Huma Picasso Triggerfish

[mjl0320]

Hello!

So last Sunday we bought a few more fish for our 125 gallon tank. One of them being the Huma Picasso Triggerfish. He's such an interesting fish! I've done some research and I know that they will go into caves to sleep, lock themselves in there. And it's funny cause he always seems to go to bed around the same time. Anyway, today I noticed he was swimming around the top of the tank and at one point he had himself up against the overflow. Like he enjoyed the suction from it or something. Now he is laying on his side in a cave and i'm worried about him. I don't know if it's bad or if it means something is wrong. I checked the salinity in our tank and it is a little high. I'm just looking for a few answers, or if anyone else has noticed the same behavior. Still pretty new to this...Also should he be sleeping in the middle of the day?

 

[cedzaquaddiction]

Just give him a couple of hours before you start panicing. Mine sleep in the oddest of ways and times...

If he doesn't come out for feeding tonight, then there may be an issue...

How are the other fish doing? What are his tankmates???

 

[mjl0320]

Well that's the thing, I fed the tank this morning and he didn't seem interested. His tank mates are a convict damsel, a few blue damsels, goby/pistol shrimp, and the usual clean up crew. We don't have much right now. We hit hard times and had to start from scratch with the tank. I just found out that the freshwater we bought from our local fish store had salt in it. So we have been topping off our salt water tank with more salt water! I'm pretty upset about this discovery. Could be why he is acting strange? All of the other fish are fine though...

 

[cedzaquaddiction]

Well, a couple of things to consider...

Were the damsels in there first? How big is the trigger compared to the damsels? Damsels can be real brown-eyes, and the trigger may be hiding from them if it is small enough to get harassed by the damsels.

Also: check your salinity. If it is very high, it could very well be part of the problem for thetrigger. Damsels can survive just about anything...

How are the other water parameters?

How long have you had the trigger? Did you QT?

 

[mjl0320]

We got him and the 3 blue damsels all last Sunday. We have had the convict damsel for over a year now. You're right, they can live through just about anything. The triggerfish is about 4" he is the biggest one in the tank. I'm starting to get worried now. I placed food next to him and he refused to eat. He can barley swim. He has gotten progressively worse throughout the day. We just found him stuck to a power head. When we got him unstuck he floated down to the bottom and is laying between two rocks. It's all very depressing and sad. Could these be signs of ick? I just don't want him to die. He is still alive, but it doesn't look good...

 

[kilralpine]

If the salinity hasn't been corrected I would have immediately done such (over a few hours period of course). Bad salinity causes all sorts of things, where did the fish come from? was it quarantined? how long did the lfs or last owner have it? Did he eat at the store and has he eaten since you got him? if so how much?

 

[mjl0320]

Yes he did eat just fine. We only started noticing something today. We got him from out local fish store. So it did have a regular diet, etc. Also, yes we have started fixing the salinity. He hasn't "rubbed" up against any rocks. He doesn't move at all. His breathing does look labored though and it's hard to tell if he has any spots yet. Due to where he is located. I'm guessing that is the cause though.

 

[kilralpine]

I would definatly start at the bottom and work your way up, if salinity is jacked up its probably what his issue is. Solubility of dissolved oxygen also decreases as salinity increases; hence the labored breathing (or at least im guessing) just remember to slowly bring salinity back down to normal over a few hours period. Now might be a good time to buy a refractometer if your still using a swing-arm style hydrometer (those things are trash).

 

[mjl0320]

Thank you for all the advice. Unfortunately the trigger didn't make it through the night. :sad: But we are working on the correcting all problems with the salinity and we are going to work on getting the tank back in order before we buy another fish. The other ones are just fine, but they are damsels. These things happen and you just have to start from the bottom up.

 

[frederz]

I'm sorry to hear

 

[cedzaquaddiction]

So sorry to hear this , Man... You did all you could do. Make sure you let your LFS know about the top-off water so this doesn't happen to someone else. Also check your water params. Dead fish can cause an ammonia spike that will cause other issues...


Sorry for your loss.

Best of Luck!!!

 

[mjl0320]

Thank you!

 

[kirkwood]

did you check your ammonia? the original description sounded like he was gasping for air.. going up to the overflow would have increased the water circulation over his gills to give him additional oxygen.. check to see if your other fish seem to be pumping their gills more than normal.