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Sick Tuskfish - please help if you can

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by hart, Jun 14, 2013.

  1. hart

    hart Well-Known ReefKeeper

    730
    Ratings:
    +131 / 0 / -0

    So I need some help, but 1st I will give you the backstory. Tuskfish acquired popeye several months ago in just one eye, from what I have read that is most likely due to physical injury. I let him be and after a month or so decided to add Epson salts to the tank as wetwebmedia suggests but to no effect. He acted fine and no other fish show any maladies so I did not wish to stress him by relocation to another tank for treatment. About two months ago, give or take, his other eye started showing some problems, so I once again tried the Epson salts to no avail. I already feed a varied diet (krill, silversides, formula 1 flakes and cubes, mysis cubes, pellets, and a couple different marine flake foods) so I didn't try much more, but then I noticed he was having a hard time seeing, so I decided to transfer him to a treatment tank. It was also a good time to totally redo my aquarium adding a sump, algae scrubber, refinishing the stand and jetting some of the poor quality live rock for an vida rock centerpiece but that is for another thread.





    Anyway I have tried freshwater dips and then treatments of erythromycin, sulfa, furan-2 following the directions of each but to no effect. I have tried cupramine for copper treatment as well. I have even tried ParaGuard dips. Of course I followed directions and removed medications between treatments with the exception of sulfa as those drugs are well tolerated with others.





    His eyes still look terrible and he can't see. I am out of ideas. He has not had any food in a long time, tuskfish carry lots of mass and he does not appear near starvation, but I have no ideas what to do. I hate to see him suffer like this and just now started considering euthanasia but don't know how. I am hoping people can help with treatment ideas.
     
  2. Sponge Expert Reefkeeper Vendor

    Marshalltown, IA
    Ratings:
    +233 / 1 / -0

    I'm not familiar with the popeye treatment for tuskfish but I would suggest to use garlic in its food at every feeding. (Selcon and VitaChem wouldn't hurt either.) It will help with his immune response. Make sure your water quality is VERY GOOD!!! I would not try any other medication treatments until you find out more diffinitive information. You might be doing more harm than good with all those treatments? It's my understanding that tusks can be a difficult fish to keep...


    Also, have tried a post or two on Reef Central? There are so many members there that you should get several responses. Also, Craig/xroads may have some guidance and Kevin Cohen from Live Aquaria may be able to help out also. He has a website and, a GIRS officer may have his email/phone number? I hope you do not need to euthanize it! Two months is a long time so I hope it's not blind /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/sad.gif Please let us know what you find out and how it's doing.
     

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