Blind, sick Tang from Paly Toxins- dying!

camellia

camellia

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She was the only fish out of 25 misc reef safe (only tang) that was affected when my tank broke out in a toxin war from removing aggressive Palys.
Her eyes progressively get worse, she's blind now. Her breathing seems a bit better, less labored.
She's in a hospital QT and been treated with metroplex, prime and carbon. She cannot see to find food, continues to swim in a circle and randomly jumps as if scared (obviously) :((

Any treatment suggestions, thoughts, ideas appreciated!
 
Gosh that truly is horrible. Im not sure what is worse, letting her live blind, or just putting the poor fish out of its misery. I would guess its going to slowly die from starvation/stress regardless. What a crappy thing to happen :(. So sorry for you to have to deal with this.
 
Torqued;1087928 wrote: Gosh that truly is horrible. Im not sure what is worse, letting her live blind, or just putting the poor fish out of its misery. I would guess its going to slowly die from starvation/stress regardless. What a crappy thing to happen :(. So sorry for you to have to deal with this.
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I agree think maybe its time to let her go deb! I can only imagine your emotions sorry this is happening
 
Torqued;1087928 wrote: Gosh that truly is horrible. Im not sure what is worse, letting her live blind, or just putting the poor fish out of its misery. I would guess its going to slowly die from starvation/stress regardless. What a crappy thing to happen :(. So sorry for you to have to deal with this.
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jrhunter0000;1087929 wrote: I agree think maybe its time to let her go deb! I can only imagine your emotions sorry this is happening
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I wouldn't jump at this option yet.

Try foods with a potent smell that the fish can smell. Maybe garlic soaked seaweed and flakes which are soft and can be held in place for the fish.
 
Trust me, it's been heavy on my mind 24/7 if it's in pain, fear....

I had wanted to post this question this morning but did not have a free minute to do so...

Luke did that, turned off all power and mushed up her favorite Seaweed Extreme with A little coral frenzy and the juice from the frozen food mixture I feed the other fish. Jay was here watching with me it landed on her and all around her and she didn't act like she was interested whatsoever nor did she take a bite! I left it there for a good 10 minutes and occasionally stirred it up around her but she can't see it I don't know if she can smell it but she doesn't act like she knows it's there :(
The only thing that is stopping me from putting her down is that the rest of her body looks relatively healthy and her breathing has improved since yesterday.
IDK what to do and won't sleep tonight I'm sure!

Wishing I would have put a poll on this about putting her down but it's too late to do so.
Anyone that has an opinion, please post it! It will be much easier to do it if many agree :((

Thank you all for your posts (caring) and honesty!
XO
 
I would give her one more day and if she hasnt improved i would put her down. I know the feeling all too well. I had to do the same to one of my clowns a year ago. He was one of my original saltwater fish and it broke my heart but I couldn't watch him suffer after trying everything to treat him.
 
Trizzino;1087951 wrote: I would give her one more day and if she hasnt improved i would put her down. I know the feeling all too well. I had to do the same to one of my clowns a year ago. He was one of my original saltwater fish and it broke my heart but I couldn't watch him suffer after trying everything to treat him.
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Thank you
 
It sounds like stress level is down. Do not know if it possible for Tang to regain any sight. I have seen many fish with one good eye live long lives. Totally blind another thing. I am very weak on decision making concerning such events. I look into my filter socks when cleaning to save pods and mini-starfish.
 
I'm so sorry. That's absolutely horrible. Are you sure she's completely blind and not just stressed or sick and won't touch the food as such? Maybe give her some time to feel better and perhaps she will start eating again. I would atleast give her a chance for survival rather than put her down. Since I saw your incident I read up on it and I didn't realize Palytoxins could be so detrimental to Fish as well. It's a tough learning lesson for all of us. :(
 
No improvement or change today. It's heartbreaking, she just swims around in a circle all day.

Thanks to Adam (jumplittlechloe) I've got suggested treatment options from Humblefish from Reef2Reef.

This evening I've starting treating the QT Epson Salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons) in attempt to relieve the swelling. Erythromycin will be dosed in AM for infection (blood showing in corners of eye).

Praying tomorrow is a better day.
Thanks all
 
Could it just be a film over her eyes? I know that some animals have heavy secretions when their eyes are affected. This is to protect them. I don't know Deb but I would give her every chance possible.
 
Has she eaten anything since it happened? Most fish can go a long time without food but it's a slow starvation. Now that the shock has lessened some she may show some interest to something easy like nori.
 
It looks like Trematodes to me.

What I would try... freshwater bath for 7 minutes. You can match pH if you want to but I never did and I've dipped thousands of fish (some people insist on it, so I'm posting that option). Match temp at least closely.

After about 4 minutes, if it's trematodes, they will start peeling off the eyes, and probably coming out of the mouth and gills.

You have to wait at least 4 minutes to kill the trematodes.

The fish may lie down or curl up - you can use your fingers to gently touch the fish to keep it alert and moving. Movement helps loosen the trematodes.

If it's not that, nothing will come off, and you'll know it's something else.

But that's what I would do first, before anything else.

Jenn
 
JennM;1088201 wrote: It looks like Trematodes to me.

What I would try... freshwater bath for 7 minutes. You can match pH if you want to but I never did and I've dipped thousands of fish (some people insist on it, so I'm posting that option). Match temp at least closely.

After about 4 minutes, if it's trematodes, they will start peeling off the eyes, and probably coming out of the mouth and gills.

You have to wait at least 4 minutes to kill the trematodes.

The fish may lie down or curl up - you can use your fingers to gently touch the fish to keep it alert and moving. Movement helps loosen the trematodes.

If it's not that, nothing will come off, and you'll know it's something else.

But that's what I would do first, before anything else.

Jenn
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Jenn your a great asset to this club always helping with very knowledgeable advice i hope this works!
 
Well I could very well be wrong, but IMO it's worth a try.

I should add... if that is what it is, it's kind of freaky to see them peel off.

And the process should be repeated once a day until the fish dips clean. Might be a couple of days... could be a week.

And then there is the issue of them being present in the tank.. but let's cross one bridge at a time.

Jenn
 
Hey deb,
How is she doing did the Epson salt help at all?

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk
 
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