Coral Beauty Angelfish Sick?

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by mlong12, Jul 19, 2016.

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  1. mlong12

    mlong12 Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2015
    Messages:
    46
    Location:
    Melbourne, FL
    I hadn't changed the water for about 2 months, and my tank was ridden with green hair algae. I also found out that my skimmer had stopped working (kink in the air hose). I took out 10 gallons of water thinking that it was time for a really big water change, and I took out all of the live rock and decorations and scrubbed them to get all the algae off. Even when the live rock and everything was covered with algae, Coral (the coral beauty) seemed happy and energetic and totally fine. Since the water change though, he (or she?) has been really lethargic and staying in one or two locations and just kind of floating there. I then noticed a sheen on his face. I showed it to the guy at the LFS and he said to watch out for it, but that it didn't look like ich, and if it was it was very slight. He also told me to look out for fungus on the fins, and I tried to get a good look. I can't tell if its anything or me just being paranoid now. It seems kind of white, but again can't really tell. I uploaded videos because the pictures were all blurry. The first one you can see his face, the second one you can see the fin.

    The reason for the double readings on testing: the first one is what I measured last week after the large water change, and the second are the readings I took this morning.

    PARAMETERS (important)
    Temperature: 70 degF
    PH: 8.1
    Ammonia: 0 ppm
    Nitrite: 0 ppm
    Nitrate: 5 ppm (now 0 ppm)
    Salinity: 1.018 (now 1.022)
    dKH/KH/Alkalinity: N/A
    Magnesium: N/A
    Calcium: N/A
    Phosphate: N/A (now 0 ppm)
    Test kits you own: PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate - API Marine Master Saltwater Test Kit, liquid, not expired
    Phosphates - PO4 Profi Test, Salifert Liquid, Not expired
    Tank size?: 13 gal
    Estimated total system?: 13 gal
    Reef, fish only or, freshwater?: Fish only
    Current inhabitants? What and how many?: Ocellarus, Coral beauty angelfish, bicolor blenny
    Clean up crew? 8 astraea turbo snails, 2 dwarf red tipped hermit crabs, 2 emerald crabs, 4 nassarius vibex snails
    How long has your tank been set-up?: Since April 2015
    Substrate.
    Type?: Live sand, fine
    Depth?: ~1/2 inch
    Live rock?: yes
    How much?: ~13 lbs
    Did you recently add some?: no
    Filtration.
    Type?: Deep blue professional biomaxx 30
    Protein skimmer?: Hydor Nano slim
    Do you wet or dry skim? wet
    Maintenance schedule for filtration? N/A*
    Drilled tank/hang on back overflow?: No
    Sump/refugium. What's in it and how much?: No
    Macro? What kind?: No
    Lighting.
    Lighting type?: Hood that comes with Aqueon LED 13
    Age of bulbs?: Got new ones a few months ago
    Feeding
    What?: Mostly ocean nutrition formula one pellets, sometimes frozen brine shrimp
    How much?: For all 3 fish 20-30 pellets (just found out this is too much)
    How often?: Once per day
    Water change schedule.* will explain
    How much?
    How often?
    What salt brand? Usually real ocean water, with salt mix - Instant ocean
    Water source? If not real ocean water, Brita filter (about to purchase RO/DI system)
    Additives/supplements used? Phosphate RX
    Do you have a ground probe?: no
    What kind of flow does your tank have?: It was just the filter pump and the skimmer until a few days ago I added a VorTech MP10 set at lagoon setting, ~30% power

    Face video:

    Fins video:
     
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  3. dienerman

    dienerman Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

    Joined:
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    Messages:
    719
    Location:
    West Chester, Pennsylvania
    Your salinity is way too low. It should be 1.025 or very close to that. As with anything in your tank, any adjustments need to be made slowly so that you don't cause additional stress or injury. I would set a goal of increasing the salinity by about .01 per day until the goal is reached. Do you use a refractometer for to test? I would make sure that the calibration is correct.
     
  4. mlong12

    mlong12 Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2015
    Messages:
    46
    Location:
    Melbourne, FL
    Thank you. I do use a refractometer, and I will double check the calibration. Over 9 days it has increased from 1.018 to 1.022 (I have been topping with pre-mixed salt water). I will keep an eye on him as I continue to increase it. I don't need to quarantine or dose with medicine at all?
     
  5. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2011
    Messages:
    2,879
    Location:
    Geneva Switzerland
    I doubt its a salinity problem alone though.... that being said, I dont see anything explicit in the video, he/she looks rather thin but nothing out of the ordinary otherwise, am I missing something?
     
  6. Vinnyboombatz

    Vinnyboombatz Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2010
    Messages:
    6,344
    Location:
    Dunnellon, Florida
    Fish only systems are fine with a slightly lower salinity. Changing the salinity too quickly can cause issues. It is best to do it slowly but that goes for most everything in this hobby. You should never remove all the rock and decorations at once. Disturbing/killing the biofilm and denitrifying bacteria can cause ammonia and/or nitrite spikes. I would remove the plastic decorations though maybe one at a time over several weeks. Also CB Angels require sponge in their diet. It does look to have a film on it. There are several frozen angel formulas that contain sponges but if your lfs sells live sponge that would be even better. These are tough fish to keep healthy ime.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2016
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  7. mlong12

    mlong12 Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2015
    Messages:
    46
    Location:
    Melbourne, FL
    Thank you guys! I will try to get some sponge from the LFS. And I also wasn't aware that taking everything out at once and brushing the algae off was that harmful. The only thing that might be tough with the plastic decorations is that my clown made one of them his home and is pretty protective of it.
     
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  9. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

    Joined:
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    Messages:
    19,652
    Location:
    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    My coral beauty grazes all day. Fed once daily with pellets, flake, frozen and nori. In a tank with artificial plants and scape it's probably difficult for the fish to graze. Looks like your coral beauty could be showing the beginnings of Lateral Line Disease, typically caused by nutritional deficiencies and or poor water quality (constant higher nitrate levels). A coral beauty really needs a bigger tank imo and I am pretty liberal when it comes to stocking. Thirteen gallons is just not enough grazing area for a coral beauty.
     
  10. mlong12

    mlong12 Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2015
    Messages:
    46
    Location:
    Melbourne, FL
    The store I bought him from didn't say anything about it being too small even though I asked them. I went to an actual fish store recently, and he told me that the tank was definitely too small. I am working to upgrade to a larger tank, but might not be there for a little while yet. I will keep a really close eye on water quality and add more variety to his diet. He has been a little more energetic over the past 2 days, he's coming out during feeding time now and swims around to different areas during the day.
     
    Corailline likes this.
  11. Vinnyboombatz

    Vinnyboombatz Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2010
    Messages:
    6,344
    Location:
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    Remember the store is there to sell you things. There are many experienced reefers here so I would suggest thoroughly researching purchases before making them.
     
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  12. mlong12

    mlong12 Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2015
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Melbourne, FL
    So it seemed as if he was getting better, but I came home from work today and things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. His fins were all ripped up, and he can barely move. When I went to feed them, he came out, but ended up getting wrapped around the filter pump straw, so I immediately turned off the pump, and now he is paddling around on his side, very close to the surface, pretty much on his last leg.