doktorstick Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Howdy. My orchid dottyback is listless, and has been so for about a day. It has remained hidden in a rock although when I tried placing food nearby, it fled and has been hanging out under and outcropping. She swims sideways and upside down sometimes, and always slowly like she's mostly floating along the currents and steering a bit. She has always been active and a voracious eater, but didn't touch the frozen reef #2 I added this evening. It's hard to say if her colors are faded. She doesn't have bulging eyes nor white spots on her. She does look a little thin. This all happened after a water change, about 10%. There's two changing variables involved here. First, my parameters were all very good with the exception of salinity. It had dropped to around 1.022 after I acclimated about 6 bags of critters. The drop was gradual as my ATO compensated for the water loss. That's the first variable. After the water change, the salinity stabilized near 1.025 +/- a little bit. I used new salt, too--Tropic Marine Reef Pro; I had been using Instant Ocean. This is the second variable. All of my other critters (inverts) and corals are doing great--nice and active, extended, etc. I do not have a quarantine tank. I also feel that if I did, the stress of moving her might be too much. Likewise, if I did "throw together" a QT tank, it wouldn't be much use as it isn't cycled or anything. Is this a wait-and-see? Do I continue feeding as normal? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Whenever I have a fish that dosen't eat I soak the food in garlic Xtreme. I'ts my version of chicken soup. That said it might encourage her to eat. Not sure about the swimming issues. Did you add new critters? If so is some one picking on her? Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 I added corals (zoos, bubble corals) and various CuC members. Nothing I would expect would pick on the little girl. I do not have garlic anything. I guess I'll be making a trip to the LFS on the morrow to give that a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 I'm sure she'll be fine. Dottybacks are troopers. I have a Dilectus Dottyback and have never seen such a hardy fish. She acts crazy from time to time but gets over it. You may want to try some ghost shrimp. Mine loves them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 I have some Garlic Xtreme you can have. It's about half gone. Where abouts are you in Austin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 Thanks! I'm in Round Rock and now, officially on vacation until a few days into 2010. Woo-hoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 I get off at 6 tonight. Drop me a PM and we can set something up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 How is she doing today? Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 Derek: I ran out of time today. Where does it all go? Dave: I was home a lot of the day and I made many trips searching for her and have not been able to find her. She's real little and there are lots of hiding places. Each visit I performed the sniff test and don't smell death. I performed a small 5% water change today and plan on doing it tomorrow too. (Advice from wetwebmedia.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I hope all goes well with her, Chris I usually never give input on fixing stuff because it breaks even further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 RCA has the Garlic Xtreme. Hope she's ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Derek: I ran out of time today. Where does it all go? Mine all goes to the corporate machine. Haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 FYI you can get pure Garlic extract at Sun Harvest or Whole Foods. Works great and is cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 Well, the good news is after not seeing her all day yesterday or early this morning, I found her back in her second hiding place. She is poking her head out a little bit, but not coming out. She /seems/ a little more perky. I finished the 5% water change for today. Let's hope she's on the uptick! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeperKeeper Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Update? Did your little dottyback make it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 Outcome unclear. I went camping this past weekend and when we got back, she was stuck against the overflow. The rear portion of her body had this grayish fading of the scales, like they were damaged. She obviously was not going to be able to survive in my main tank. I have a small tank that I put my water change water into to keep it around (and for some live rock I have in there). The temperature was fine and the salinity was dead on, so I took Toby out of the DT and put her in this smaller tank. I bought an airstone for some aeration. Unfortunately, any water movement, even me wiggling my hand in there, will cause her to tumble about the tank. Yesterday I did a 40% water change in the small tank and will do so again in a few days since there's no filtration (but not livestock other than her and a snail). She doesn't move her tail fin. She does wiggle her pectoral finds. She stays at the water line with her mouth working. I have been feeding her Garlic Xtreme soaked Coral Frenzy (because it is very fine suspended particles) and other garlic-soaked foods (thanks Mama for the Garlic Xtreme lend). She'll move around the tank (again, only with her pectoral fins). I've seen her change her depth on occasion, too--it's more rare. I've also observed waste hanging from her, which tells me she is eating what I've been putting in there. I have no idea what the future holds for my little girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Good luck. Eating is definitely a good sign. They are resilient little fish so maybe she'll pull through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted December 27, 2009 Author Share Posted December 27, 2009 Update time. She's still kicking around. She's has a bit more movement and she wiggles her tail fin now. She still swims upside down at the top of the tank, but she changes her depth more often now. I have yet to see her swim right-side-up. I would take the increased movement as a good sign, but really I know nothing about the health and behavior of fishies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 They are tough little critters. I love dottybacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted January 17, 2010 Author Share Posted January 17, 2010 Sometime during the night, Toby passed away. She was survived by Chew the sponge and Trixi the snail. May she rest in peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Oh Chris....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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