sick long horned cow.

lying still at the bottom of the tank. thought he was dead. when i netted him he began to swim erratically. his coloration has turned brownish. almost seems disoriented. no sign of ich. quarantined him. any ideas of what this could be? he was in a 240 total volume tank for the last 5 months. no previous problem. water conditions are pristine.

 

I'd take him out immediately and put him in a hospital tank. If he dies or is stressed he can release a toxin.

 

yep, he's been quarantined. i just don't know how to treat this ailment.

also, he has some damage to his tailfin.

 

Has he been eating? Variety of food? If there are no visible signs then I'd go with feeding with Selcon and garlic.

 

he was eating fine up until yesterday. plankton, mysis, sometimes blood worms. and i hand feed him scallops due to his lack of speed and competitiveness. today he seems to want to chase the food, but couldn't coordinate himself. selcon and garlic? i'll try that. (his name is gertrude).

 

I'm not making light of your situation at all, but I've never heard of a guy named gertrude. I hope you are able to treat it.

 

Good job on quarantining it right away, I agree with the suggestion of selcon and garlic until he looks 110%. What are his tankmates? There is no point of returning him to a tank where he's going to get bullied again once he's all better.

 

little guy didn't make it. .