives to us in not only preventing disease, but allowing us to observe the new animals in a much more tightly controlled environment.
<Ah, bingo!>
It makes it so much easier to acclimate the fish to the water chemistry and especially to new foods, which would be a lot trickier in the display tank (i.e. size, competitors etc.). Thanks for the informative articles on this topic!
Thanks in advance,
Joe
<Welcome Joe. Bob Fenner>