Angel with blunt force trauma???

pupnsuds211 · 03-17-2008, 12:06 PM

Well, i bought a swallowtail angel the other day that is on its way to becoming a male..... It looked like it was in perfect shape at the lfs, but since yesterday i have been noticing a vertical red line about a cm in width alone the right side of its body... yesterday it was more of a brown color, and i figured it might have been due to the angel is changing and getting those beautiful vertical black markings. but this morning, it is def red, like a bruise or blunt force trauma, and the scales are puffed up on it like it is swollen. It is right behind the right pectoral fin.

angel is eating and acting fine, and getting along with the other fish great. Nothing happened that i can recall during transport or acclimation. for the first time ever, i drip aclimated him because the guy at the lfs told me it would be less stressful for him. I drip acclimated for 45 minutes. the only problem ive noticed since hes been in the tank is that my green chromis is trying to school with it, which it doesnt seem to understand. When other fish swim near it, it turns side ways. It actually reminds me a lot of what rabbitfish do when they get annoyed by other fish: turning their bodies so that their spikes get close to the fish, like if they get too close theyll spear/sting them!

i will try to get a picture later, but ive got a nasty flu, so a fishy photoshoot isnt in my schedule today

any thoughts for now would be great and very helpful.

las4444 · 03-17-2008, 01:55 PM

Not an angle, but my tang banged himself up during the last live rock addition to my tank. I had the lights turned out but he still freaked. When I was done he was all scratched up. Within a couple of days the marks started to heal and within a week all better. I also added vitamins to the tank. I do not do this routinely, but only when I really stress my fish or add a new fish.

I have had other fish scratch themselves up in the first week of being added to the tank. I guess they try to hide and misjudge the size of the opening in the rock. Feed him well and and you may also want to cut back on the lighting duration if possible.

BTW, my tang picked on the rabbit fish once. The tang(Gill) was pecking at the spines of the rabbit fish(Sunny). Gill has since left Sunny alone. If any are wondering, my 4 year old names all the fish.

pupnsuds211 · 03-17-2008, 02:59 PM

haha kids come up with the best names. i was thinking thats what happened, although i dont understand what he, well, he/she for now haha, could have done. the only thing i could think of is that it POSSIBLY could have gotten stung by the giant tube anemone i HAD in my tank until yesterday afternoon...

i dont understand why it would progressively be getting worse throughout the days... im sad, i hope he heals and looks pretty! my husband was telling me this morning "well, as long as he only swims showing the left side, everyone will continue to think hes gorgeous!"... leave it to a man to think that way

update:
so now the line goes all the way up the height of the fish, and is starting to go under the bottom and up the other side. i dont know what to do.... im unsure if it is something i should take him back for. ive only had him three days, and he was fine when i first put him in the tank. any help? ive tried researching it, and i cannot find anything. i dont think he got scratched against the rocks... it wouldnt be progressively getting worse i dont think.

HELP!

pupnsuds211 · 03-18-2008, 11:32 AM

well, i found him dead this morning behind the rocks. i definitely know it wasnt a scratch.... i looked at him after i put him in the bag. im going to take it back to the lfs for a refund since i started to notice it when i was putting him in the tank. i know it wasnt anything that happened in the tank. ugh im so bummed today

unclejed · 03-18-2008, 04:14 PM

Hi pup, too bad you are having all those troubles. If you don't mind, I would suggest being very patient and let everything "rest" for a month or so. There has been a lot going on with your tank and a lot of mortalities. Make sure (I know you check) that calc = 400-420, alk = 10-12, mag = 1280-1320 and PH = 8.0-8.2 and all these parameters are steady. It is important they stay steady (within acceptable fluctuations). Take a month or so and check those things 3 times a week and keep a log and you will see what the tank is demanding on a weekly basis. I am only trying to help you be successful. Hope all works out.

pupnsuds211 · 03-18-2008, 06:41 PM

i know, i test a few times a week as is. everything as of now is fine, and has been. fortunately none of this has been a result of my tank having problems, just the fish.... anyway, i already know not to get fish for a while, after all this in the past few weeks, i dont want any more for now haha.

chadf · 03-18-2008, 07:29 PM

Looks like the cause of death could have been a bacterial infection to me.

pupnsuds211 · 03-18-2008, 09:18 PM

really? i honestly have not been able to find a single person whos personally seen it that can explain what it is/was. not even the guys at the lfs could ID it.

any idea where i could get some information about what kind of bacterial infection it could be??

chadf · 03-18-2008, 09:29 PM

Internal Bacterial Infections - Usually shows itself as bloody patches or streaks visible in the fish...comes from this site http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/disease.html

pupnsuds211 · 03-18-2008, 10:53 PM

wow thats definitely it... thank you so much! i was dying to know what it was, i hate mysterys, especially ones that involve death

im curious to know how long he had it though... when i took him back to my lfs today, they said hes been doing amazing and has been there for at least 4 months. i didnt even see the infection until after i put him in the tank, if i would have noticed it at the lfs i wouldnt have gotten him - i still say it wasnt there when they bagged him up. i guess maybe stress made it progress so fast??? i havent been able to find any information on the time period of an internal infection.