Damsels Sick--any Ideas?

[redSG]

Hi all,
We've set up a 60L nano tank. We've had it set up for about 2 months now, and everything has been going okay. Tonight, I noticed that 2 of the 3 humbug damsels we have are breathing quite heavily and seem to have long, clear, stringy feces. The third one (who was a cycle fish) seems to be okay, as do the basslet and gobies that we have. Does anyone have any ideas what might be wrong with the 2 humbugs? Flukes, possibly?

Water parameters were 0 for Nitrite and Ammonia, 5-10ppm for Nitrates, salinity 1.023, ph 8.3, temp 81F.

Aside from the fish, we've got some live rock, polyps, a blood shrimp and hermit crab.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[chrissaysyes]

You say there are 3 damsels...how many stripes? Three stripes are generally pretty aggressive so that could be a problem as far as having that many fish in such a small tank. You say there are 3 damsels, one basslet, and multiple gobies. That's a lot of fish for a tank that size. I'd say the two heavy breathers are probably stressed because of territorial issues or space constraints. There's not a whole lot you can do if that is the case. If it is some illness then the best treatment imo is just dosing the tank as well as their food with garlic. Make sure their eating and their immune systems will do the rest.

 

[Colin_T]

As mentioned by Chris, 3 humbugs in that tank is always going to be an issue. However, the fact they are doing pale stringy poo would indicate an internal bacterial infection. This combined with the heavy breathing is a common sign in fish with bad internal infections. Chance are the fish will be dead by the time you read this, but if they aren't, then I would suggest moving them into a quarantine tank or bucket with some tank water and an airstone. Then if they do die the other fish won't eat them and catch the disease. You can try to treat them in the bucket but many internal problems don’t respond to treatment.