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Black Volitans Lionfish Problem. 10/14/08 Hello crew, <Hi,> I have an emergency. Hopefully you guys can help out a dying fish and stressed out fish owner. My friend has bought a black Volitans lion about 3 weeks ago. <OK.> Without the fin, I would say he is about 3" long. He has put it into his 24 gal QT to copper treat it and to see everything was ok with him. <The Scorpionfish family is notably intolerant to copper. Supposedly because they have "small scales" but I'm not sold on that explanation any more than I am when applied to catfish, loaches, etc. My gut feeling is copper is toxic to all aquarium fish (life?), just to varying degrees, so can seem "safe" or "dangerous" depending on the species/dose/other environmental factors. Other medications, or even hyposalinity, should be used to treat Lionfish. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/liondisfaqs.htm This fish may well be "poisoned" by now, in which case you're pretty much down to luck and time. Either any organ damage is slight enough to heal, or not...> Well, about 2 days ago he stopped eating and is on the ground not moving. I checked out the water parameters and ammonia/copper/nitrate was off the roof. Enraged, I took the fish away from him saying that he doesn't deserve such a fish and put him into my tank. (72 gal bow front) after proper acclamation of course. <Done the best you can...> It's his 2nd day in the tank and he is very weak, won't swim and won't even look at the food. <Does happen when you move these fish, especially if stressed/sick beforehand.> I have tried to get something to him by trying gut packed ghost shrimps, frozen cube foods, dried anchovies, even guppies and a goldfish (i know, i know.. but I just want him to live, if they starve they die right?). <Doesn't work this way with fish. Unlike warm blooded animals, their "food demand" is very low, can be almost zero if needs be (hence Koi surviving months under ice without eating). Certainly no advantage to dumping food in the tank and messing up water quality if the Lionfish isn't hungry. Put it this way: once healthy, he will actively seek food. If he's not hungry, nothing much will help force him to eat. While I *occasionally* force-feed very sick fish, with something as venomous as a Lionfish that wouldn't be easy to do. It's also easy to damage weak fish this way unless you know precisely what you're doing and use the minimum force in delivering a suitable slurry down the throat of the fish. Last but not least, there's no mileage coaxing a sick fish to health by feeding parasite time bombs (a.k.a. feeder fish) that will create another problem down the road. So feed the other fish in the tank as normal, and as/when this Lionfish wants to eat, you should see at least some signs of foraging behaviour. That's when you can use river shrimp or whatever as a safe "treat" to build up its energy reserves, and once fattened up, wean onto frozen foods.> I'm going to go buy some garlic elements tomorrow to stimulate the feeding and some liquid vitamins so that lion and my other fish can get some nutrients by just breathing. Anything that I can do to help this guy live? He's a beautiful fish and I would hate to see him die on me... <Humbly submit "time, the great healer". If this guy has been bashed about by the copper, poor water quality, he may well be doomed. Otherwise optimal water quality is all you can constructively do.> Stressed fish owner Richard. <Cheers, Neale.> Eliminating Medication From Tank Water Hi Scott, <Hi there again!> The marks on my lionfish are now completely gone and he seems fine, acting normally and looks quite happy. <Glad to hear that!> My question is, what should I be looking out for as a result of adding the treatment to my tank? I can't see anything wrong with my eel or the rest of the tank, but I am a beginner and may be overlooking something. Should I do a partial water change just to help the tank recover? Regards, Andrew Ickeringill <Well, Andrew, I'd monitor basic water parameters, such as ammonia and nitrite, just to make sure that the biological filtration process has not been interrupted. In the absence of any measurable problems with water chemistry, I'd conduct some regular small water changes and run Poly Filter and/or activated carbon to help remove what might be left of the medications. All in all, the amount present in your system is probably negligible, but it's worth checking out...Glad to hear that all is moving along well! Regards, Scott F> Lion With A Problem? I've got a sick Volitans lionfish and as far as I can tell I'm doing most things right. My Lionfish recently appears to have ick and I'm treating it. I've fed him frozen silversides and freeze dried krill, and recently I fed him a few minnows when he wouldn't take the silversides or the krill. (I Know that is a bad move! Sorry!) <It's okay> I've removed all carbon from the filter media, and I've left the lights off during the treatment. He sits on the bottom and breathes heavily. It appears to be coughing (resembles coughing) frequently. <This is a rather common occurrence with healthy lionfish. These fishes tend to "cough" and slough off skin on occasion. However, in a situation like yours, where you are treating an illness with copper, it could be a reaction of some sort. > Should I worry or is this just a reaction to the meds, lack of light, or what? I'm using Aquatronics Greenex as med. Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank You, Jacob <Jacob, do continue to observe the fish carefully, and begin to back down the dosage of medication. Greenex has a reputation for causing problems in fish if dosages are not precisely administered. I'd consider freshwater dips as an alternative, if the illness cannot be managed with Greenex. Observe carefully, and take corrective measures if needed. Good luck! Regards, Scott F.> Lionfish not Copper safe I'm sorry one more question. Is my Lionfish OK to be in a quarantine tank with CopperSafe? Thanks again for your excellent help. <lionfish are small scaled fishes and as such are very sensitive to organic dyes and metals. They overdose easily on copper. Use formalin if necessary in QT for parasite control. Best regards, Anthony>
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