Time to Break Out My Hospital Tank for the First Time?

[KingOfAll_Tyrants]

I'm thinking of breaking out my hospital setup and treating one of my two yellow headed jawfish for brooklynella (WAG diagnosis; only major disease that shows his symptoms).  What to people think?

 

I apologize for the wall of probably mostly irrelevant unorganized data that follows.

 

I got Mr. and Mrs. Jawfish about a month ago, shipped from the Keys right before Irma hit (due to the cluster that was UPS in that area at that time, the next day air shipment took two days.  I drip accumulated over, I think, 30 mins.  There are no other inhabitants of the DT besides some snails.  And yes, I intend to quarantine future purchases, or purchase quarantined fish from a trusted vendor and WAMAS supporter/member).  Mr. Jawfish (the problem one) has not been active in that time, and has not been visibly eating*.  (feeding regime: freeze dryed mysis kept in 5ml tank water for a few minutes, with garlic powder and selcon added) Usually, he just stayed in the den while Mrs. generally poked her head out and used to eat in my presence (and come out when I stood next to the tank).  From the point they arrived, one or both of them have been very active building and rebuilding their den.

 

Come about two weeks ago, when algae growth picked up in the tank and water parameters suffered, they both started hiding themselves.  Mrs. would never appear.  Mr. would hang out outside their den, in the corner.  Den modifications appeared to stop (that being said, I've not done rockwork before and after pictures; they may have done comparatively subtle modifications).

 

During this same time, my cat discovered the tank and would regularly harass him by jumping up to him and chasing him corner to corner (I've put newspaper all over the front of the tank as a temporary measure) - since then, they've both been very skittish.   I got him a piece of PVC pipe to hang out in a week ago, he lived in it for a bit, then under it, then next to it.  Then, a few days ago, he put a whole bunch of sand and live rock rubble in its entrance, which I took as a good sign (I want eventually to get another piece of largish-rock to bury in the sand, to form their second den/the second bedroom of their den).

 

During this whole time, I've not fed them; I tried feeding once or twice in the hopes they'd get food but I've seen no evidence they emerged and ate it, so I stopped feeding them absent Mrs. Jawfish coming out of the den.   However, after a Wednesday water change which made the Mrs. emerge, on Thursday PM I put in around 100 live mysid shrimp.  She emerged and ate a few.   By Friday AM I could only see a few mysids and now I see none (other potential consumers: I have a plague of tiny, 5mm tube diameter fully extended Bispira-type feather dusters).  Since the Wednesday water change she also seems to open the den in the late morning; when I turn on the lights and leave for work it's closed but by the time I get home it's open, she looks out some, but closes it within 15-20 minutes of my return.   

 

Friday, he was under the PVC pipe, with his tail flat on the gravel behind him.  I thought he was dead and dying, especially since he had not (appeared) to move much in the preceding week.   I poked him with a net very gently, and he moved under the pipe quickly (dispelling my dying theory, fortunately).   Today I believe he was under the pipe, but now I looked and he's no longer there; he either died and was eaten by my snails (far less likely) or he went back into their den (far more likely).

 

Anyway, I have not observed him eating in the past month, and for the past several weeks he's been generally hanging out  in the corner of the tank and listless.  Thus, I've been worried he might have a disease, Brooklynella as a WAG from reading various fish books.  The trip certainly stressed him out, as well as the cat.  However, I cannot see any signs of anything odd on his fins or body.  And for each time I'm about to judge him "definitely sick", he does something oddly normal like go back into the den or start covering his pipe with sand and rock rubble.   

 

Should I separate him and start treating him?

 

 

* big caveat: I'm not watching them 24/7 and I know that they do all kinds of things while I'm not watching.   

[Stephen]

I'd treat just to be safe. I recently got a couple of fish from the keys and had to treat 2 clowns for something they picked up from those fish. The neon goby pair I got looked fine during acclimation but when I saw them later it looked as if one had ich. In a few days it was all clear so I didn't think any more about it. I made the mistake of not quarantining them unfortunately and lost the larger clown. I was worried at first it was brooklynella but they never showed signs beyond rapid breathing, stringy white poop, and being reclusive. Both were in different tanks that share a sump but had the same behavior. Both went into the left front corner of their tanks and just kind of were listless and not at all interested in food. I set up a hospital tank and treated with Rid Ich Plus for a week then lost the larger clown on the 7th day. I then switched to Metroplex added to water and it's working great. Little clown is back to normal and eating great and I'm pretty sure will make a complete recovery. I'll probably treat with PraziPro before it's over just to cover all basis. Not sure what came into the system from those fish but it only affected my clowns which is the reason I assumed it was brook. Not sure what exactly it is though. None of the other fish in the tank including other clowns have shown any symptoms of anything so far. It's only been a couple of weeks so my fingers are crossed however. 

 

I've been keeping saltwater fish since I was 12 (I'm in my 40's now) and this is the first time I have had a hospital tank or "medicine cabinet" for the fish with more medicine on the way.

 

I've been lucky I guess. Nothing goes in now without spending some time in the quarantine tank.

[KingOfAll_Tyrants]

Thanks.  I have all I need, BUT this AM Mr. Jawfish disappeared; I presume he's back with the Mrs. in their den.   If he comes out in the next few days I'll catch him and put him in quarantine.   

 

Unfortunately, they're still spooked- I saw Mrs. Jawfish when I got home at around 3 today, but after looking at me for a few minutes she closed the "door" and hasn't opened it since.  

[mari.harutunian]

Thanks. I have all I need, BUT this AM Mr. Jawfish disappeared; I presume he's back with the Mrs. in their den. If he comes out in the next few days I'll catch him and put him in quarantine.

 

Unfortunately, they're still spooked- I saw Mrs. Jawfish when I got home at around 3 today, but after looking at me for a few minutes she closed the "door" and hasn't opened it since.

You should set up a time lapse to see what hey do when you’re out. Probably throw parties.

 

 

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[KingOfAll_Tyrants]

I tried that actually, the problem is that they come out of their dens for like a few seconds a piece, and otherwise hangout in the dens.  So even if I did a 1/10s time lapse, I'd only get the occasional view of the fish.  That being said, that would solve many of my "proof of life" questions.   And I could watch them building their den; I assume they do but I'm not comparing rubble patterns.

 

Too bad, the ones I've seen on youtube and in other tanks are really cool fish, I wish the cat didn't scare them.  Thinking about it and looking at others, I really should get more rock to bury in the sandbed; I think their dens are dug into sand next to rocks (reinforced by rubble) and the rock is helpful for them.

 

I also should add that I considered getting the Mr. out of the den so I can put him in quarantine, namely by basically digging them out (and destroying their home in the process).   I actually did that before, because I hadn't seen them for days and was worried they were dead, and I felt very guilty about it afterward.... 

Edited October 30, 2017 by KingOfAll_Tyrants