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Thread: Need help with lionfish!!!!

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    Need help with lionfish!!!!

    I need some advice on my black volitan venomous. Recently he shed a coat of white-ish slime looking stuff. ??? Also his left large side fin tips- one broke off about 1-1/2in. of tip. 2 more tip on same left side look like theyre wilting or something. I test my parameters once a week religously. All the parameters are really good, they have always been the same i have never had an issue ever. ammonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate-0, ph-8.1, sal-1.024, temp 80. it has a skimmer, a 3 stage canister filter, t5 HO lights, two power heads, flow is 2700 gph, i have an 11 watt UV sterilizer inline, its a 55gal. 75lbs carribbean liverock, 22 lbs live sand, under that is 20lbs of crushed liverock. i do very frequent 10gal. water changes ( every two weeks) just for good measure) I know its not necessary but i do it anyway. The whole setup has been functional for 5-6 months but it is a very healthy stable tank, wayne at the LFS is very impressed by it. Livstock: 1 extra-large black volitan venomous lionfish ( i had for 5-6 months) he is 3 years old never been sick or anything, One 13 in. snowflake eel new to tank by 6 days, 1 large spiny puffer had for 2 months, one yellowtail blue damsel 2in. had for 5-6 months, six large margarita snails had for 5-6 months, a handful of little hermits, and one 3in sea hare new to tank by six days. and one large decorator crab 4-5 in. everything lives together in harmony so far so good. There are no clams or corals or anything like that just live rock. I am putting a bunch of coral frags and a large clam soon. if anyone can help me with this problem i would appreciate it, thank you.

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    First, I believe that water changes are an absolute necessity. I do a 10% water change on my tanks weekly. Which parameters do you match when you do the water changes? You are changing the same amount overall that I do but with ~20% change you create more shifts in the water parameters, including those you can't test for.

    What are you running in the cannister filter?

    Shedding the cuticle (slime coat) is a sign something is wrong. Part of the problem may be that you have 3 large fish in a relatively small tank which causes water quality issues. Your tank is also not yet mature and that also can cause swings in the water parameters. I am also wondering if the damsel isn't nipping at the fins? They are notorious and have been known to kill much larger fish.
    Carmie


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    Master Reefer saxman's Avatar
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    actually, shedding a cuticle is perfectly normal for lions and most other scorpionfish. due to their sedentary nature, this helps the fish rid themselves of algae, detritus, ectoparasites, etc. that being said, shedding a cuticle too frequently is usually a sign of stress or the fish is fighting off some form of ectoparasite.

    without seeing your fish, i'd say your puffer has been at your lion's fins...this is not uncommon at all. puffers normally aren't great tankmates for lions for this reason. the puffer will also eat clams (you mentioned adding one). my second best guess would be Lymphocystis. i've seen it play havoc on a lion's fins.

    not that it's causing your problem, but IMHO, 80*F is pretty warm for a FO setup. we keep all of our lions at 76*F, except the bluefin, which we keep at 66*F. the warmer your tank is, the more likely your fish will develop a secondary bacterial infection in the broken fins.

    what do you feed your lion? there may be a nutritional issue, as in 3 years, it should have outgrown your 55 gal.

    can you post a pic of the lion?
    Greg

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