Finicky Eaters, Symptoms Of Stress, And The Death Of A Fish

[dzaitz]

Hi,

OK first of all I’ve never posted on an aquarium forum before but I had some questions that I could use some expert advice on.

So about a month ago I bought a small percula clown fish from a reliant LFS near my home. He was beautiful when I first picked him up with bright colors and fully developed fins. Yet despite this, he was very finicky when it came to eating. Being so tiny, pellets were impossible for him to chew and I would constantly observe him spitting them out. I then switched to flake food which was easy to crumble up and that ended up working out beautifully.

Since then, I’ve added a longnose hawkfish, and a six line wrasse to the mix and, to no surprise, they never touch the flakes or pellets! Being somewhat frustrated with my fish, I decided to switch to a live food diet, thinking that it may perk interest in eating and at the same time provide some natural nutrition for my little clown. I bought a pint of live brine shrimp and I’ve been feeding them this everyday with some pellets and flakes that just float on the top.

About three days ago I noticed that my little clown wasn’t flaunting his pretty fins anymore. His dorsal, pelvic and anal fins were clamped to his body. At first I didn’t think much of it, realizing though that this is a sign of some kind of marine stress. Last night I noticed that he was staying near the top of the tank, right along the meniscus of the water. This frightened me as now my little clown was expressing two symptoms of stress and disease. I stayed up all night researching what may have caused this stress and what are some remedies. This morning I found him dead.

Let me start of by saying all my water conditions are prefect. So I new it wasn’t due to spikes in chemical levels.

I hope that after laying out this story, you guys see part of the problem that I have. There are so many variables going on here! Was is malnutrition? Was it competition between other fish? (Although I never observed any dominance differentiation between them) Was it the brine shrimp? Was it a lack of a complete varied diet? Disease? I don’t even know when my little clown began to show symptoms. I first noticed it three days ago, but it could have been much longer than that. Keep in mind that these changes have all occurred since he’s been in the tank. Such profound change is bound to have profound consequences right?

I do realize that we don’t always choose the best fish, and that it becomes hard to discern which fish are sick to begin with. But I can’t help to think that it’s something I have done, in which case I worry about the lives of my wrasse and hawkfish.

On top of that should I be feeding my fish these brine shrimp and if it’s not nutritious enough how do I go about introducing new and varied foods to very finicky marine eaters?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, a few things come to mind. Internal parasitic infection, aggression from a tankmate (sixlines and hawks can be aggressive), or malnutrition would be my top 3 guesses. Brine shrimp by themselves are not nutritious at all. So while they may gut-load the fish, they can die a slow death if ALL they eat is brine. Spirulina enriched brine is better, but should not be the sole dietary source for fish. Baby brine shrimp are also better than whole adults, but still aren't the best choice longterm. A better combo would have been Mysis, Brine, and Krill, OR trying a different brand of flake food, OR some kind of pre-mixed frozen. We can't be sure that malnutrition isn't the cause of death here, but it could be.

One last thought as I was reading... When was the last time you verified your salinity, either with your own DIY calibration standard, or by taking a sample to an LFS. Most "affordable" salinity measuring devices are not the most reliable things longterm.

 

[dzaitz]

Well, a few things come to mind. Internal parasitic infection, aggression from a tankmate (sixlines and hawks can be aggressive), or malnutrition would be my top 3 guesses. Brine shrimp by themselves are not nutritious at all. So while they may gut-load the fish, they can die a slow death if ALL they eat is brine. Spirulina enriched brine is better, but should not be the sole dietary source for fish. Baby brine shrimp are also better than whole adults, but still aren't the best choice longterm. A better combo would have been Mysis, Brine, and Krill, OR trying a different brand of flake food, OR some kind of pre-mixed frozen. We can't be sure that malnutrition isn't the cause of death here, but it could be.

One last thought as I was reading... When was the last time you verified your salinity, either with your own DIY calibration standard, or by taking a sample to an LFS. Most "affordable" salinity measuring devices are not the most reliable things longterm.

I just found my hawkfish dead to! I don't know what could possibly be going on... 2 fish in one day. He looked fine, wasn't showing any signs of stress. I'll take a water sample to a LFS tomorrow and get a thorough water check.