
|
|
FAQs about Triggerfish Health 3
Related Articles:
Triggerfish,
Red Sea Triggerfishes, Related
FAQs: Triggerfish Health 1,
Triggerfish Health 2,
Triggerfishes, Triggerfish:
Identification,
Selection, Compatibility,
Behavior, Systems,
Feeding, Reproduction, | 
|
Fin Rot and Cloudy Eyes 10/5/09
Hi Bob.
<Hey Eugene, JustinN with you in Bob's place tonight!>
I hope all is well with you.
<All fine here, thanks -- hope the same for you!>
I have a question. About 4 months ago I purchased a large (7-8")
Pinktail trigger online. The trigger looked like it had parasites (it
had cloudy eyes and fin rot). I kept it in my QT, treated it with copper
and freshwater dipped it every few days. In a few weeks he was as good
as new.
After the symptoms were clear, I kept him in the QT for 3 more weeks
before placing him in my display tank.
<A textbook quarantine regimen, as all good aquarists should follow.>
About 2 weeks ago, I noticed his eyes were a little cloudy.
Unfortunately I had a vacation planned and couldn't really do anything
about it.
<Understandable, it happens -- life is unavoidable ;)>
After returning from vacation last week, I noticed the trigger had
severe fin rot (half of the fins were missing). The remaining fins were
white (as opposed to clear) and the eyes were cloudy. There were even
cuts under his eyes (like open sores). I removed him to the QT, but he
died the next day.
<Ouch, I'm sorry to hear this.>
Anyway, one of my other triggers (a 4" Bluethroat) is also developing
similar symptoms (albeit slowly). His eyes are slightly cloudy and fins
are beginning to rot.
<Does sound like identical symptoms..>
I have a custom 420 gallon tank. The tankmates include a Yellow Tang,
Rectangular Trigger, Green Bird Wrasse, Bluehead Wrasse, Harlequin Tusk
and several damsels; all are between 4 and 7 inches. Nobody was picking
on the deceased Pinktail - he was the largest and most aggressive fish
in the tank, and nobody is picking on the Bluethroat.
<Both typically 'hold their own' -- no surprises here."
Ammonia and Nitrite are at 0. Nitrate is under 5ppm. PH is at 8.4.
<Sounds ideal.>
I highly doubt that this is a water quality problem.
<Agreed.>
Do you think it is parasites?
<Or another spreadable malady, yes.>
Should I QT the Bluethroat? What is the best medication that you
recommend?
<Quarantine -- absolutely. Since you've already seen what can happen
with a delay in treatment, I would attempt to head off problems sooner
-- if it is parasitic, the sooner you remove the better. Have a look
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/infectio.htm -JustinN>
Thanks in advance,
Eugene
Unknown sickness (pink tail trigger)... env. 12/9/08
Wet Web Crew, <Brian> I setup a traditional 90 gallon tank
with about 100 lbs of live rock and another 100 lbs of live sand
about two months ago. Two weeks ago I bought a pink tail trigger
that has since come down with some sort of sickness that I cant
seem to identify. <Mmmm> I have attached a picture, but it
looks like there are patches where he is losing his scales and
irritations around its right eye. <I see this> Whatever is
wrong does not seem to be bothering him. There is no scratching, he
eats as much as i feed him (raw shrimp since I've bought him),
<Good> and doesn't seem unhappy in any way. I have been thinking
of treating this with hyposalinity, <I would not do this> but
I'm not 100% on what this sickness is... I was thinking it was ich,
<Mmm, no> but there are not any white spots that resemble sugar
or salt like on other pictures I have found on the net. The spots
that you see in the picture are spots where a random scale is
missing outside of the main areas. For extra filtration the tank has
a sump with a EuroReef RS 80 and a 16w UV. The water parameters are
zeroed for everything except nitrates which are around 40ppm.
<Much too high... need to be fixed... kept under 20 ppm. Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/nitratesmar.htm and the linked files
above> Thanks in advance for any help, Brian <This
specimen is "beat", and much too thin... the white blemish on the
upper left flank is from its capture, handling (a thumb print if you
will)... your other photo shows how poorly fleshed this animal is...
and the white pus-like markings are simply mucus being produced in
excess from neuromasts et al... As you state this organism is eating
and acting fine, it will very likely improve with your good care...
Fix the nitrates, keep feeding it well... perhaps supplement with
soaking foods in a HUFA, vitamin mix (e.g. Selcon), and all should
be fine. Bob Fenner> |
 |
Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white spot on eye.
11/4/08 Hey guys, please help me! I have a Blue Niger
Trigger that was purchased and introduced to my home tank about 2 weeks
ago with a Dragon Wrasse as well-both came from the same tank in the pet
store. All tank conditions checked out, but the dragon wrasse died of a
bladder infection 4 days after being introduced and was removed right
away, I'm positive the wrasse had the issue before it's introduction.
<Were these in quarantine at all?> The Trigger seemed fine and
active, after the loss of the dragon wrasse I introduced a lunar wrasse,
angler fish, and humu trigger 2 days after the dragon died. <Whoa,
too much, too fast unless you have a massive tank.> The Niger
Trigger, and all others have gotten along fine, except for the Niger
Trigger and Lunar Wrasse mixing it up a little during feedings. A week
ago I noticed a white spot form on the top part of the Niger Trigger's
eye, and a similar one on his tail. He continues to feed well and stay
active, but I catch him rubbing and glancing live rock every once in
awhile-not continuous by any means, but daily for sure around his
spotted eye area. The Niger Trigger has no other spots or sores of any
kind, and the spots haven't multiplied or showed up on the rest of his
body. I was thinking about trying the garlic remedy, due to none of the
other fish showing any illness I'm reluctant to treat the water
harshly or the overall tank. <Any treatment should be in a quarantine
tank anyhow.> Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Last but not
least, due you think the sick Dragon Wrasse had anything to due with the
Niger Trigger's issue? <Possibly, did they show any of the same
signs?> Please let me know you got this with a response to my e-mail
and I will update you on the situation. <Hard to say without a
picture, do read through the disease FAQs on WWM. Between so many
large fish so fast, the fish showing no other signs and the
trigger/wrasse mixing it up, this is very likely environmental.>
Thanks, Ole. <Welcome, Scott V.> Re: Blue Niger
Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white spot on eye. 11/4/08
Thanks for the quick response! <Very welcome!> Since I e-mailed
in, The Blue Trigger has stopped rubbing and lost both of the white
spots. <Great!> Things have calmed down between the Blue Trigger
and Lunar Wrasse as well. I'm keeping a close eye on everyone and
so far so good. I didn't have the luxury of a quarantine tank, and
didn't realize the stress factors created by to many fish at once.
<Do consider investment it a QT, even 20-30 gallons can serve well as
fish are introduced.> I will take both factors in consideration for
future dealings with my tank and it's occupants. <Ahhh, good.>
Thanks for the info, Ole. <Welcome, have fun, Scott V.
Re: Blue Niger Trigger Pop-Eye 11/10/08 Hey Scott, don't
want to become a question pest but you have been a real help with my
fish issues, and I have to take it back to my Blue Niger Trigger!
<Okay.> His eye had cleared up and all spots had cleared on the rest
of his body. Well he now has the same eye clouded over lightly and the
eye is slightly raised-the rest of his body is perfectly healthy. I'm
supposing this is a form of Bubble Eye? <Pop-Eye, yes.> Maybe
caused from the previous scrapping he was doing? <Very most likely
this, general water quality, or the wrasse again.> Most reports said
he would clear up by himself as long as water conditions were maintained
well-do you agree? <It typically will.> All other fish-Angler,
Lunar Wrasse, and Humu Trigger are active and healthy-they all get
along in general except the Lunar and Blue Trigger still get into it
sometimes during feeding, is this an issue I should concern myself about
further? <It very well could be the source of the trauma. Do they get
along fine when not feeding?> As always, Thanks for any advice
given! Ole. <Welcome, sounds like you have read on the condition
here. Scott V.> Re: Blue Niger Trigger Pop-Eye 11/10/08
Well, I feel like the boy who cries wolf! <Heee, we all have those
times, up and down.> My water quality checked out excellent today,
and the Blue Trigger's eye has almost cleared up completely and the
raising went down-he does have some fraying on his back tail fin and a
new srcatch by it as well-I'm sure due to him and the Wrasse having it
out at feeding time. <No doubt.> The two only seem to tangle at
feeding, when no food is present they don't seem to even pay attention
to each other at all. <At least when you are looking!> I plan on
keeping my eye on them, and if one has to go, it will be the Lunar
Wrasse! Although The Lunar is incredibly active and fun, got more
love towards my Blue Trigger in this case. Thanks again for all the help
Scott, Ole. <Welcome my friend. Scott V.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white spot
on eye. 3/26/09
Hi Scott, it's been awhile since I checked in, that's been a good thing
though.
<Ha, yes, if it's not broke....>
My saltwater tank has been doing well and staying problem free until
recently. Sadly enough I'm dealing with my Blue Niger Trigger again.
Recently he's started glancing himself again the last couple of days,
but there is no sign of Ich that I can tell of and I trust my eye on
that one. What else do you think my cause him to glance?
<I was just discussing this with Bob, his question is if anything is
being added to the water that may be irritating this fish? Even
something as innocent as a dechlorinator can cause irritation.>
All the tank mates have gotten along for months now, and I've kept up
with monthly water changes and level checks. All seems good and no other
fish are acting up or show any signs of infections or illness.
<Good.>
Back to my Blue Trigger, when I caught glancing last time and I reached
out to you his problems cleared up and he was back to normal. I guess I
don't want to over react to the situation if cases of glancing are a
fish's natural way of cleaning off pests, but of course I don't want to
let it go when I could have helped a situation early on. His eyes and
tails are completely clear and clean, besides a little roughing here and
there on his skin from the glancing, he seems very healthy appetite is
strong.
<Good.>
Any advice would be appreciated as always, I call my Trigger "old blue"
and by far he is my favorite fish, I would hate to lose him!
<Without any other symptoms it is just wait and see...unless you can pin
down some source of external irritation.>
A side question for you, I heard of this being done but highly
unrecomended, housing an Undulated Trigger with tankmates (other
Triggers,
Puffers, and Wrasses)?
<Well I think you answered your own question there! These are bad
dudes....even in a large tank.>
Thanks as always, Ole.
<Welcome Ole.>
Re: Blue Niger Trigger glancing and rubbing itself-white
spot on eye - update! 4/14/09
Hi Scott V.,
<Hello Ole.>
Update on my tank is all good. My Blue N. Trigger is healthy and
glances every once in awhile, but I think it's just natural and not
because he's trying to ward off anything. Frogfish still has no
bobber but is
eating just fine. Dragon Wrasse blotches in skin are healing up
nicely and natural pigment has returned to the skin in those areas-I
think it was a case of getting roughed up when he went hiding during
the water change/tank clean.
<Sounds good!>
Until next time my friend, Ole.
<For sure, have a good one.>
Trigger with an eye problem! 11/1/08 I forgot to
mention that he occasionally (I've seen it 5 or 6 times over the
last 3 days) appears to be trying to rub his eye against the rocks -
which of course, scares me to death. <The damage to the outside
of the eye (the cornea) appears textured and to me seems to reflect
physical damage rather than an infection inside the eyeball. So that
said, I'd assume this is the early stage of an infection working its
way from the outside in, and would be best treated with a suitable
antibiotic, Maracyn and/or Maracyn 2, with the fish isolated in a
quarantine tank. The "rubbing" behaviour you are seeing is probably
more about irritation than anything else. Because only one eye is
infected, I don't think water quality is the thing, and so a
systematic bacterial infection inside the fish isn't the issue. This
is often the case where both eyes become swollen. Hence I'd
recommend providing the fish with good water quality and waiting for
the fish to heal itself. Triggers are pretty tough, and all else
being equal he should pull through. The infection doesn't look too
severe, so I think you stand an excellent chance of seeing a full
recovery. In the meantime, do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Popeyetrauma.htm Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Trigger with an eye problem! 11/1/08 Thank you so
much! <Most welcome.> Do you think that the moving white
spot might be some type of infected tissue/fluid, <Any white
stuff on the cornea is likely necrotic (i.e., dead or dying) tissue
that stops being transparent. Loose, dead tissue may flap about, but
otherwise you shouldn't see patches of white stuff actually moving
about inside the eye. This being the case, provided you treat the
fish appropriately and maintain good conditions, you *should* see
things begin to get better, though full repair may take several
weeks, if not months.> and do you think that I should attempt a
freshwater dip (if I can get some Methylene blue) prior to placing
him in the hospital tank? <I don't think a freshwater dip would help
much here. We're talking about a bacterial rather than parasitic
infection, and bacteria tend to be just as resistant to hyposalinity
as fish. So you're unlikely to get much benefit. Optimal water
quality, a nice balanced diet, perhaps use of vitamins to speed up
healing, all these things will be more useful. Bob Fenner often
advocates leaving fish with this type of injury in the main tank
rather than a hospital tank, presumably to minimize stress and avoid
further damage while catching the little chap. Antibiotics should
cause problems in fish-only systems where one normally keeps a
triggerfish, so this may be a viable approach in your case as well.
Cheers, Neale.> |   |
RE: Trigger with an eye problem! 11/2/08 Neale - I'm
sorry to be so stupid about this but I'm still a bit confused. Do
you feel as though I should leave him in the display tank and not
treat with antibiotics and let him heal on his own, or should I move
him and treat with Maracyn 2? <Ah, what I was saying was that
I'd remove and treat him, but looking over Bob's replies to similar
issues, he seems to advocate leaving the fish in a well-maintained
tank to heal naturally. Bob's by far the more experienced marine
aquarist than me, so you might decide to leave the fish in its home
for now, and observe for the next week or two, to see how things
progress. But if you want to pull the fish out, and can do so
safely, and then maintain him for some weeks in a hospital tank,
that won't do any harm at all.> I have 75lbs of live rock in the
tank with lots of life on it so I don't think that I can treat him
in the display. <Agreed.> He's eating well and acting fine,
but the eye seems to be more cloudy this evening. Again, apologies
for being dim. <If this was my fish, I'd be treating him with a
suitable antibiotic; if that isn't viable in your tank because of
the live rock, then I'd move him to a hospital tank. Certainly won't
do any harm to move him and treat him. Cheers, Neale.>
RE: Trigger with an eye problem! 11/02/08 Neale - I'm
sorry to be so stupid about this but I'm still a bit confused. Do
you feel as though I should leave him in the display tank and not
treat with antibiotics and let him heal on his own, or should I move
him and treat with Maracyn 2? <Ah, what I was saying was that
I'd remove and treat him, but looking over Bob's replies to similar
issues, he seems to advocate leaving the fish in a well-maintained
tank to heal naturally. Bob's by far the more experienced marine
aquarist than me, so you might decide to leave the fish in its home
for now, and observe for the next week or two, to see how things
progress. But if you want to pull the fish out, and can do so
safely, and then maintain him for some weeks in a hospital tank,
that won't do any harm at all.> I have 75lbs of live rock in the
tank with lots of life on it so I don't think that I can treat him
in the display. <Agreed.> He's eating well and acting fine,
but the eye seems to be more cloudy this evening. Again, apologies
for being dim. <If this was my fish, I'd be treating him with a
suitable antibiotic; if that isn't viable in your tank because of
the live rock, then I'd move him to a hospital tank. Certainly won't
do any harm to move him and treat him. Cheers, Neale.> <<I do
agree with Neale. Eye trouble is very often physical trauma, but
combined with the facts the fish is scratching and the eye is
getting worse, I would definitely remove and treat. As Neale said,
it won't hurt. Scott V.>>
RE: Trigger with an eye problem! (Scott, Sara: any thoughts?)
11/10/08 Hi All - I just wanted to drop a quick line and
thank you all for your help. My trigger's eye has healed beautifully
and his fin (from the run-in with the crab) is healing very well.
I'm amazed at how quickly it seems to be repairing itself. He's
eating like a pig and just doing great. Thank you again for all your
help. Karen <Hello Karen, I'm so pleased your trigger is on
the mend! These are remarkably tough animals, and I have every
confidence in your care and attention. I'm sure he'll be 100% better
in no time at all. Good luck to you both! Neale.>
Re: Trigger with an eye problem! (Scott, Sara: any thoughts?)
11/11/08 Thanks for your vote of confidence Neale! I'm
changing the trigger's name from Crusoe to Flipper! This morning as
I fed him, he did the dolphin trick of coming about halfway out of
the water and swimming backwards - then he spit at me! He's a cheeky
little monkey - but by far my favorite. Thanks again for all your
help. Karen <Hello Karen. Does sound like your Trigger is well
on the way to full health. These fish are amongst my favorites, and
despite being a bit on the temperamental side, they are very smart
and entertaining animals. The spitting, incidentally, is a natural
trait. In the wild they use this to blow sand away from buried prey,
and sometimes blow spiny animals (like sea urchins) over so that
they can attack them from underneath. In other words, what you're
seeing is "behavioral plasticity", something biologists associate
with intelligence in animals. Most animals have a variety of
behaviors, but plastic behaviors can be adapted from what they
evolved to do into some new situation. Dogs use their pack behaviors
to bond and hunt with humans. Your triggerfish is using his blowing
water behaviour to interact with you, presumably because you're
the source of food. Enjoy your pet, Neale.> |
A case of rehoming Bluechin triggers.., avoiding Crypt
6/30/08 Evening all :D <Carolyn> Am sure this question must
appear somewhere on WWM but I can't find it for love nor money, so hope
you don't mind me asking it :) <Please go ahead> I'm (hopefully)
rehoming a pair of Bluechin triggers (male and female) however the
current owner has recently had ich. I'm still keen to take the animals
now they are on the mend (he says only a few spots left) however they
will be popped straight into my hospital tank on arrival. Now then..
1. given that the animals will be stressed from the move, should I still
freshwater dip them before they go in the treatment tank? <Yes, I
would... with formalin, aeration...> 2. are triggers ok with copper
treatments so long as the instructions are meticulously followed?
<Yes> 3. OR would it be better l (i.e. less stressful) leaving the
animals without copper for a few weeks and see if they are indeed over
the ich, treating if any signs occur? <Up to you... if they appear
healthy, I might skip the copper, go with simple observation for now>
They will, ultimately, be going into my 5ft tank upgrade once they're
done in QT but I'm terrified of introducing ich :o Any advice on how
best to ensure this hated parasite never makes it past QT would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks as always, Carolyn <As often welcome.
Bob Fenner>
Help!! Re: Trigger hlth. 6/4/08 Hey guys I
emailed you a while ago about a trigger that was hiding constantly.
Well I have good news and bad news. I sighted him but that's about the
extent of the good news. His fins are majorly tattered, his trigger
looks like it's broken in half and the weirdest thing of all-his teeth
are gone. And when he exhales it looks like there are flukes or
something attached to his gills. <Not good> They are stringy
things that come out of his mouth. Maybe they're dead skin or something?
<Mmm, worse than this. Reads as if your trigger was imported with some
serious parasite fauna> The other fish have no sign of disease at
all. <Many worms, crustaceans are pretty species, genera, family
specific...> I think maybe that tiger cowry I had caused an avalanche
and locked him in a pocket in the live rock <Oh!?> and I'm afraid
I might lose him. Is there anything I can do? <Good care...>
I've tried feeding him and target feeding him. I even tried the garlic
trick and nothing seems to work. Any help? And for future reference
could you guys provide any insight as to why he's lost his teeth?
<Physical damage... trying to get out of the aforestated avalanche?>
I thought he would have tried maybe to eat the live rock cause he's
starving or something. Anyways thanks a lot Mat <Balistids
are tough animals. I do hope yours rallies. Don't give up here. Bob
Fenner> Re:
Help!! Reading... Re: Trigger hlth. 6/5/08 Hey thanks a lot
for you input for my trigger. How would you get him to eat though?
<Proffer favored foods... perhaps soaked in vitamin/HUFA supplement,
garlic... posted on WWM> I mean he has no teeth. I put him in my
refugium because there's lots for him to eat in there and it's warm.
Also I spotted a bristle worm in my tank the other day. Good or bad?
Thanks Mat <Also posted... RMF>
Trigger fish swim bladder issue? 5/28/2008
I have a black triggerfish (over 10 yrs old) <A good long time for a
Melichthys niger in captivity> who is suddenly not swimming
correctly. He appears to have lost his equilibrium and has stopped
eating. <Bad signs> I moved him to a 10 gallon hospital tank. It
has been two days and he is still breathing rapidly. I don't see any
external parasites or injuries. The moray eel did bite him on the nose
yesterday, but I don't think that did any real damage (they have been
doing that for years). I testing the chemicals in the main 90 gallon
tank and found no elevated parameters. <... may be that there are
chemicals present that there are no tests for...> I have a protein
skimmer (which hardly ever even collects anything) as the tank is very
empty. I have two black/white damsels, the moray and the trigger. No
live rock. <I would have some> Yesterday I bought 2 more damsels,
and 4 green chromis. The trigger was hiding in the rocks when the new
fish were introduced. A bit odd on his normal behavior. I don't think
the new fish had anything to do with it. I have the trigger propped
up against some coral in the hospital tank and it also has an airstone
and powerhead going. Any suggestions? Thanks! ps. I also did change
out the filter sock in the 90 gallon yesterday am. I soaked it in fresh
water with some bleach but then soaked it and rinsed it well before
putting back in that tank. Other than that - nothing has changed.
<Perhaps there is something in the way of senescence going on here (old
age... cumulative genetic defect), maybe a nutritional deficiency
effect... If I had another system up and going I might try moving the
Trigger there. Otherwise the offering of favorite foods... with a
vitamin/HUFA supplement soaking ahead of time. Bob Fenner>
Re: trigger fish swim bladder issue? 6/1/08 Thanks! I put
him back in the 90 gallon tank on Sunday and by Monday he started
swimming a bit. By Tuesday he was back to eating and by Wednesday he was
acting territorial like his Old Self and was picking on the new fish. I
guess we are now back to normal! How weird. Guess I didn't realize how
much I like the old bugger till he decided to try and die on me!!!
<Ahh! Thank you for this update. RMF>
Trigger scratching 4/3/08
Hi, <Hello> I recently realized I was testing for nitrates
incorrectly (shaking a test tube instead of a bottle). When I did the
test right I found that my nitrates were really high. I did two 50%
water changes over the space of two weeks to get my nitrates down to 25
ppm. My pH is good, ammonia and nitrites zero. About a week after the
last water change my Picasso Trigger started scratching himself on the
sand and rocks. Once I saw him shake back and forth and dart around like
he's agitated. I can't see any visible spots on him and he still has a
healthy appetite. <Good sign> My Maroon Clowns seem to be o.k.
Could this be early stages of ich or is it possibly a stress reaction
from having the water quality change so drastically so quickly?
<Could be either really, but I would guess the water changes are the
cause.> I did have an ich breakout a year ago (visible white spots)
that I was able to contain and I have seen no signs since. I'm hesitant
to jump into a medical treatment because it will probably just stress
him out more. <I would not treat at this point.> I will be taking
the Trigger back to my LFS in a few weeks because I am upgrading my tank
and I will need to cycle it before stocking (I don't want to start off
stocking my new tank with aggressive fish). <Good> I don't want to
take back a sick fish, do you think I should treat him with copper or
something? <I would not unless more specific symptoms occur.> My
last question is about cycling the new tank. I plan on keeping my
current 55 gal. tank as a quarantine tank and I was planning on cycling
the new 125 gal. tank with the live rock and some of the live sand from
the 55. Do you think this is wise considering I've had an ich breakout
before and a fish that might have ich now? <If you give the tank 4 to
6 weeks to cycle without fish this should take care of any Ich that may
be present.> Should I cycle the 125 tank from scratch and clean out
the 55 with bleach and cycle it again before use as a quarantine tank?
<Could, but seems drastic to me.> Thanks in advance, Brendon
<Welcome> <Chris>
Triggerfish pimple? 2/25/08
I have a 3 inch Picasso trigger. He has a small reddish spot on his
side that looks like a pimple. Picture does not show but the spot is
raised. <Mmm, looks to be an infected area... likely resultant
from a mechanical injury...> 125 gallon FOWLR tank with good
parameters except PH seems to be 7.9. <... this is actually way
low... the "scale" for pH is an inverse of base 10 (logarithm)... If
your pay/income were this much reduced, you'd be howling! Fix this
and you'll likely save your Trigger. You can read re on WWM. Bob
Fenner> Thanks Lynn Callaghan | 
|
QT size for Triggerfish 01/09/2008
Dear Crew: <<Hello, Andrew here>> In your opinion, is a 14 gallon
BioCube large enough to quarantine a 2 inch Sargassum Triggerfish for 6
to 8 weeks assuming excellent water quality and maintenance? It's up and
running with some modifications and improvements over the stock set up,
but still empty, so it would be quite convenient if large enough. Thanks
for any information in advance! <<Yes, as the fish is still very
small at this point, just keep good maintenance on the tank>> Michele
<<Thanks for the question, A Nixon>>
Re: QT size 01/18/2008
Andrew, (or who ever gets this reply) <<Hello, Andrew here>>
Thanks for the QT info. We went ahead and ordered the Sargassum
triggerfish from Blue Zoo and it arrived today. Our 2 inch trigger is
a.... gulp..... 4 inch trigger! Do you still think we might be okay for
a two month quarantine in a 14 gallon BioCube? The QT has to be at least
two months to allow us time to finish some plumbing on the 240 gallon
display tank. We have about eight to ten pounds of live rock for
biofiltration and hiding places and no substrate. <<well tended and
water parameters held excellent, yes, will be fine, maybe conceder a
larger QT in the future if purchasing larger fish>> I know everyplace
says no live rock in a QT, but I couldn't figure out why it would matter
as long as I realize that I will lose the rock if I have to treat with
any meds. <<Live rock and substrate are not desirable in a QT tank
it provides places to harbour parasites which can then be passed on to
other newly quarantined fish, and yes, if you use meds, it will mostly
kill off the live rock>> I plan on changing about 10% -20% of the
water twice a week unless water tests/levels dictate more often.
<<This is good>> This is our first time ordering a fish online
instead of using the LFS, so we've been a bit nervous. We did a 1 1/2
hour acclimation and left him/her in dim lights today. The plan was
normal lights tomorrow and offer a chopped silverside for a first
feeding. S/he is a gorgeous fish.......checked out the tank and then
hung out in a little cave in the rock. Thanks again for any information!
<<These are such a beautiful fish indeed, great personalities, I wish
you all success with your new friend. Michele <<Thanks for the
questions, A Nixon>>
Re: QT size 01/30/2008
Andrew, (or who ever gets this reply), <<Hello Michelle, Andrew
here>> I'm bothering you about the Sargassum triggerfish in QT again!
I apologize ahead of time if this is really stupid, but I wanted your
opinion. <<No need to apologise>> As a reminder, I have a four
inch Sargassum triggerfish in QT in a 14 gallon BioCube. As expected,
water quality is difficult. We are finishing the second week of QT and I
do 20% water changes every 2 to 3 days. The nitrate stays between 5 and
10 ppm. Ammonia and nitrite are zero. <<Sounds good, always good to
keep on top of them>> Our goal was to leave the fish in the BioCube
for an additional 4 to 6 weeks after the end of QT until our 240 was
ready for fish. I am starting to worry that this may be too stressful on
the fish because of the small size of the aquarium and the nitrate
levels. SOOO, the question...which is the least stressful on the
triggerfish. 1: Spend the additional six weeks in the BioCube or 2: go
in a very overstocked 100 gallon aquarium with a Naso tang, yellow tang,
rabbitfish, mandarin dragonette, and pair of Sebae clowns until the 240
gallon is ready? The tangs are all very peaceful, but the female clown
can be a bit aggressive. Currently, the triggerfish is very active and
eats flake and frozen seafood well. S/he does pace the top of the tank a
lot...I'm not sure if this is begging for food or secondary to the small
size and nitrate level. We have liverock in the QT (I know, it will be
scrape if we treat), so the fish has hiding places and a small area to
explore. If it makes a difference, at the end of the four week QT, we
will connect the BioCube to a refugium with a four inch sandbed, six
gallons of water (that's in addition to the sandbed and liverock) and
Gracilaria. Thanks as always for your help! <<I would keep the fish
in the quarantine tank, don't see a reason to add undue stress to the
fish. As long as the water is kept very well, as your doing already,
feeding a good diet, and add the extra refugium for filtration, it shall
be fine>> <<Thanks for the update and questions. Good luck. A Nixon>> |
Trigger sad, Poor Environment 1/29/08
Hello, <Hi> I searched through a lot of posts here and found
similar problems, but not exact. I know it's small but this is in my
office at work so I cant' go with a big tank. I have a 20 gallon high
with about 20 pounds of live rock and a Picasso trigger a little less
than 2 inches. <Doomed in this sized tank.> I run an Aquaclear
200, Red Sea Protein skimmer, Aquaclear 20 powerhead and 80 watts of
lighting. The water tests fine and I do frequent changes. <"Fine"
is relative, exact numbers next time please.> The tank is blooming
with life, Copepods, Anthropods, Inverts of various types, Macro algae
(came on the rock) which attests to the quality of the water. Ok
that's out of the way. My Trigger was in the tank with to Damsel
mates. Two weekends ago, I came in and observed the trigger acting
skittish and hiding. The blue Damsel was acting like he took over the
tank like the Alpha male. I assume they duked it out and the Trigger
lost. <Probably, the damsels are very aggressive.> For a few days
I observed his cowardliness and did some research and discovered that
they must have had a tick. I placed the damsel in my quarantine tank and
the Trigger came out of hiding soon after. The other damsel started to
give him a hard time and he did they same thing. I removed the second
damsel. <He is not healthy so he is low man in the pecking order.>
Now he doesn't eat that I can see (food goes right past his face with no
reaction) and doesn't swim around much at all. <Not good.> Mostly
he sits in his hole, or wiggles slowly with his nose against the glass
like he is sad now. His lack of eating is worrying me now since he was a
hardy eater. I just bought a small tank raised Clown to put in there
with him for company. <Also can be quite aggressive, are members of
the damsel family.> I'm not worried if things don't turn out too good
for the Clown. <Bad news for the clown.> What do you think might
be his problem, and do you think he will die soon? <Yes, if kept in a
20 gallon tank he will not last long, it is just not a suitable
environment for him and you are seeing it begin to take it toll.>
Thanks in advance for your help. Keith <Welcome> <Chris>
Trigger, might be Crypt 01/22/2008
Here is a pic of a new Picasso Trigger. Few white spots have
developed in last 3 days. Ich? Hopefully you can see Mike
Callaghan <... Uhhh, is this all the message? You've read on
WWM? Bob Fenner> | 
|
Mayday - Mayday - Trigger Down -11/18/07
Good morning Bob and Crew, <Mike from the GWN> First, thank you
for your Daily posted FAQ's - always informative and helpful, even if
they were not my questions. Before I get to the sad state of Sergeant
Gas-em (you guessed it - my Sargassum) Here are the prerequisite
details. Set-Up: 72gal. Bowfront with 80lbs. LR, approx. 2" Reef
Sand, Hang-On Skimmer, Eheim Pro ll Canister Filter, 2 x Maxi-Jet 1200
Powerheads, Heater and 260W total of Actinics and 10,000s on timers.
Corals: 2 Finger Leathers, a Gold Crown Leather (Toadstool?) <Sure>
, 1 Glove Polyp, 1 Starburst Polyp, a Green Star Polyp, a Colt and a
Frogspawn (oops! - Frogspawn is in a quiet corner) Inverts & Misc.:
Sea Urchin, Serpent Star, 3 Nassarius Snails, 3 Trochus Snails, a small
Conch, 2 Feather Dusters and some MIA Hermits, Fish: A 4" Purple
Tang, a Coral Beauty, a Pixie Hawkfish, two 2" A.O. Clowns living in the
Gold Crown, and a new 5" Sargassum Trigger (I am aware of the load
here and already inquired as to size requirements for my new tank - due
January - thank you for your advice on this) Water quality still
testing well with 0's (nothing measurable) across the board for ammonia,
nitrites and nitrates. PH approx. 8.2. Temp approx. 78deg. SG 1.022
(down from 1.023 - will adjust) Regular top-ups with treated tap
water. I must admit to having been less than disciplined with my weekly
water changes of late, but everything still testing very well up to this
morning. All fish with the exception of the Trigger (the latest
addition) seem to be just fine - active, eating and showing no signs of
any problems. My new Trigger - 3 weeks in Q/T eating Mysis went well
- moved to display - ate Mysis and Spectrum Pellets well, always active
and responsive, but seemed to lose weight - added Squid and Plankton
(vitamin soaked) to diet - he ate all and still seemed to lose weight
over a period of about one month. Note: I saw other Sargassums at the
LFS from the same "collection", weeks later, that also seemed to be
pinching in. <Not uncommon for the family... issues related to
collection, handling stress... take time to re-gain weight, fitness>
A week ago I found him hiding in the rock which was unusual for him - he
is usually right at the front watching everything while I am in the
room, at least. He ate very little. He was spending more and more
time in the rock and I would nudge him to get him swimming and eating -
would only swim for a short time and eat little to nothing. He has
not eaten or been seen swimming for the last couple of days - hiding in
the rock. From your Trigger Disease and Behaviour FAQ's, I learned that
this "can be" a common and temporary occurrence for these fish and did
not panic until I found him on his side on the sand this morning. My
Purple Tang, although still quite small (and smaller than the Trigger),
can be aggressive and is harassing him a little now that he is sick. I
do not see any wounds at all but I witnessed some more aggressive
behaviour from the Tang this morning so I decided it would be best to
remove the Trigger from this environment with the hope that he might
still have a chance to recover if left alone. When I placed him in
Q/T with some vitamins in the water (I only had an established 10gal
tank with sand and LR ready / good water quality - I felt it was an
emergency) he swam around on the sand seemingly trying to right himself,
and now he is nose down on the sand with his tail up against the glass.
Still alive but motionless. Very sad. <Still... don't give up hope>
I do not believe (although I can always be wrong) that the smaller Tang
drove him to this. <Maybe...> The Trigger seemed to have the run
of the tank and I never witnessed any real aggression from the Tang
until the Trigger became unable to defend himself. Certainly seems
more like an internal parasitic problem. <Also a very probable
factor> Is there anything I can do for this other than to just watch
and wait? As usual, any thoughts or words of wisdom would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you, Mike from Canada <If you have another
system, I'd move the trigger to it with some of the LR to make a cave of
sorts... and hope. Bob Fenner>
Sick Clown Trigger, QT, Health 9/14/07
Hi guys i have a clown trigger question <Ok> I purchase my clown
trigger from my LFS a week ago. When I brought him he had a white spot
on he's fin i treated it with CopperSafe and it went away. <Will
probably return without running the tank fallow, your system now has
Ich. Appropriate QT procedures will avoid these types of problems.>
But Now he hides under my live rock all day! <He is probably still
infested with ich and not feeling well, added to this the new
environment and tankmates.> He swims around only when i put some
flakes out there and he see or smells them floating around then he
starts eating them. After he's done he goes right back under the live
rock and sits there like he's a hawk fish waiting for food. <Stress
behavior, typical safety measure for triggers, which is how they got
their name. Also flake food is not a very good staple for this fish.>
Also my water temp is Night 88degress Day 92 <Wow, way too
high, need to keep this in the low 80s at most and more consistent.>
Nitrate a little bit <?> Nitrite 0 Alk 0 Ph 8.3 <Chris>
Filter Cleaning, actually trigger non-treatment – 06/08/07
Hello, <Howdy> I have a 6 inch Black Hawaiian Trigger <Ah,
Melichthys niger... very wide-ranging species...> with a small white
dot right above his eye that looks pretty much like a pimple my LFS said
it was probably fluke and I want to qt him a 10-gallon qt tank. <Nah
and nah> Is the tank big enough if I keep pristine water conditions?
Also how should I treat this? <All posted on WWM, however...>
Thank you very much, Jared <I would NOT treat this fish, not
move it... not. The spot is likely "nothing" pathogenic... will go of
its own accord. Moving, exposing this specimen will be more harm,
trouble than it's worth... Not necessary... Is this clear enough? Bob
Fenner>
Re: Sick Trigger 6/9/07
Ok I did the wrong thing and over reacted and moved him to the qt tank
cause it looked like the trigger started to look like it was getting
ich. <... if this were/is the case, the system has "it"... all fish
livestock must need me moved, treated...> So now he is in the qt
tank. Should I give him a freshwater bath and lower the salinity? Thanks
for all your help. Also I live in Dallas, TX and I was wondering if you
could help me find a respectable fish store in my area or maybe point me
to a site that could help me. <Ask your local marine club for input
here> Your sites help is priceless Jared <... then use it. Your
answers are all archived... along with much related, needed info. Bob
Fenner> Sick triggers?
need immediate assistance!!!!!! Env. dis. 4/15/07 Hi
guys. I've been reading your site for months, and its THE BEST SITE
FOR MARINE ENTHUSIASTS!!!! Keep up the great work. I have a quick
question for you guys, I have a 125 gallon all fish
aquarium. 1 Blue Throat trigger appx 4 in---- 1 niger trigger appx 4
in--- 1 Domino Damsel appx 1 in --- 2 blue damsels appx 1 in---1 damsel
(black w/ electric blue stripe, I forgot the name) appx 1 in---1
Squirrel appx 4 in--- <Yikes... going to need more room> 1
silver fish I believe its Mono-something <Monodactylus...>
which was originally a fresh water fish but is now a saltwater, it has 2
black stripes across the front and yellow going around the whole
exterior of the rear, <Mmm, M. argenteus> appx 4.5 in. I check
and maintain my water quality regularly. <Good> However, over
the past week or so, I noticed that the fish weren't acting right.
They're usually very lively and whenever I approach the tank they're
waiting in the front I'm assuming for food. And my Huma trigger appx
3.5 in was acting really weird since he was up on top of the tank by the
overflow and it looked like he was stuck but he wasn't. <Mmmm,
triggers can be "real jokers"> He was doing that for two days and
then he passed away about 4 days ago. Now my Blue throat trigger is
doing the same. <Time to be checking water quality, changing
water... maybe applying chemical filtration> he's up by the
overflow basically stuck on the drainage holes of the overflow, except
that he's not stuck because when I tried to move him, he turned himself
upright. He's just there all calm and not moving, and it seems as if
he's breathing a bit heavy. Oh yeah, and not to mention, my domino
damsel was acting very lazy about a month ago not really wanting to go
for food, and constantly fades to a whitish color. <Signs of
stress....> I thought that he was getting stressed or abused by the
other fish which I have not observed) so I separated him in a little
area all to himself in the tank. I've had all of these fish for appx. 1
year with no new additions. Looking at the fish, I don't see any spots
or signs of diseases. When I lost the Huma trigger, I did a very large
water change, about 45 gallons just to bring down my nitrate level
which always seems to hover around the 40-80 ppm, Id say its
about 50ppm. <Much too high> My ammonia level is consistently
0-.25 ppm, <Needs to be, stay zip> somewhere in between.
My nitrite level is always 0 ppm. and my high range ph is always at
appx 8.2 . However after the water change, all the readings still
remained the same, so I took out some bio balls from the sump, and went
out to buy a skimmer just last night. <Moves in the right
direction> I purchased a Coralife SuperSkimmer <... Proper nouns
are capitalized> (I know you guys recommend an Aqua C however, I
drove around all day and no one had them) <Etailers... Marine Depot
is their master distributor> and over the course of the night, it
took out a ton of waste, but my water levels are still all the same.
Please help, I don't want to lose my Blue throat trigger, and he's not
doing too well. What could be wrong with him? How can I help him?
<Mmm, improve the environment...> Should I give him a freshwater
bath? use copper? I'm lost. Is it the water quality that's getting
them sick? <Yes> (the water has been the same quality
throughout the year) How do I get my levels down? THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR READING MY LENGTHY EMAIL!! Sincerely Andrew <Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/index.htm Bob Fenner>
SICK Huma Huma Trigger; research, patience 3/1/07 Hello, I
really hope that you can help me. <Hello, and so do I.
GrahamT with you today.> I purchased an established tank about 2.5
months ago. The tank is a 46 gallon bow front with 10 lbs of live rock.
<Far less than useful. A *generalized* "rule of thumb" is 1:1
lbs/gallons. More is better...> The tank had a 2" yellow tang, a 3"
yellow tang, a 4" Foxface and two damsels. <Too little
room for these species, excepting the damsels.> It has a Penguin 250
filter, a Penguin 350 filter and a Seaclone 100 protein skimmer.
<This protein skimmer is regularly touted as one of the frequently
regretted purchases among hobbyists...> When we moved the tank we
kept about 2/3 of the water. <Very good idea.> After
setting up the tank we had the water tested and found out that it was
extremely dirty (no detectable nitrite or ammonia, but over 200 ppm
nitrate). <Wow! Could have a lot to do with stirring up
the substrate, or even lack of water changes on the previous owner's
part...> We proceeded to do 6 water changes in about a two week
period bringing the nitrate down to 80 ppm. <Still very
high, and likely stressing out your inhabitants.> After the last
water change the smaller yellow tang died. <Mmm, what is
your water source for the water changes?> The next day the larger
yellow tang would not eat and was hiding. <Not a good
sign...> A day later the large yellow tang died.
<Oh, even worse.> The guys at the fish store told us it was probably
due to the stress of moving them and all the water changes.
<Mmm, would not disagree, but without knowing more about the mix you
used for water changes...> I waited two weeks and then purchased a
Huma Huma Trigger. <D'oh! Did the nitrates come down below 40ppm?
Had the damsels seemed to look better? (I know they may have looked fine
the whole time) I hope this purchase was based on better water
conditions, and not JUST time gone by.> A week after that I
purchased a Flame Angelfish. <I have to say, this sounds
like someone wants to "fill" their tank, rather than stock with
appropriate selections and care for them as appropriately. Patience and
research is key to success in this hobby.> It has been two weeks
since I introduced the Huma and now it has also stopped eating and is
hiding. <This is very abnormal behaviour. Triggers are
notorious for the voracity. Unless this is a very small specimen (under
1.5") then I suspect your water quality has gotten away from you again.>
Could this be bacterial? <Anything is possible, but
current water test results are necessary in assisting you.> I don't
have a QT tank yet, do you have any suggestions on what I can do to save
this fish? <Take some water tests. Consider upgrading
the filtration and liverock compliment. Also, you didn't mention whether
you employ livesand or bare-bottom.> Also, the Flame Angel has a
white spot on her lip that has been there since I purchased her.
<Hmm... you should NEVER buy a fish that shows symptoms of disease. Put
a modest deposit on it and the LFS should be happy to keep it QT'd until
it looks better.> The fish store said it was probably Lymphocystis
and that it should go away on it's own. <Could, but
proper nutrition and water conditions help more than time will.>
However after a week it looks like it is just getting worse and she now
has a cloudy eye and a frayed tail. <I think you
need to get some test results and reflect on your purchases. You have to
keep in mind that these animals depend on us and require us to know
their needs, or else what is the point in keeping them? I used to work
at a retail fish store and we regularly refused business from customers
that we knew/suspected were buying fish over and over again only to kill
them through ignorance/negligence and laziness. I will quote a phrase I
use often: Many folks leave the marine hobby in failure due to their
lack of understanding and its subsequent devastating consequences. Fish
may be purchased with problems you don't see and aren't responsible for.
My intention is not to place blame or to make you feel inadequate or
inferior. Most of us have made this mistake, or worse ones. We all
(hopefully) learn from our mistakes. I think that most of the crewers
here at WWM will agree that they hope to prevent the unfortunate
side-effects of improper selection and lack or research that they
themselves (myself included) have caused. The information you need to be
a successful hobbyist is out there (or here!) and you owe it to you and
your fish to use it.> Foxface and damsels are still doing
good. HELP PLEASE! <Use the google search tool here for your
Centropyge loriculus's symptoms, and you will be directed to a FAQ list
of those symptoms. -GrahamT>
SICK Huma Huma Trigger; research, patience (pt.2) 3/2/07 Graham,
<Hello again.> Thank you for your response.
<You are welcome! Is what we do...> I really do want to keep these
fish alive and I feel horrible that I was probably the cause of their
death. <Woah! Don't be so quick to hate yourself here.
You don't know what the water conditions were when you purchased the
system. You may have practiced some patience, but in the end some of us
need to make mistakes to know their consequences.> I did purchase
"The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" book when I first got the tank
(before I added anything or did any water changes) and have read it
cover to cover twice. <A good read, no doubt.> In
the book it mentioned that there was no real proof that high nitrates
caused fish any harm and that most "fish only" systems run at high
rates. <This is true, there is no research into the
mortality of captive species that are housed in systems with too high
Nitrates. We do know, however, that the concentrations at sea are at or
near zero and that this is the environment we try hard to reproduce. I
would look at 40ppm as a "ceiling" for your FOWLR, with an occasional
peak into the 50's or 60's. This doesn't mean that your fish won't be
stressed about these levels, just that they might get to that point
before a water change. The other end of the spectrum is where we work to
keep the bio-load at a point where Nitrates are maintained below 15ppm
for FOWLR. It is possible to do with well, regimented feeding and the
addition of natural process (Refugium, DSB) that abate these toxins.
(All laid out in "TCMA")> After seeing no visible signs of infection
on the tangs (i.e., no reddening, color change, etc) after they died I
assumed the guys at the fish store were correct by saying that they
probably died due to the stress of moving them and all the water
changes. <This is possible, but hard to confirm. Either
way, I find myself wondering if you have some contaminant in your
system. Have you looked over our link on toxic tank syndrome? (
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/toxictk.htm ) I ask because, though
damsels are very very hardy, triggers are pretty tough in their own
right.> This was the reason I purchased the Huma and flame
<Flame angels are notoriously finicky about water conditions and stress
easily. A much more tolerant cousin is the Coral Beauty (Centropyge
bispinosa).> (I also did multiple water tests before purchasing
these two fish and everything checked out fine, <Relative. Numbers, if
you have them, are far more useful to me.> except the nitrates were
still high) <D'oh!>. I have since taken the flame back to the fish
store because I did not want her to get worse and die.
<A tough decision on your part. I think the right one.> They are
going to try to rehabilitate her. The Huma has gotten worse, so I
purchased a hospital tank (10 gallon) filled it with water from my main
tank and put the Huma in that tank to begin treatment for a bacterial
infection. <What are his symptoms again? Other than not
eating, I don't remember you mentioning any outward signs. > I does
not look like he is going to make it. <Have you
considered treating with Lifeguard marketed by Instant Ocean? (http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/details/medicine.php?product_ID=md-aslg016)
I mention it because it's a broad spectrum and rather gentle treatment.
Unfortunately, it is new enough that I don't have experience with it,
and there have been only a few blurbs that I've read lately on it's use.
On the good side, it seems very promising!> Two questions: 1. I
don't plan on purchasing anymore fish for a VERY long time, but if the
Huma lives I need to know if it will be too crowded for him.... My 46
gallon tank now has a Foxface (4") and two damsels (1"). I am planning
on upgrading to a 125 galloon tank next year. <If you
are sure about the timing of the 125-gallon, then you should be ok.
Wait! You never mentioned how big he is! Under 4 inches, he'd be ok for
a year or so. > How many fish could I keep HEALTHY in my 46 gallon
tank for the next year? <For clarification: You have two
damsels and a Foxface? With these inhabitants, and the trigger, you are
well (if not over) stocked.> Could I add the Huma back in or should
I try to upgrade to the 125 gallon now? <Would wait for a change in
behaviour from the trigger. You have moved him around quite a bit in the
past few weeks. That reminds me: did you ask whether the trigger was
caught or tank-raised?> 2. What can I do to get
the nitrates down? <Well:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nitratesmar.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nitratennr.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/denitrification_erfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nutrientcontrol.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/no3probfaqs.htm ...would help you gain an
understanding of the various opinions and techniques regarding nitrates
and the exportation/conversion.> (I use tap water for water changes
and condition it with PRIME and add CYCLE. Salt used is CORAL LIFE)
<Mmm... do you test your water before and after mixing? It is possible
that you have some unknown metals or other contaminants in your tap
water. I would consider trying to eliminate that area of possible
contamination by purchasing a small, effective De-ionizer
http://www.aquariumguys.com/tapwaterfilter.html . If you can afford
the up-front, then you could try an RO, but I like the DI for it's low
initial cost and you can set it aside guilt-free if your tap water is
actually fine after buffering. As far as Prime and Cycle go, I'm not
sure what you are trying to achieve by their use in this instance. Prime
is a dechlorinator/ammonia reducer, and useful in cleaning up (to some
degree) tapwater before using in a freshwater setup. You may find it
makes you feel better about using tapwater, but I think you should
invest in a better form of treatment here. Cycle, IMO, is not worth
trying, and I'm not sure what you are hoping for in it's use. If you are
medicating with anti-bacterials in a QT then you will be killing off
your nitrifying population, adding them back is not how you counteract
this, but with water changes. Frequent water changes.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/quaranti.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QuarMarFishes.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bestquarfaqs.htm > I have done about
10 - 20% water changes in the past 2 months and they have gone down from
200ppm to between 80 and 60 ppm but have not budged from the high
80-60ppm. <See above.> 3. If the Huma lives
how long should I keep him in the hospital tank before moving him back
to the main tank? <No less than 4 weeks, but preferably
6-8. You don't even know what he has, so premature introduction to the
display system may be, well, premature.> Also, is there something
more I can do for him besides treating him? <Keep his
environs pristine.> I am currently using a broad spectrum
anti-biotic because we have no idea what is wrong with him (no color
change, no spots) <See if you can entice him to eat live brine.
Maybe he's just too soon from the wild?> Thanks
again....I am still learning and I just don't want to be the cause of
anymore death. <A worthy cause. I applaud you for trying and for
pledging to be a saviour to your buddies. Spend some time reading here
on WWM and you may find something that jumps out at you. In the
meantime, provide excellent water quality, nutrition, low stress levels
and keep testing. -GrahamT>
Stupid trigger? Mmm, no, but going blind... from? 2/25/07
Hello, <Kwon> Thanks for all the wonderful info on your site.
They're really helpful. But I can't seem to find info on my problem.
I have a 3" clown trigger in a fish only 55 gal tank with 50lb live
rocks. <Mmm, you know this fish needs more room... can/will likely
become a terror...> I have him for about 8 month now. Lately, I've
notice that during feeding, he charges towards the sinking food and miss
it. He has no problem picking them off the floor. He also bumps into the
rocks a lot. Is there something wrong with his eye sight? I see no
physical damage on his eye nor body. <There is likely a nutritional
deficiency at play here... though the source of the problem could be
(smaller likelihood) an internal (eye) parasite... or even less likely,
a psychological result from the crowding...> He just survived an ick
attack about 4 month ago. Could that have damaged something? <Mmm,
yes... depending on how the fish/system was treated... it may have been
neurologically poisoned. Bob Fenner> Please advise. Thanks.
Kwon. Sick triggerfish
2/13/07 Hi. I have a 55 gal saltwater fish only tank.
<Too small a space for a Balistid...> pH, salinity, nitrates and
ammonia are all fine. <What's fine mean?> Niger Trigger
is 3-4 inches long and I have had him about 1 year. He is usually fairly
shy and hides whenever I clean the tank. <Typical behavior, eh?>
I cleaned the tank a week ago and he went into his shell as usual.
Sometimes he will stay there for hours. Once I did not see him
come out for 3-4 days. I was worried about him then but he finally
came out and seemed fine. Today he finally came out of the shell
(7 days). He never ate during this time and now he is propped up
against some coral. <Yikes... maybe got stuck...> I
actually thought he was dead but then I noticed his eyes looking around.
His color and fins look fine but yet he sits there at a 45 degree angle
and does not move. I think he is fairly sick b/c he usually is
swimming whenever he is out of his shell and he usually swims away from
me when I get up against the tank. Any ideas? Chris
<Where, when in doubt, a water change... and a trial with live food...
maybe some ghost shrimp... Try elevating your water temperature a few
degrees F.. Do you use supplements? I would try them here... See WWM re.
Bob Fenner> Sick Trigger
(Xanthichthys auromarginatus) – 01/17/07 Greetings,
<<Hello!>> First, I want to thank you for the work your doing
helping us make insightful decisions. <<Most welcome...truly a
pleasure to share>> I have a Blue Jaw Trigger, Xanthichthys
auromarginatus, <<Me too!>> that has not been well for two
weeks; it is very immobile, propping himself up on or over something
continually. <<Hmm, it's not unusual for this fish to occasionally
stop roaming/peer out at the world from its favorite cave...but it
shouldn't be lying around all the time>> He has been eating, but
only when fed directly and does not seek food. <<Mmm, should be
active/interested at feeding time>> A couple of days ago he began
spitting back out the large plankton, so I made a batch of food in the
blender of: shrimp, oyster, clam, Selco, formula II, and daphnia; it is
eating, but again only when basting directly toward his mouth. The
fish’s colour is about a six out of ten; there is yellow outlining the
tips of the fins with a dark band on the body at the fin's base.
<<The yellow margin on the fins is naturally occurring on a male X.
auromarginatus...but the dark band is possibly a sign if distress>>
Its distinctive dots and blue jaw are still clear. <<Good>> I
QT’d the fish. He was housed with a Sebae and its GSM since May (8
months). The tank is too small; it is a 70-gal bow front and has four
feet in front and back of the rockwork to swim with two or three nice
caves underneath in which he'd sleep. Many sites put the limits for
this fish at 75 gal, and I knew Bob recommends at least 100 gal.
<<Yes...or larger>> Occasionally needing to keep the money maker
happy I ordered the fish. There are no signs of trauma, or tumor. Are
these symptoms of small tank syndrome or something
recognizable/treatable? <<If the fish has not suffered some physical
trauma, then this sounds to me like an internal protozoan infection
(lethargy is a telling symptom here). These are difficult to treat, and
often by the time the symptoms manifest it is too late. The fact the
fish is still eating is a good sign and I suggest you try some foods
post-haste made for treating internal parasites (New Life Spectrum has
such a food).>> My wife is a veterinarian having many
medications/antibiotics available. <<Then perhaps try soaking some
thawed frozen food (mysis shrimp, chopped krill) with
Metronidazole. See here for information on dosages, cautions, etc. :
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/metranidazole.htm >> Lastly, I’ve
read to moderate length about hyposalinity, and while probably not a
cure, will reducing salinity ease fishes’ metabolic demands?
<<Though it can be of use in some situations (dips/baths), I am not a
fan of long-term hyposalinity for the “stress” it places upon the
fishes. They have evolved to live within certain saline parameters,
changing those parameters requires them to make adjustments/work harder
to maintain their osmotic balance >> I maintain a salinity of 35ppt.
<<Excellent...do keep it there>> Thank you, Robert <<Good
luck Robert...and please let me know how the treatment goes. Eric
Russell>> Huma Huma help
1/2/07 hello. <Hello, Graham here.> I have had a
catastrophe... and want to help save my last fish... I purchased some
turbo snails from the local pet store and after introducing them to my
75 gallon tank all my fish started scratching. I added Sea Cure and that
was the end of my marine life. I lost 2 clown 2 damsel 1 yellow tang and
my emperor angel.. now my trigger is left but he is still scratching
away at his side. he has his whole belly red and flakey now. what can I
do ? My tank was all zeros for no2, no3 and ammonia and a ph of
8.0-8.2.... I now have him out of the tank and in a quarantine.. he
seems to be fine but he is scratching his skin really bad...I an dosing
him with sea cure BTW. <Very hard to diagnose a problem like this
when you can't see it. Send a high-resolution .JPG that has been either
compressed in an image editor or to a .ZIP file. (Make sure the file is
no bigger than 500k, but preferably under 100k) If you cannot send a
pic, I recommend you try to work out an identification from our FAQs
using the search tool.>
Thanks
Josh
<Welcome.> <P.S. Bob F. : Please jump in if you see a red flag I'm
missing! -Graham> <<Mmm... copper poisoning... removing the copper,
hope, time going by... RMF>>
Sick Trigger - 10/21/2006 I have a Bursa who I have had for about
4 months now in a 55, With only a small puffer now. All levels are
fine. <I really hate this word fine when it describes levels. I
don't have a clue that what is fine for you is fine for me. I prefer no
ammonia, no nitrites, no nitrates. Is that your description of
fine? The reason I ask, is that I've seen what's happening to your fish
with problems of ammonia burn and ph problems as well. Could that be
what's happening in the tank?? About 3 weeks ago I bout a Dwarf
lion who I did not quarantine. After about one week the Lion jumped out
of tank and died while I was at work (forgot to close lid). The about
two day later my I found my Niger Trigger under my live rock almost dead
with his skin coming off. Quickly I quarantined him and treaded with
Quick cure which I had around but he died within the hour. I put my
bursa in quarantine then and treated just in case for 3 days and he
seamed fine. So I returned him. Then about 3 days later which is now he
has all his skin coming off and I can almost see blood threw his
skin. The puffer can't see at all now and just started running into
walls. I know this is a long e-mail but I really need help I don't
think I have much time. <This could be some type of bacterial
infection. I thought quick cure was for ick? I would suggest a broad
spectrum antibiotic into the tank although you don't mention if you have
corals mixed in with the live rock? I'm sorry that its taken so long to
get you a response I just found this email and responded immediately. I
would definitely consider a water change because fresh water always
helps and I would also consider some type of antibiotic if you believe
its an infection.> Thank you.
Trigger with Popeye--Help... no useful info. 8/21/06
I am currently treating my Picasso triggerfish for Popeye, he has had it
for quite some time and it looks as if his eyes are going to fall
out....I have moved him to a 20 gal and I have used two rounds of
TriSulfa <Of no use here> (5 days each) and one round of Maracyn
for 5 days, and he is not getting any better and is not eating ( he may
eat a bite of my homemade food once in a while) I am going to give
him a week or so with nothing but waterchanges before i try something
else. What should i use next and would it be beneficial to use a
sterilizer during the next week or so? Any help would be greatly
appreciated!! <... What do you consider a/the contributing cause/s
here? What re water quality, testing? The history of your care of this
fish? Other livestock... Bob Fenner>
Re: trigger with Popeye--Help 8/22/06 I am not
sure... maybe bacterial?? <Likely... at least secondarily> I
have had him in a 90 gal for almost four years, his eyes have always
somewhat ""stuck out"" the other fish (Naso tang, yellow tang, maroon
clown, sebae anemone and a tube anemone) <Oh... or negative
chemical, biological interaction with these last two, particularly the
Cerianthus... at least as a negative influence> are all fine, i
never really paid much attention to it as he has never really shown any
problems until i got back from vacation three weeks ago and noticed he
was biting at food during feeding but failed to get any, which made me
think he went blind....water quality is good, i do 25 gal a week water
changes, Ro water of course last test was .5 ppm nitrite, <Too
much... should be zip/nada> 40 ppm nitrate <Twice as high as I'd
tolerate> (slightly high but not real bad) 190-200 ppm alkalinity
and 8.2-8.3 PH... could it be some kind of genetic disease? <Not
much> About 2 1/2 yrs ago i had a problem with ich and lost a blue
tang and had to treat the tank with some form of antibiotic (not sure
what it was) that was given to me by a local shop owner. could it be
damage from then? <Good question... don't know> One thing that
has me baffled is that this fish had a white spot in each eye <Good
clue... more certain the source was/is environmental principally>
that he has had for almost the whole time i have had him, after the
TriSulfa one eye cleared from the white spot and the other has gotten
smaller and he isn't blind at least i don't think, but looks as if he
has a cloudy bubble over each eye...I have no other resource in town
other than the local pet smart (they know nothing) the other store is
now closed and he just maintains clients now and is impossible to get a
hold of...makes me wonder if the person watching over them while i was
gone had some sort of ""germ"" on there hands while feeding (highly
doubtful)..... Liz <A few problems... the Tube Anemone, poor water
quality... need addressing for the remainder of your livestock. Please
read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tubeanem.htm and the FAQs file linked
above, and use the search tool to find, read re nitrite, nitrates, env.
disease. Bob Fenner>
Triggerfish/Health 8/8/06 Hello, <Hello Brent>
I am writing to you because I am in a situation where I feel asking for
help may be the best thing to do at this point. I purchased a 3 1/2 inch
Undulated Trigger 3 days ago. After the usual acclimation period I added
him to his 75 gallon new home. Quarantine was skipped because this tank
is due to be stripped and redone in the near future and my 30 gallon QT
tank is occupied. All seemed to be the norm and after a few hours I
tended to my regular maintenance. I have a Aqua-C Remora pro w/ Mag 3
for a skimmer. I removed the sponge from the pump to clean it and never
thought twice about it being a problem. I left it off while I did other
things and eventually took a nap. After waking up and checking on my new
pet I found him stuck to the intake of the Mag/3. Like an idiot I
reached in to help him without first turning off the pump. More than
half of his one side is now a big hickey. He seems to be active. His
color (minus the sore) is normal. I would think that this fish would be
well on the road to recovery except he hasn't eaten. I have offered cut
shrimp, krill, formula one, trigger formula, squid and Mysis shrimp.
Here are my water readings. Temp 78 SPG 1.023 ph 8.3
ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 or lower The tank is fully
cycled and the only other fish is a 3 stripe damsel. I have added 10
teaspoons of Epsom salt. What else if anything can I do? <Give it a
little more time. Once the trauma period is over the appetite should
return if no internal injuries to the fish occurred. James (Salty Dog)>
Brent Dead Huma Huma
trigger... mis-placed 7/20/06 Hi. I was
emailing you to see if you knew of a disease a Huma recently had. I
bought the Huma and put in a 70 gal tank with a Niger and Undulated
trigger. <Oh yes... know already... a social disease...
psychological stress from mis-stocking, crowding> Other than normal
checking each other out at entry the fish were ok with each other.
<Uh, no> The fish ate the first day in the tank. The second day I
found the fish with his head pointed at the top of the tank near the
surface. <A submissive posture... "trying to get out..."> The
Huma did not eat and kept staying around the surface all day. I noticed
on his body color loss. The color loss started behind his trigger fin
and ran like a straight line down one side of his body. It was like
his body has divided in half with half looking normal and the other
half looking muted with color loss. The line ran from top to
bottom. The fish died within 6 hours after I noticed the line down his
body. I noticed after I moved him to a sick tank the other side
had started to do the same thing. I have not seen anything like this
before and wanted to know what it was? Can my other triggers get this
from the one I lost? The fish had been at the fish store for over a
month in a tank with another trigger and a lion fish before I bought
him. Thanks for you help, Chad <... These balistids can't be housed
together... not compatible behaviorally... Bob Fenner>
Sargassum Trigger Fish - 07/18/2006 Hi guys/girls
<<Hi.>> Quick question for you if I may :) <<Go for it.>>
I have a Sargassum Trigger Fish. <<Cool.>> I have had him
for a few months now. Slowly over this time he has become
progressively skinnier. Not really skinny, he eats a huge amount,
but just does not put on weight. I am just thinking he may have
worms. <<An internal parasite of some kind is likely.>> What
would be the best thing to worm him with? <<I use Levamisole, a
commonly available pig de-wormer.>> We don't have a huge range
of meds over here either, can you just use cat wormer? <<I’m not
familiar with cat meds.>> How much? How do you get it into them?
Soak some freeze dried krill in a solution of the Levamisole and
tank water. Do this for a few days.>> Thought of mixing with
food, but he tends to only eat whole things like mussel, white bait
etc. <<See above.>> Any ideas?? There is a photo of him
(attached) when I first got him. Thanks again Tim <<Glad
to help. Lisa.>> | 
|
A buddy's Picasso in distress.... - 04/05/2006 <Sab> I
had a quick question for ya.... I have a buddy at work (CC'd here) with
a 2" Picasso in a 40g tank with two other fish; <Gonna get
crowded...> water parameters all sound great, am going to double
check for him in case his test reagents are old/faulty. Sounds like a
decent setup given the inhabitants' current size; also, the tank's
in good shape/health aside from this little trigger. He's been in the
tank for 5 months and has started showing signs that he might be
blind. <Does happen> He tries to go for food and fails to find
it. He apparently acts as though he wants to eat, just can't see/get
the food. The only things I can think of that might be issues are
nutritional problems and toxic metals (copper, etc). <These are the
most common...> I think we've ruled out the latter though. The fish
are fed on frozen krill, Mysis, brine shrimp, and flakes. I've
suggested he start trying some frozen/thawed human-consumption
fish/shellfish meats, foods soaked in Selcon, maybe some Spectrum
pellets, but I'm just not sure if nutritional issues would blind a
fish? <Yes, can/do> I've read so in a couple of places,
but.... is there anything else that I'm missing? Other things that
cause blindness in fish/triggers? <Likely the third most common
"cause" are pathogenic/parasitic problems... next, too-bright/continuous
lighting...> Am currently recommending quarantining the critter so
he won't have competition for food and trying to get something into his
little concave belly. Any other thoughts? Also, Brent, the link
for the conference is
http://www.wmc2006.org - hope to see ya there! -Sabrina <Oh,
yes. And do send along a close-up pic of this fish's eyes if you can.
Bob Fenner>
Re: A buddy's Picasso in distress.... blindness
- 04/05/2006 thanks to both of you. I'll get a
close-up of his eyes soon. as far as lighting goes, i have a 50/50
skylight/actinic on a timer (no reef/coral set-up), so i don't think
that's it. <Me neither... Bob Fenner>
Bursa triggerfish 3/27/06 I have a question for
you guys, about my Bursa Triggerfish. I have had him for two days, and
he is eating fine. He lays around a lot behind the rocks, and comes out
every once and awhile, and then goes and hides. <To be expected...>
The night I first got him he dove into a tight hole and got stuck, and I
had to free him. <Can free itself> Two days later, I noticed he
had a whitish film covering different areas of his body. I think it's a
bacterial infection, so I have been treating with Pimafix. <Not a
good idea...> I would really appreciate if you could answer this
question for me. I would not like to lose this fish. <There is no
question posted. Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/fishindex3.htm scroll down to the
Triggerfishes area. Read re their Systems (yours needs a few hundred
gallons ultimately, at least sixty uncrowded right now for itself),
Compatibility, Disease... Bob Fenner>
Failing Undulate Trigger ...No, failed aquarist. - 2/15/2006
Hello. <<Hello Amber.>> I have a four year old Undulate Trigger.
He was recently moved (December) into a larger tank (40 gallons).
<<This fish reaches a foot in length. He needs a tank at LEAST double
this.>> All of his familiar shells/ornamentation was moved with him.
About a month went by before the algae started to show ("normal" levels
that have never bothered the fish here before); the algae were a mix of
the green and the red. Recently, the red algae began to "GROW" into
membrane-like coverings throughout the tank. This obviously did not make
trigger happy. <<Poor water quality is bugging him more, I ‘m
sure.>> Last Thursday I physically removed as much of the algae as I
could while I prepared to do the water change/ maintenance (I know I
should have changed/cleaned the filter sooner, but was out of carbon).
<<Not a compelling reason to skimp on maintenance.>> Between Friday
and Saturday, I cleaned as much as I could while I prepared the new
water/ treated it with buffer and Prime. I took a water test on
Saturday, and the Nitrite/Nitrate were off, everything else was within
ideal range. <<What does 'off' mean. Please give numbers. If you
were detecting nitrIte, something is very wrong in your tank. You need
to move your trigger into larger quarters.>> I had plans to do a 25%
water change, clean filtration etc. on Monday. <<Had plans? Did
you?>> Alas, Sunday Morning, trigger was not as vigorous as usual.
He came out of his shell only once for a quick nip and that was all.
<<He is being poisoned by his own waste. I’d be ornery too.>>
Sunday night, he wouldn't come out to eat, and was 'gasping' and looking
generally stressed.. I did a quick 10% water change. <<Not nearly
enough to keep toxins down.>> Monday afternoon the Trigger was lying
down outside of his shell, breathing rapidly, and otherwise NOT
swimming, even when I tried to 'nudge' him. <<Bad idea, will only
stress him further.>> I broke down the filtration (a magnum 350 with
activated carbon), cleaned the hosing, did the 25% water change, put a
bubbler in to give him more Oxygen. Tuesday morning the only change
was he is lying on the sand floor on the opposite end of the tank.. He
is not breathing as rapidly and does not look as stressed, but his color
is darker than normal, and he still will not swim or eat that I can see.
<<Doesn’t sound any better to me.>> I took water test, showed
ammonia ideal, Nitrite .5, Nitrate 40, PH and Alkalinity, showed high.
<<These subjective terms ‘ideal, high’ mean nothing to me. Please give
numbers. NirtIte showing is a sign of terrible water quality, and
a lack of appropriate cycling bacteria.>> I have new water again to
do another 10% water change today (Wednesday) & to remove as much red
algae as I can.. Is there anything else I can do for this fish??
<<Yes. Do LARGE (75%+) water changes as many times per day as needed to
keep ammonia and nitrIte at 0, while you go buy a larger tank.>> I
don't see any white spots or other discoloration, and frankly.. I am out
of ideas. <<It’s quite obvious what the problems are here.>> Any
advice would be helpful at this point. Thank you. Amber A.
<<Lisa.>> Re: Failing Undulate
Trigger ...No, failed aquarist. - 2/15/2006 You know, I e-mailed
you looking for help and advice.. NOT for mockery and debasement!
<<I did not mock you, Amber.>> Obviously we are aware that the
Trigger will need larger quarters. <<Was not even mentioned.>>
We have a 150 gallon tank that will be his future home; we are currently
researching equipment & environmental choices to see which would be the
best options. <<Awesome.>> When I say that ammonia is ideal, it
is because on the quick-strip test that is the readout option! There are
no numbers! <<Ah I see, hence the confusion.>> I realize nitrite
and nitrate are bad... if you were reading my e-mail, you would have
noticed I took IMMEDIATE steps to rectify those levels!! <<I did
read it; I simply feel/felt that larger water changes are in
order. Nothing rude in that.>> There was no need to mock my
maintenance methods... the scheduled maintenance was not due until the
last week of the month... so it is understandable that I did not have
carbon on hand. <<I did not mock you, just stated that lack of
carbon is not a reason to let water quality slide.>> But gee, thanks
for all your great advice! <<Although you are being sarcastic,
you’re welcome. If you set aside the fact that you think I mocked you,
you will see that I suggested larger quarters/water changes, and that
these are quite helpful. I am sorry, but there is no other answer to
give you.>> Meanwhile this trigger is very lethargic.. probably
starving...and I'm doing water changes every day (I only did 25% because
the action was stressing the fish more!) <<Even if so, reducing the
toxins in his water is the main concern here, and will kill your Trigger
if not corrected.>> So I'll continue doing daily water changes, with
hopes this fish will pull through, without any helpful
information/advice from you. <<Sorry you feel that way, but not
true. Lisa.>> Amber A.
Clown trigger
unable to eat - 2/11/2006 Hi, <Hello there> I have
had a 2" clown trigger for about 4 months now. Things have been going
well as he appears happy and actively swims around. However, over the
last week or so, I've noticed that he's no longer able to eat.
<!?> He is definitely trying as he eagerly bites at the food I put
in the tank. Unfortunately, he is unable to chew or bite through the
food at all. He'll even take food into his mouth, but then he
always spits it out. I have tried a wide assortment of items including
pellets, flakes, freeze-dried krill, seaweed and frozen
shrimp/scallops/mussels etc without any luck. I really worry there is
something wrong with his teeth, but I can't see any obvious
problems. I assume he is injured or deformed <Me too... likely the
former... from "running into something"> as everything I've read
about feeding triggerfish talks about how strong their jaws and teeth
are. Shouldn't he be able to easily devour all the above-mentioned
foods? <Yes> Do you think this problem will correct itself in
time or is my trigger doomed? <I do hope for the former>
Any recommendations, in terms of what to feed him or how to improve his
situation, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
-Jay <... really only "time going by" can/will tell here. Bob
Fenner>
Mysterious Trigger Deaths - 01/08/06 It is too late to help with
my problem but I hope you can give me advice on where things went wrong
for the future. <<Sorry for your troubles...I'll try to be of
help.>> I strongly believe in quarantine. At the end of October I
purchased a smallish female Blue Throat Trigger and put her in
quarantine. Things progressed very well and she began eating the second
day and was becoming less shy. On 11/21 I purchased a male Blue Throat
Trigger of about the same size as I had wanted to add a pair to my
display tank and thought it better to quarantine them together and add
them at the same time. <<Agreed. I too bought a pair of these fish,
though I acquired mine "as a pair".>> He was much shyer and more
skittish than the female was. Quarantine tank is 20 gallons, bare
tank with pieces of PVC of varying sizes for hiding places. <<Sounds
good>> I have a hang on filter with no media just for circulation
and to allow me to add carbon or other media if needed and a sponge
filter that I keep going at all times so it has as active bacteria
culture already. <<You've done your homework...>> I don't
normally add any medications unless there are specific disease
signs/symptoms. <<Ah! Excellent to hear. I too am a believer of
"treat only when 'absolutely' necessary".>> Display tank is 72" x
30" wide x 24" high and total system volume of about 250
gallons. Things progressed fine for a couple of weeks although the male
continue to be very skittish and would hide whenever anyone came near
the tank, or even walked into the room. <<Not really atypical
behavior. Once the fish is with other fish the hiding should become
less, though this specie likes having a "bolt hole".>> The female
was eating well and would stay out of hiding most of the time, even when
I approached the tank. <<My experience was similar.>> Near the
holiday time neither fish displayed any disease symptoms at all but the
male was still skittish and would only eat if I added the food to the
tank and then left so I decided to leave them both in the Q-tank a bit
longer hoping he would get more accustomed to things. <<Mmm, that is
a bit surprising/disturbing. Mine will often dive for cover if I make a
rapid movement, but always comes out for food while I stand and
watch. But still, fish are individuals...>> Around 12/31 (5 -6
weeks in quarantine for the male and 8 weeks for the female) his
behavior got stranger and he started zooming around the tank, running
into the walls, or trying to jump out and banging against the top of the
tank. <<Uh oh>> He stopped eating and spent most of the time
hiding in the corner behind the sponge filter unless startled by someone
coming into the room or the lights coming on. A few days later the
female started acting the same way. Both stopped eating. Wednesday of
this week, 1/4, the male died. There were no spots or unusual areas on
his body, no bloating, eyes clear, fins intact with no problems. Female
was exhibiting same symptoms so I decided to treat with an antibiotic
just in case as I figured things couldn't get any worse. <<I tend to
agree...though I think this may have been an internal parasite...very
difficult to treat.>> I was using Maracyn and Maracyn Two which the
directions told me could be used together. This morning the female was
dead. <<Likely too little too late...though I'm not sure there
was/would have been anything you could do.>> She did seem to have a
little bloating in the abdominal area but otherwise, no outward signs at
all. I am very distressed over the loss of these two fish and feel very
responsible. <<I understand>> What should I have done
differently? <<Hmm...maybe nothing...possibly a separate
quarantine. Is possible the male was malaffected when purchased, and
subsequently infected/affected the female...but then hindsight is always
20/20 my friend. Also possible this was (in both cases) merely the
result of poor collection/mishandling... I still support your stand on
not treating/pouring chemicals in to the tank unless you're absolutely
sure what you are treating. Even then, not much (if anything) you could
have done. Purely my own opinion here, but based on your statements I'm
inclined to believe these fish were doomed before you ever got them.>>
I haven't decided if I want to try again or just leave my display as it
is. <<If I may suggest... If you try these fish again (wholly
worthwhile in my estimation), ask to have them collected/shipped from
Hawaii. Shorter transit time and good collection/holding
practices...all which increase survivability. Also use a LFS that will
quarantine/ensure the fish are feeding properly before purchase, if at
all possible.>> Thanks. Mickey <<Regards, EricR>>
Blind Triggerfish 9/29/05 we have a 325 gallon marine tank
with 7 fish - mostly triggers. <Mmm, not found mixed like this
in the wild... trouble> One of them is a Pinktail
trigger. About 2 weeks ago his stomach appeared to be sunken in and
he wasn't eating. Soon after we noticed that he appeared to be
blind. <Happens... avitaminoses... as with humans> He's
constantly bumping into coral - swims full force right into
it.......and is now afraid to swim too far it seems - just sorta
wedges himself in one main area. He is absolutely unable to detect
food by sight. We've been hand feeding him previously frozen fish
wedged in a drinking straw and although he clearly wants to bite and
will voraciously search for the food when it comes near, he can only
take a bite when we place the fish directly in his mouth. This
method is working for now but I'm really perplexed as to how or why
this happened. Is it reversible? Any advice would be appreciated.
<May be reversed... by moving the fish into a small tank, basically
"hand-feeding" it with tongs, large meaty foods, soaked in liquid
vitamins... will not likely be able to be placed back in the main
system. Bob Fenner> | 
|
Discolored Clown Trigger... poor mix, environment (Marina Looks for
Photos..) I have a 4 month old Long 30 gallon tank. heavily
filtered. Prizm (H.O.T.) skimmer, old school gulf stream wet dry filter,
8 lbs live rock, phosphate absorbing media, carbon, PolyFilter. Also
left in the undergravel filter, (covered by very little gravel) with 2
powerheads to pump the fish waste back up to the skimmer (ideally.)
<Mmm, am sure you realize the requirements of substrate with UG filters,
their shortcomings/strengths> I have more bio balls on order to
increase the nitrifying bacteria for the system. I currently fight the
nitrite with heavy skimming and a 1/3 water change weekly. currently
levels are 2.5 PPM nitrite and 30 ppm nitrate. everything else is ideal.
<... any nitrite is dangerous...> I have 1 Niger trigger 2.5
inches, 1 nano undulating trigger 1 inch, <<A what?>> 1
Royal Gamma 2 inches (lives in barnacles) 4 brave and fast damsels
3 Emerald Crabs (clean up crew) and a 2 inch clown trigger. <...
crazy to have this much fish life in an uncycled system> everyone
gets along. <Mmm, for now perhaps... apparently> - I know that
your recommendations are for huge tanks with triggers, but I live in NYC
and the triggers live as we do, in well laid out, small quarters.
sleeping places for all and a good circuit to do laps. I do not want to
reduce stock or trade in until they grow too big 1+ inch growth. I
purchased the clown trigger 3 weeks ago. The clown trigger survived and
ich infestation 10 days ago. I treated with a 5 minute fresh water dip,
and then treated with copper. When I bought the clown it had some
discoloration, but was eating well, and was an excellent price retail at
$49.00. I decided to bring it home and with TLC bring it back to
fighting strength. After undergoing medication, the clown is eating
well, although only brine shrimp or Mysis. Does not seem to have the
desire to attack the krill like the Niger. On one side of its body
the colors are perfect. The photo attached is of the other side.
There are white discolored patches. under close observation, it does not
look to be fungus. Although the fins have some white bits forming,
perhaps bacteria attacking post ich? <Mmm, no, at least not
immediately, directly the problem... the source of troubles here is/are
environmental... nitrite, likely transient ammonia, too much stress from
unnatural assortment, crowding> Also the pectoral fins appear to be
enduring some rot. I am going to the LFS to buy some Maracyn, is this
the best course of action, given I am dedicated to not making tank size
change or destocking? Also how long should scales take to grow back if
scrapped from netting or shipping? <Mmm, no... antibiotics period are
not a good idea in main/display systems... this one, Erythromycin is not
a good idea period> Thanks for your help, your site is very
interesting. - JR <Keep the nitrite down below 1.0 ppm... through
huge water changes, careful feeding, add more substrate, get a bigger
tank/s. Bob Fenner> Re:
Discolored Clown Trigger Thanks for your advice. I think I will
definitely de-stock the tank. Leave the nano undulating and clown. The
Niger is growing very fast and it will get ridiculous soon. Do you know
of internet fish exchange site where hobbyists sell/trade/donate
livestock to each other? <Mmm, not fishes... likely better to trade
locally... through a LFS likely... for credit> I added the
antibiotics which I now realize was the wrong move. how should I go
about removing them? Just more huge water changes? Thanks again for your
insight. Moving to Australia in a year. Will then set up the 100 gallon
and collect instead of purchase. looking forward to it. - JR <The
water changes and use of activated carbon ought to do it. Bob Fenner>
Niger Trigger problems, spots yea hi my name is Kevin I just
bought a Niger trigger and I noticed that there are white spots on
its fins but only near the tip of the fins and that there's white
patch's on my triggers skin. The white patches are
barely visible though. I was wonder if the white spots are ich and
if the white patch's are marine velvet. <Not likely>
if they are please tell me how to treat them. Overall my trigger is
not acting like it has a dieses. It doesn't have cloudy eyes, it
doesn't swim weirdly, it doesn't act weirdly, it eats,
etc. But please tell me what it is and what soul I do to help my
trigger. thanks for you time <These marks, spots are likely
encysted worms... not treatable, may "go away" of their own accord, not
spread-able to other fishes... I would just keep your eye on them, lest
this is something else. Bob Fenner>
-Survival of The Fittest- Crew- thanks for your great site
<Thank you> A story and a question: <Sure, you have Justin here.>
Yesterday I did a water change in my 90gal FOWLR. Also bought a couple
more lbs of cured LR (yes, really cured at the LFS). When adding the LR,
I removed a fake coral piece that I had purchased but never really liked
in the tank. <Everyone says aquascaping is never done in their tanks
heehee I know the feeling.> When changing water in my tank, all the
inhabitants do a Houdini- they all disappear. <No To them the hand of
god just appeared and its time to get outta the way .> I figure this
is good as it means there is sufficient hiding places in the tank. After
the water change was complete, all seemed well. I checked out the tank
after about an hour and noticed that my 4" Picasso trigger had not
reappeared. He has a normal hiding place in large piece of coral
skeleton so I figured he was still hiding. Unusual but not yet reason
for alarm. After about another hour - still no Picasso so I started
looking/wondering. <Done this with an eel several times and a wrasse.
I feel your pain.> Used a flashlight to checkout his normal hiding
space and no sign. Checked out the floor around the tank in case he
escaped without me noticing. Still no sign. Pondered this for a few
minutes and then realized the one piece of fake coral removed earlier
was hollow. The fake coral was not yet put away and was still on a towel
on the floor by the aquarium. When I checked there - I had a oh sh@#
moment. The trigger had wedged himself inside of the coral. His trigger
was out and was stuck into the coral. He had been out of the water for
almost 2 hours. I had screwed up and killed one of my favorite fish. :(
I reached into the coral to remove the dead fish and he surprised me and
moved! I quickly filled a bowl of water from the tank and "unstuck" his
trigger from the coral. <Ok, usually not recommend touching the fish,
rather simply submerging the whole coral, however its a heat of the
moment thing, so good save.> He fell into the bowl and immediately
tried to jump out. With the help of my son, we got a cover over the bowl
and held him there for a few minutes. When introduced back into the
tank, he quickly found his normal hiding place. He has since come out,
looks fine and is eating well and acting normal. I figure I'm lucky
enough to own "one tough fish." My question(s)- Is it normal for a
fish to be able to survive 2hrs out of the water? Is there anything I
can or should do to for the trigger? <Well Yes and no. Triggers are
notorious for their incredible survival. It is not normal in my
experience for fish to live for so long outside of water, However the
coral might have had water in it etc, it does not matter, the fish is
alive and eating. All you can do for it is to give it time, Its stressed
some, but the eating is a great sign that it is doing fine. Id simply
enjoy your fish and be careful while aquascaping. :) > <Justin
(Jager)> -A Niger Fakes
it- <Hello> I bought a Niger triggerfish a week ago. <Did
you Q/t this fish?> He seems very active with my damsel, but when he
stops moving he lays on his left side on the bottom of the tank in the
same spot. <Well they do tend to have personality "quirks" and each
does different things to get us to pay attention.> Is this normal
behavior of this fish? <Could be, But I really need to know if this
fish was q/ted or even freshwater dipped as it might be sick. Is it
eating well, swimming normally and not having any spots etc?> I have
just a 20 gal. tank with crushed coral bottom and 5 live rocks. <Ok
here is the problem, Not only was it not q/t ed its in a tank that is
way too small for this fish. While it may be fine now and the laying on
the substrate is normal (Mine does it sometimes to get more food), it
will get way too large for this tank and will get sick soon if it isn't
already. I hope your tank is not infected with any diseases from this
fish, but please quarantine your fish for at least 4 weeks before
putting them in your display. If any of them are sick or have ich then
they will infect everything and its a hassle to get everything well.
Also please research your fish on WWM before buying them. This fish will
get 8" to 15" or more in some cases. Can you handle a 80-120 gallon tank
for it?> Thanks, John <Justin (Jager)>
Niger Trigger Hello, <Hi. You Got Justin> I'm not sure who
to contact or who to ask, I've been reviewing some of the information
your site has about Niger triggers, Anyways I have a 3/4 inch long Niger
trigger...and it seems to be hiding a lot during the day and laying
around (from what I've read so far this is normal) <Yes and no....
Nigers normally swim very actively during the day and only hide when
they are stressed or are being picked on or are sick with something. I
am leaning toward the third.> But, my concern is this; his eyes are
REALLY glazed over. Everything else seems to be fine, but I'm worried.
All the chemical levels are correct, and all of my other fish are
completely fine. I have an angel, two clowns and a couple damsels.
<Well it really only helps us to know the exact levels in the tank.
Otherwise we cant simply take your word for it.> If you have any
ideas...or know anything that might help him I would be very thankful
~Chris <Sure Well first I would catch the Niger and put it in its own
Q/T tank for observation. The cloudy eyes are usually a symptom of poor
water quality. By Q/T ing it you can help it by constantly having very
high water quality and in case it is ill with something else it prevents
any more transfer into your main tank. To help the fish for now go get
some Epsom salt. Its sold at your grocery store. Put in 1 TSP (teaspoon)
per every 5 gallons to help relieve any excess water pressure behind the
eyes. Simply watch this fish and remove from q/t once the eyes heal. If
they wont after giving good water quality and the Epsom salts, you might
try a cloudy eye medication, but I really recommend this as a last
resort. > <Justin (Jager)>
Injured Niger Trigger... Help! I have a Niger Trigger, which has
been in the tank for about 1 year. He's been very healthy, with no
apparent problems. I noticed recently, however, white tissue surrounding
his trigger. When I check on him today, the trigger is actually dangling
from his body. I don't know if it was bitten off by another fish, or if
he injured himself. Is this something that will correct itself (i.e.
grow back), or is Nigel, my favorite fish, in trouble? Thanks for any
help you can provide. Maria <Wow! It takes some doing to damage the
trigger mechanism of balistid fishes... I have a few (collected from
beaches) of these anatomical beauties... they're strong! I suspect your
Nigel must've really banged himself on rock, or maybe the top... Won't
regrow but he will very likely live in your good care just the same. Bob
Fenner> Niger trigger with
bad tooth I have a niger trigger with a bad tooth and I'm not
sure what to do about it, <Uh, nothing... naught to do, can be
done> I'm guessing he bit at one of the rocks too hard and pulled it
loose. The tooth looks as if it's just lying across the bottom lip and
I've noticed he doesn't have much of an appetite. Please help!!!!!
<Does happen... have even seen this and other trigger species in the
wild with broken, missing teeth. Very likely this fish's appetite will
return. Bob Fenner>
Niger trigger infection Dear WWM
crew <Tristan> Please can someone come to my rescue, I have a
juvenile Niger trigger in my 60 gal reef tank, and have had him for
about 1 month he has settled down wonderfully is not aggressive at all,
not too bold or too shy, recently I noticed that his right eye was a
little larger than his left, over the past few days this has grown
noticeably worse, I estimate that his eye is almost 3-4 times the size
of the other one with a white circle surrounding it (this may be his
skin stretched) I cannot see any stress patterns on his coat, or other
symptoms his behaviour has change completely very aggressive to other
fish (green Chromis and clowns) snapping his mouth and violently
banging his head/eye against rock, coral, glass. <Time to move and
treat this fish... in a separate tank> He is the largest fish in the
tank, although it is a reef tank it has only a few soft corals and no
anemones, I have performed 2 water changes since, I use marine salt with
RO water parameters are good the tank is about 5 months old, no other
fish show signs of illness, at the moment I feed him Mysis shrimp,
marine flake, and small amounts of mixed sea weed. If any one has
encountered this before please can you advise on a possible treatment
method, I do not think Ol' Evil Eye Ivan will make it through the
rest of the week without immediate action, I have to try something but
am at a loss, I have a small 10 gal tank that can be retro fitted to act
as treatment tank if that helps. Thank you all Tristan <DO
move this fish... with the water it's already in... to a darkened tank,
with something chemically inert for it to hide behind/within AND add a
level teaspoon of Epsom Salt per gallon in its water... DO monitor
ammonia accumulation, and be ready to change out the treatment tank
water with the old system water re-adding whatever gallonage removed in
Epsom... if the ammonia approaches/exceeds 1 ppm... Your trigger likely
just bumped its eye and does NOT require any chemical medicine other
than the Epsom. Bob Fenner>
Triggers Scratching I'm not sure if this is the right email to
send questions to, but I saw your name on WetWeb, and thought I'd fire
off a quick question for you. <No worries it got to the right place.>
(Have your books by the way, outstanding.) <I got to say Bob Fenner is
amazing, but you got me, MacL with you tonight.> -I've been battling
with Niger, Blue Jaw Triggers scratching in my FOWLR set up. (100
gallons) <hmmmm> -Have a Wet Dry, UV, Good Protein Skimmer, good
circulation -Fish eat aggressively but have been scratching for about a
year now. On the sand, and the rocks. <That's truly usually a sign of
parasites but could be something else irritating them. Have you
grounded the tank to make sure its not electric current?> -Tried,
KickIch, Copper, etc (knowing I was messing up my live rock) -I've
tried raising the temp to 80, lowering the salinity to 1.018. <Did any
of these things help?> -Feeding with Garlic Juice and Selcon, seems
to help slightly, not much. <Selcon is vitamin C, Garlic is supposed to
keep parasites from digging in. The fish aren't supposed to "taste" good
after eating the garlic.> -Increased water changes to improve
maintenance practices, but haven't noticed much change. Do triggers
just scratch, or is there something in my tank causing this problem?
<Triggers do scratch but usually there is a reason and its usually some
type of parasites. Have any of the things made any difference at all.>
Anything I can try at this point? <There are so many things it could be
and I don't want to leave you here floundering. Please take a look at
the FAQs and see if you have tried everything there. Have you considered
a freshwater dip on your triggers? Sometimes that is really good for
getting rid of parasites. Have you seen ANYTHING on your fish at all?
Usually around the gills? Please let me know, MacL> Thanks Bob,
Dave Block
Twitching Trigger (not finger) Hey guys,
quick question for one of you? Since you're always here and always have
given me valuable feedback, I chose to continue to ask questions when
I'm stumped. <Learn to use your spell and grammar checkers...> I
just took a humu trigger out of QT for over a month because of Oodinium.
I did exactly what the directions said and he had full treatment of
copper. I now just put him in my display tank and he's doing well except
for the fact that he keeps twitching mildly. <Likely from the copper
exposure> He has not a single white spot nor is he sitting on the
bottom. What do you think the cause of this twitching may be? He also
always has his trigger up and his coloration is real dark. Thanks,
Jay <Bob Fenner> -
Picasso Trigger Needs Help - Hiya, I have a Picasso Trigger
and a Volitans Lion in a 75 gal. (1) Fluval 304; (1) Fluval 404. Lately
noticing the Trigger is having trouble seeing. He can't quite grasp the
food so I've resorted to putting it on a skewer for him. It appears as
though both eyes are larger than before w/ white circles around them at
the base. No signs of parasites (at least externally). Water
quality: salt = 1.021; ph = 8.2; nitrates = tend to be on the high side;
ammonia & nitrites = 0. When the Lion was first introduced I caught
the Trigger nibbling on his fin and wonder if perhaps he's been poisoned
in same way or stung and could this lead to eye problems or trouble
seeing. <Is a possibility.> Now that he's having trouble seeing,
he's getting in the way of the Lion during feeding and therefore the
Lion is turning on his side and then the Trigger gets into his fins.
He's going into a 20 gal QT. <Excellent.> After searching your
FAQ's I read about using Epsom Salt, but that all appeared to be for
pop-eye. <I would treat as such anyway... think the Epsom salt could
help reduce some of the pressure in those eyes.> Not sure if this is
the same thing so wanted to double check before using something.
<The Epsom salts are safe to use in the quarantine tank. As an aside, if
the trigger was actually envenomated in/near/around the eyes, there is
likely little you can do. All the same, I'd give a good try at getting
it to eat and you've already outlined the steps that I would take. Make
sure you have plenty of new water made up so you can provide frequent
water changes in that 20 gallon tank.> Please help. Your site is
always informative and extremely helpful...thank you for always being
there for us hobbyist! ;) <Cheers, J -- > 
|
Parasite on trigger? Pics Hi Bob, <James here today>
I've gotten a new Bluejaw trigger within the last few days that I
purchased off of the internet. I noticed that he has something
attached/coming out of one of his fins. Is this some sort of
parasite, and if so, what is the best way to remove it? Here are a
couple pics, one of the general fish, and the second of a zoomed in
portion of the best pic I could get of the affected fin. <Chad,
I would leave well enough alone. You will cause more stress on the
fish that any damage this will cause. Appears like he picked up a
"sliver" of some kind. I think it will work itself out in time.
James (Salty Dog)> | 
|
Sargassum trigger fish in trouble Hi, <Hello Jeri> I just
posted to your 911 topic site and am not sure how long it takes. So I
figured I would go this route as well. I have a 46gal. saltwater tank.
Up until last night we had 2 clownfish, 1 Sargassum trigger, 1 potters
angel, and a blue tang. Also have 4 turbo snails & blue & red crabs.
We noticed our clowns swimming and laying at the bottom yesterday, but
eating very well. Later in the day I noticed some white patches on their
skin. I called our regular fish store and asked what we should do. They
said watch the fish because it could be stress from adding the Blue tang
on 6/19/05. this morning both clowns were dead. Our trigger stopped
eating yesterday has some white spots, eyes a bit cloudy and not
swimming much today. The potters is pale in color but swimming and
eating well. Blue tang looks great. we do not have a QT tank. We
are trying to set one up quickly, any advice is appreciated. Our
regular fish store is closed until Thursday and I don't know if our
trigger can hold on that long. Please help . I love this fish and
would hate to lose him. <Jeri, your tank is a little small for keeping
the fish you have. I'm sure the bio filter didn't adjust in time and
you had an ammonia spike. I would change about 25% of the water for
starters and return the blue tang. Even without the tang, some of
the fish you have grow quite large and will be producing more waste than
the system can handle. James (Salty Dog)> Thank you, Jeri
Foraker
Sargassum trigger fish in trouble Thank you for your response. I
do appreciate it. <You're welcome> We did a 50% water change right now.
However the ammonia test is still at .25ppm. The tang is pretty small
right now. We were told that she will eventually outgrow this tank. The
trigger is our largest fish at about 4in. How much larger will he
grow? We were told about 5.5in. How much larger will the Potters grow?
We were told not much bigger than he is. <The Potters don't get much
larger than three inches.> I am a little disappointed in our LFS. We
only bought from them and they knew tank size and other fish in tank.
<Time to look for a new one.> The trigger was looking better after
the water change, but now he is sitting at the top of the water directly
under the filter. Is realistic to believe we can save him? <Jeri, I
think I would start with a healthy diet if the fish is
eating. Something on the order of Ocean Nutrition frozen cubes soaked
in Selcon. AS to size, most triggers can attain lengths of up to twelve
inches. James (Salty Dog)>
Re: Sargassum trigger fish in trouble! I have attached some
photos of the trigger. Who is amazingly still alive. He is worse on
his left side and that is the eye that is bulging. We did a 12
minute freshwater dip (lots of white stuff falling off) and put him
in a quickly set up QT. After the dip he seemed to have a beard. If
that makes any sense. The ammonia level was still at less than
.25ppm. Not sure why as we used purified water to set up. <Mmm,
the system is not "completely cycled"... something going on with
your biological filtration... a lack thereof> Anyway the QT has
less ammonia then the main tank did. So we figured it had to better
than just doing nothing. We did use some Amquel+ to help with
ammonia. We will clean the tank again tomorrow. Hopefully he pulls
through this. Please let me know if you think this is ich or are
we dealing with something else. <...> Thank you so much for
all your help! Jeri <Triggers are tough... hopefully yours
will recover... Keep monitoring nitrogenous poisoning, levels... and
read on WWM re cycling, Triggerfish health. Bob Fenner> | 
|
Sargassum trigger fish in trouble The trigger died this morning.
Our tang died last night. We still have our potters angel who looks good
and is eating. The fish store is open today and they asked us to bring
the fish in with a water sample. Hopefully they will be able diagnose
what went wrong. Any recommendation on how to find a good, reputable
fish store in Boulder, CO? <I'd look in the yellow pages, visit a few
stores and ask customers if they are happy with the service they are
receiving. Ask the dealer about return policies, exchanges, etc, and
make a decision. It is best to arm yourself with knowledge of the fish
you are buying (easily found on the WWM), and it's requirements as to
tank size, compatibility, etc. Then ask the dealer the same questions
you now know and compare answers. I've been to dealers who showboat
their customers with bs. Also had a dealer tell me mandarins will do
just fine, no live rock/copepods needed to sustain life. James (Salty
Dog)> Thanks again, Jeri
Re: Sargassum trigger fish in trouble 7/5/05 Unfortunately, we
lost all of our fish.<Sorry to hear that.> Good news is we think we
know what went wrong. Looks like Oxygen levels became a problem which
cause the stress that allowed secondary problems to emerge. A very harsh
lesson to learn, especially as it cost the life of these beautiful
animals. <Yes indeed> We are allowing the tank to stay empty for at
least 30 days just in case. We do have some snails and hermit
crabs that are doing well. <Good> We have a 46gal tank with a
Penguin 350 bio filter, and 1 aqua clear powerhead rated for a 70
gal. tank. My question is how can we better oxygenate the water
here in the mile high city of Denver? What can we do or
change? I've heard switching to a sump filter (Is that the same as
a wet/dry filter?) or adding a protein skimmer. <I'd start with
making sure you have at least 460 gallons per hour of circulation. A
wet/dry would be the best way of improving your oxygen levels. The bio
balls in the sump breaks the water down that allows for near 100% oxygen
saturation. If you have an air pump you could drill a hole the size of
the airline tubing and put the line in the bio ball chamber.> By the
way I was looking at the articles on the website and the one on
aeration is blank. Just thought you should know. <I'll pass this on
to Mr. Fenner.> <<Is yet another, as yet unwritten article/place holder
for a FAQs file. RMF>> Thanks for your help. <You're welcome, James
(Salty Dog)> Jeri Re:
Sargassum trigger fish in trouble 7/5/05 I am not sure I
understand when you say 460gph of circulation. Is that from the filter,
powerhead, or combination of both? Our filter does 350gph & powerhead
does 400gph. Should both the filter & powerhead be rated for 460gph? <A
combination of all. James Gasta (Salty Dog)> Hope you have a Happy
& Safe 4th of July. <I'll have a safe holiday unless I get hit by
lightning. Daughter's wedding coming up....keeping us broke.
Thanks, Jeri Twitching
Trigger (not finger) Hey guys, quick question for one of you?
Since you're always here and always have given me valuable feedback, I
chose to continue to ask questions when I'm stumped. <Learn to use
your spell and grammar checkers...> I just took a humu trigger out of
QT for over a month because of Oodinium. I did exactly what the
directions said and he had full treatment of copper. I now just put him
in my display tank and he's doing well except for the fact that he keeps
twitching mildly. <Likely from the copper exposure> He has not a
single white spot nor is he sitting on the bottom. What do you think the
cause of this twitching may be? He also always has his trigger up and
his coloration is real dark. Thanks, Jay <Bob Fenner>
Triggers, copper Ok thanks. In your book you mention that
triggers have high tolerance to copper treatments. Considering, I did
exactly what the directions said and didn't overdose, how come this
affected mine? If his twitching is from copper exposure, does this mean
it damaged him permanently? Will this ever stop? Thanks again
<Likely your balistid will be fine. Bob Fenner> |
|