Sick Lionfish

[mstnquaw]

My lion is sick, I have had him over a year and he is by far my favorite fish ever. He has alwys had so much personality. Recently while I was going thru some treatmens that make me very sick. I let my regular cleaning of my tank lapse. I checked the water parameters and found my Nitrates to be around 100 which I know is AWFUL. I immediatly started doing intense water changes until I got them back down to 10 ppm. My nitrites are 0ppm and ph is 8.4 salinty is 1.023 and temp is 76. He stopped eating so I thought it was from nitrate poisoning but I read that they will come back around given time and proper water parameters. I tried enticing him with live feeders just because he wouldn't take anything else and he did go after it but when he did he hit his face really hard on the tank side when darting for the fish. Ever since he will not even try to eat. It has been almost 6 weeks since he has ate anything. Although he does not look like he is starving yet. All my other fish which include a yellow tang and a blie devil damsel are doing great. My lionfish just sits on the bottom facing a corner and nothing esle. I was trying to entice him to take some squid the other day and when I got it close to him he moved away from it a little, but enough to get hisself facing down into the crushed corral and sand. He was trying to swim back to his corner I assume but he just acted like he couldnt steer, he was face first into the sand and was swimming straight down, to the point that sand was coming out his gills. I had to take my feeder stick and get him turned and he wiggled back into the corner straight ahead of him and has been there ever since. My question is, when he rammed into the glass chasing the feeder could he have damaged whatever it is that controlls his steering and swimming abilities?

Pleas help,
Wendy

 

[yote]

The extremely high nitrates may have damaged his eyesight.Which would account for him slamming into the glass so hard.Other than that,I have no idea.
Try brushing his mouth with the food untill he strikes at it.If he backs up,follow him.
Also try soaking the food in some garlic extracte.
Hope this helps.And hope your lionfish gets better.

 

[Doc]

try to vary the kinds of food. silversides, krill, etc. give him a new taste. I like the idea of trying to push it into his mouth. Sounds sad tho. I hate to hear about sick fish who have been around for a year+. Good luck

-Doc

 

[mstnquaw]

I have tried all kinds of different food, with no help. But I will try the garlic. Maybe that will. Thanks for the advice, I will post an update soon.

Wendy

 

[mstnquaw]

Hey also, If it is his eyes damaged, is there anything that can help him? I love this guy SO MUCH!! I dont want him to suffer by starving to death. Any adive is helpful.

Wendy

 

[yote]

I would just keep trying to get him to eat.Thats the best advice I can offer.Hopefully he'll recover and start eatting.

 

[Doc]

fish tend to recover if they are not stressed. if they are eating, it is a good shot they will be just fine. they can heal themselves really well. try to get him eating, but with as little stress to the tank as possible. I would even adjust the light cycle down a bit so there is more dark time in the tank, it will encourage him to rest a bit more.

-Doc

 

[LionFish]

yes Low stress and feedings are key, Garlic and silversides should hopefully make him better, Keep us informed,

Keep working to keep you and your fish healthy,

 

[jhnrb]

for a sick fish you may want to raise your temperature to 78 - 80 . do it slowly. the increased temperature should help if there is any chance in saving the fish. 76 is a bit low. try 78 imo.

 

[mstnquaw]

Thanks all, I did try enticing him with krill soaked in garlic extract last night , but with no luck. I just cant get him to eat. But I was paying attention to his eyes last night and seeing if I could tell anything. He seems to be following me with his eyes, so if they are damaged then he is not completely blind, so thats good. I know he can see at least some.

Wendy