Neptune Aquatics

Fish not doing well - Bad RODI water quality?

What size is that system?
230 gallons

Thanks @Turkeysammich and @SupraSaltyReefer I did check with all available AI agents as well as folks on R2R.. My PBT has a similar but a little less sever case than this one here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/mucus-plugs.1129758/

This is not flukes/ich/velvet otherwise:

1. Fish would have stopped eating by now (its 2nd time in 7 days for PBT and a few spots on Hippo tang for same duration).
2. Would have likely spread to other fish in the tank by now.
3. Would not have disappeared for 5 days on PBT and then re-appeared.

Yes both the tangs are scratching against the rocks, Hippo way more than PBT, but that alone doesnt conclusively say its any of the 4 diseases we are discussing here.

Again, I am not even at an intermediate step, forget expert, but when I search for mucus plugs (mucus cocoons are something totally different, when I just searched for it) on R2R, there are bunch of posts that come up and my fish has exactly same symptoms..

This was my thread on R2R: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/is-this-ich-on-my-pbt.1133458/ when I first saw these spots on PBT, the number of these are way higher this time round though!

I added 20 ml Prime to the tank.. Will keep the thread updated! Love how everyone shares the knowledge here! Thanks a ton, everyone!
 
I wouldn't rule out possibly ich. Just the fact these things are magnets for it. They drop off the fish and come back worse or lesss- I think it's part of their life cycle.

I would only say it's not velvet that can wipe out the entire tank in 24hrs or less.

Fish can still eat and have ich. It's when it gets really really bad they slow down eating.
 
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230 gallons

Thanks @Turkeysammich and @SupraSaltyReefer I did check with all available AI agents as well as folks on R2R.. My PBT has a similar but a little less sever case than this one here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/mucus-plugs.1129758/

This is not flukes/ich/velvet otherwise:

1. Fish would have stopped eating by now (its 2nd time in 7 days for PBT and a few spots on Hippo tang for same duration).
2. Would have likely spread to other fish in the tank by now.
3. Would not have disappeared for 5 days on PBT and then re-appeared.

Yes both the tangs are scratching against the rocks, Hippo way more than PBT, but that alone doesnt conclusively say its any of the 4 diseases we are discussing here.

Again, I am not even at an intermediate step, forget expert, but when I search for mucus plugs (mucus cocoons are something totally different, when I just searched for it) on R2R, there are bunch of posts that come up and my fish has exactly same symptoms..

This was my thread on R2R: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/is-this-ich-on-my-pbt.1133458/ when I first saw these spots on PBT, the number of these are way higher this time round though!

I added 20 ml Prime to the tank.. Will keep the thread updated! Love how everyone shares the knowledge here! Thanks a ton, everyone!
I don’t agree with several of your assumptions. No time right now. I think it is likely parasites of some sort. They tend to come and go. Those two fish are certainly mist susceptible. Weren’t they in a system with disease/parasites previously?
 
1. Fish would have stopped eating by now (its 2nd time in 7 days for PBT and a few spots on Hippo tang for same duration).
2. Would have likely spread to other fish in the tank by now.
3. Would not have disappeared for 5 days on PBT and then re-appeared.

1. Fish absolutely still eat when they have ich. If their own immune system is strong enough they can fight it off naturally. However, ich will always be present in your tank and fish in a dormant state, unless you go fallow and quarantine the fish.

2. Some fish have a thicker slime coat so that is why ich may not show on all fish in the tank. Acanthurus tangs especially Achilles and PBT are known to have a super thin slime coat. Just because they don't show external visible symptoms doesn't meant they don't have it internally.

3. Ich could've been in the Tomont stage and PBT was fighting it off, but it relapsed.

To rule out flukes you can do a freshwater dip and see if any fall off.

@spuri87 is the fish scratching on the sand? I think that's one dead giveaway for flukes right @SupraSaltyReefer ?
Scratching on sand and rocks aka "Flashing" can be seen in cases of ich, velvet or flukes.

I always associated flukes with gills and eyes. Are there multiple types?
Yeah flukes can get in the gills and eyes too. Different types. Theres even different strains of marine ich.
 
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I was actually thinking a lot of times we think in a singular way, we actually should be thinking in a multiple way. IE: ick and stress thus slime coat compromised or flukes and bad water makes slime coat ball up. Just throwing thoughts out there.
Like when I get sick. It’s usually not a cold at first. It’s usually I’m run down, allergies then a cold.
 
Nutrition..
Water quality
Changing water will also remove some of the swimming life stage of the parasite
Assuming new water is IDEAL (proper pH, salinity, temp) you cannot do them too often or too large
 
Err.. didnt get any emails from BAR so didnt check the thread.. thank you all for your comments, very valuable.. The PBT was laying down on the side last night and going close to the wavemaker to help with the irritation.. but has been swimming and eating since morning.. I added nori to the clip and it is eating well (showing less interest in flakes and pellets though).. Blue tang meanwhile got a sore/cloudy eye.. And I see some spots on yellow too (attaching the pics).. I maybe wrong and it maybe more than just mucus cones, but I couldnt sleep last night thinking how can I treat all these fish at the same time.. I want to give PBT a freshwater bath to check for flukes, but catching it is going to be very challenging.. As one last resort, I am getting Prazipro today and will add it to the main DT as per the dosage.. Hope it helps with some of this stuff on the fish.. God, I feel so responsible for these little lives! I hope everything turns out ok
 

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Thanks to @MichaelB for helping me with 30g RODI water yesterday, I added 10g to my ATO and use 20g for water change..

I tested my water params today:

Alk - 6.4
ph - 7.8
nitrates - 15
phosphates - 0.6
Salinity - 1.025
temp - 78
Ammonia, Nitrites - 0

Maybe low alk and ph are also the stressing factors? I will be adding some Baking soda to help increase alk to around 8-9 followed by adding Prazipro to the DT.. will keep the thread updated
 
Thanks to @MichaelB for helping me with 30g RODI water yesterday, I added 10g to my ATO and use 20g for water change..

I tested my water params today:

Alk - 6.4
ph - 7.8
nitrates - 15
phosphates - 0.6
Salinity - 1.025
temp - 78
Ammonia, Nitrites - 0

Maybe low alk and ph are also the stressing factors? I will be adding some Baking soda to help increase alk to around 8-9 followed by adding Prazipro to the DT.. will keep the thread updated
Worry about the fish first I would ignore the water parameters for now as long as salinity and temperature checks out.

I strongly think it's some type of ick but I'm no expert.
 
Err.. didnt get any emails from BAR so didnt check the thread.. thank you all for your comments, very valuable.. The PBT was laying down on the side last night and going close to the wavemaker to help with the irritation.. but has been swimming and eating since morning.. I added nori to the clip and it is eating well (showing less interest in flakes and pellets though).. Blue tang meanwhile got a sore/cloudy eye.. And I see some spots on yellow too (attaching the pics).. I maybe wrong and it maybe more than just mucus cones, but I couldnt sleep last night thinking how can I treat all these fish at the same time.. I want to give PBT a freshwater bath to check for flukes, but catching it is going to be very challenging.. As one last resort, I am getting Prazipro today and will add it to the main DT as per the dosage.. Hope it helps with some of this stuff on the fish.. God, I feel so responsible for these little lives! I hope everything turns out ok
You care!!
And you’re a member of this club
We’ll help you over the hump
Hopefully these fish will make it, if not, we’ll direct you towards new ones
 
If I was you, I would ask Kenny @under_water_ninja if he can quarantine your fish for you. He does this for a fee which is well worth it.

You still need to figure out what to do with the tank, but at least you have one less factor to worry about. We can advise in the meantime while your fish are recovering.

You can catch them in your tank with two nets.

There is too much complexity IMO.
 
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