Kent Garlic Xtreme Questions

[houser]

If you wanted to do everything you can for the fish you would put him in a QT tank, figure out what is actually wrong with the fish, and treat accordingly.
If you don't want to do really figure out what is wrong and treat, feed the crap out of him (which you should do for any new animal). As many times a day as he will take food.

You have a Q-tank and it's the one it's in. Don't add any more livestock to it for quite some time now.
Food = good because having a few extra ounces on the fish for when it really gets bad is only going to help. Then you won't panic as much if it drops off the feed for a while.

Lots of good water changes, keep toxins low.

Oh yeah - don't panic. Hard to do but keep a level head. Give the fish some space.

 

[GreshamH]

2) Put the fish in a clear container, take him to the LFS, and ask
what is wrong with him and what to do. (Unless LFS=Petco or Walmart)
If you do not get a half decent answer, go to a different store.

Horrible idea with such a hyper and easily scared fish such as a BSJ. I have seen them die just by having too much action in front of their tank. They freak out very easily and that can really do some damage to them.

 

[tuberider]

2) Put the fish in a clear container, take him to the LFS, and ask
what is wrong with him and what to do. (Unless LFS=Petco or Walmart)
If you do not get a half decent answer, go to a different store.

Horrible idea with such a hyper and easily scared fish such as a BSJ. I have seen them die just by having too much action in front of their tank. They freak out very easily and that can really do some damage to them.

Not to mention that the majority of LFS employees have very limited knowledge when it comes to any specific pathogens/infections.

 

[Thales]

2) Put the fish in a clear container, take him to the LFS, and ask
what is wrong with him and what to do. (Unless LFS=Petco or Walmart)
If you do not get a half decent answer, go to a different store.

Horrible idea with such a hyper and easily scared fish such as a BSJ. I have seen them die just by having too much action in front of their tank. They freak out very easily and that can really do some damage to them.

Not to mention that the majority of LFS employees have very limited knowledge when it comes to any specific pathogens/infections.

Exactly - they won't be able to tell you anything more than it looks like some kind of infection. Though I love LFS, even the good ones aren't necessarily a good spot to try to get this kind of specialized info.

 

[tuberider]

They'll try and sell some garlic extreme for the problem!!

 

[Euphyllia]

If it is a bacterial infection, treat with a broad spectum antibiotic from the LFS. Almost any of them will do, and not really knowing what you are treating for makes it hard to be specific.

Are they reef-safe? As I said, I can't really set up a QT tank, and if I did I personally believe (with this freak-out type of fish) it would kill the fish due to more stress.

 

[Thales]

If it is a bacterial infection, treat with a broad spectum antibiotic from the LFS. Almost any of them will do, and not really knowing what you are treating for makes it hard to be specific.

Are they reef-safe? As I said, I can't really set up a QT tank, and if I did I personally believe (with this freak-out type of fish) it would kill the fish due to more stress.

No they are not.
If you are confident that it is an infection I would set up a small QT bucket/tank risking the freakout. Infections rarely go away by themselves (though rarely they can clear up) and without treatment, they will kill the fish.

 

[Euphyllia]

If it is a bacterial infection, treat with a broad spectum antibiotic from the LFS. Almost any of them will do, and not really knowing what you are treating for makes it hard to be specific.

Are they reef-safe? As I said, I can't really set up a QT tank, and if I did I personally believe (with this freak-out type of fish) it would kill the fish due to more stress.

No they are not.
If you are confident that it is an infection I would set up a small QT bucket/tank risking the freakout. Infections rarely go away by themselves (though rarely they can clear up) and without treatment, they will kill the fish.

If I decide to do that, how long would it take for the infection to go away? Would it be a matter of days or a matter of week? I don't think he'll survive more than a week in a bucket due to the timidness of jawfish and the stress induced by changing environments again.

 

[houser]

I think timing depends on what is actually wrong
Get some PVC pipe ready. And water for water changes. Test for ammonia and when it goes up change the water. Better yet plan on changing it each day. If you can, mix up a big batch of water to match the tank right now then go through that water for the changes. Logic there is it will be more stable than custom mixing a batch each day.
Before you put the fish in there make sure your heater is all set up and the system is thermally stable. Since it's a small volume stay on top of evap. Consider Amquel to mitigate the ammonia rise due to substandard filtration.
List goes on but it's a start. Ammonia badge is nice too at a glance.
You'll be a pro in no time - but serious this is invaluable experience for down the road if that makes sense.

 

[Thales]

Dave is wise!

 

[rygh]

...Horrible idea with such a hyper and easily scared fish such as a BSJ. I have seen them die just by having too much action in front of their tank. They freak out very easily and that can really do some damage to them.

I was not going to reply to this, because ... well ... he is right.
Adding a ton of extra stress for a possibly useless diagnosis is pretty lame.

But then I see this later.

... I personally believe (with this freak-out type of fish) it would kill the fish due to more stress.

So I worry that the strongly worded first post might be leading to a decision to absolutely not QT him.
Keep a quick transfer to the QT tank in perspective.
Yes, weakened, but consider the MANY orders of magnitude more stress it made it through in traveling from
its home on the reef to your tank.

--

Consider using a fish trap instead of netting for less stress.
Not sure how big your tank is - but can you put a bucket in it
and coax him into that with a bit of food?
Even big PVC pipe works well sometimes. They use it as a hiding place,
and you simply put a cap on and lift it up gently.

 

[GreshamH]

nets are better for capturing jawfish then clear containers (like the Lee's specimen cups). The net around their body makes them calm down more. The PVC is a good idea and one I used to use at our facility for them. I'd put 4" sections with one end capped off. Some exporters actually ship them that way, but IME it's far better to ship them in jawfish bags (bridle vail net bags)

 

[tuberider]

nets are better for capturing jawfish then clear containers (like the Lee's specimen cups). The net around their body makes them calm down more. The PVC is a good idea and one I used to use at our facility for them. I'd put 4" sections with one end capped off. Some exporters actually ship them that way, but IME it's far better to ship them in jawfish bags (bridle vail net bags)

Yep! That's why when capturing them at your LFS it prudent to place a net over the specimen container or even use two nets, one with the fish in it in the specimen container and one over the fish on top of the container.

 

[Euphyllia]

Does anyone know a specific LFS that has broad spectrum antibiotics? I checked All About Fish and they tried to sell me medication for fin rot, as they were adamant I had Ich. :~
I can probably make it to Aquarium Concepts tomorrow night. They seem to at least have a selection of things.

 

[Thales]

Why would they sell you a treatment for fin rot if they thought your fish had ich? Why not an ich medication?

What were they trying to sell you? Fin rot is a bacterial infection!

 

[Euphyllia]

Why would they sell you a treatment for fin rot if they thought your fish had ich? Why not an ich medication?

What were they trying to sell you? Fin rot is a bacterial infection!

The guy said "He probably has Ich" and then he handed me a medication that stated it was for fin rot, hemorrhages, and fungus, which also happened to be the most expensive medication they had. I wasn't sure if that was the thing I needed because I've never really had to deal with diseases in SW fish (probably because I've only kept clownfish and a few gobies, which are hardy fish). Is there a certain broad spectrum antibiotic that would be best for treating my BSJ since I have no idea what kind of disease/infection he has? I talked to my parents and they said I could set up a Q bucket. I'll see if I can convince them to let me set up a legit QT since I'll be getting other fish for this tank, which might happen to be costly.

 

[JAR]

Make sure it has a cover.

 

[Euphyllia]

Make sure it has a cover.

Yeah I'll put a cover on it. Does the bucket need to cycle for a bit, or can I just set it up with tank water, get the temperature set and put him in with the antibiotics? I'll make a PVC structure for him to live in to reduce stress.
Again, any recommendations of a broad spectrum antibiotic?

 

[houser]

You should have been able to get maracyn-2 there. I don't know what your fish has, but it's effective against gram-negative and has worked for me a time or two on CoC abrasions, bag mouth, etc... Without a culture it's a flip of the coin for gram-positive vs. gram-negative. Freshwater M2 is fine, follow the directions on the box. If it didn't work and you still want to run antibiotics then cross over to the Maracyn. I think you can dose them simultaneously but let's let someone else chime in on that as I have never personally done that.
Drain the water right out of your tank into the bucket. Make sure that heater is checked out first. Start by throwing some tap water in the bucket and put the heater in there. Go to school, whatever then come home and see the temp. Adjust accordingly. Unplug heater, wait a while, drain bucket, add tank water, wait a little, plug heater back in. When you play with a Q you have to keep your eyes on ammonia. #1 enemy. Daily water changes are good, siphon out waste. How are you going to keep the water circulating in the bucket BTW?

But before this all. Is your fish worse, or better? That may determine if you really want to move it. If it's holding steady you might want to consider leaving it right where it is. Continue planning to move it, but don't move it just because you have all the gear. You will use it next time.

 

[rygh]

Regarding QT:
Have you seen this thread?
http://www.bareefers.org/home/node/12520