FAQs about the Imperator Angel Genetic Disease
FAQs on Emperor Angel Health:
Emperor Disease 1, Emperor Disease 2, Emperor Health 3, Emperor Health 4,
Emperor Health 5,
FAQs on Emperor Angel Health by Category:
Diagnosis, Environmental,
Nutritional, Pathogenic (see also: Angels and Butterflyfishes & Crypt), Social,
Trauma, Treatments
Related Articles: Imperator
Angels, Pomacanthus
Angels, Marine
Angelfishes,
Related FAQs:
Emperor
Angels 1, Emperor
Angels 2, Emperor Angels 3,
Emperor Angel ID, Emperor Behavior, Emperor Compatibility, Emperor Angel Selection, Emperor Angel Systems, Emperor Feeding, Marine Angelfishes In
General, Selection, Behavior,
Compatibility, Health, Feeding, Disease,
|
|
|
Angelfishes for Marine
Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available
here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
here
by Robert
(Bob) Fenner
|
Emperor Angel, Sel. - 03/10/08 Good Evening Crew,
<Steven> I have a question regarding location for Imperator
angels. Are the Imperators from the Christmas Islands more
desirable than from other locations? <Mmm, yes... than most
all other common sources... e.g. the Philippines and Indonesia...
though not as desirable by far as the same species out of the Red
Sea...> There is about $100 premium being asked for about the
same size angel, only one has an orange colored tail and is from
Xmas Island. Your thoughts / comments are much appreciated. And
as always thanks for what you do. Best regards, Steven <See
WWM re this species Selection. Bob Fenner>
Re: Emperor Angel sel. 03/11/2008 Crew
(Bob), Thanks for your email. Would you then concur that Xmas
Island is more desirable then Central Pacific & Eastern /
South Asia. <In general, yes> How would you rate specimens
from Xmas Island, Australia and Red Sea? <The Red Sea
highest... the other locales about equal... more to do with
discerning individual specimens> There is quite a difference
in price depending on region and I want my chances to be the best
they can if a premium is substantiated based on where collected.
Many thanks on your response. Best regards, Steven <Welcome.
BobF>
Re: Emperor Angel, sel. 3/12/08
Bob, <Steve a reeno> Many thanks again. One more
question.... I promise! I did purchase today a Imperator from
Aquacon from the New Caledonia region. From speaking to the folks
at Marine Depot Live, Aquacon, and Marine Center, the regions of
the Red Sea as well as New Caledonia rarely see any of these
angels caught in less than 6" range. The one I bought from
Aquacon is quite large, however I spoke to the owner and he
indicated they have had this fish in quarantine for a little over
a month and the fish is eating well and seems to have acclimated
to aquarium life. I have acclimated fish previously using the
float, drip, test and if OK then net and release. With this being
as large of a fish (much larger than the other fish I have
acclimated), I am afraid of the amount of ammonia that will be
present, as well as the lowered PH level. Would you recommend a
small drop of Amquel+ after floating the bag and then a drip
procedure, or stabilize temperature, net and introduce.
<Mmm... depends on the apparent health... have you read my
pieces on acclimating marines on WWM?> My tank has been
established for several years, is 300 gallons (small weekly water
changes + refugium) and house 1 moray eel, 1 Blond Naso, 1
Chevron, and 1 Orange shoulder Tang.....no new additions in over
one year. Your thoughts on this size of Imperator and acclimation
procedure is much appreciated. This guy (or gal) cost a pretty
penny, and I want to give this fish the best chance for success.
Thanks again, Steven <Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/acclimat.htm Bob Fenner>
Re: Emperor Angel -- Need help ASAP
03/15/2008 Bob (Crew) Sorry, I accidentally hit send before
finished. To continue, I received the Emperor and the water was
cold and bag punctured. The fish seemed rather stable however,
not gilling heavily, and swimming around but not fast, kind of
graceful. I acclimated using a drip method after a few drops of
Amquel+ trying to get temp. and PH stable. The PH was low (low
7's) so after a while the temp. was warmer and I introduced
very gently, very smooth transition no trauma transitioning from
holding container to tank. First night with lights off he grazed
on the few pieces of live rock in the transition tank and was
swimming curiously looking at new surroundings. Water -- no
detectable ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates, SG 1.021, PH 8.4. He
did not eat, but not unusual for first day. Day two, he still was
curiously swimming around picking at live rock. Tonight he darted
around very fast and seemed to have squeezed out something from
his anus...looks like two large loops of spaghetti (maybe
intestines?). One loop looks to have a red crusted something
attached to it. Does not look like parasite or worm...too thick I
think for this, looks like organ to me. Any suggestions or
immediate help is greatly appreciated. <It's probably just
poop attached to a hair (inadvertently swallowed) or some other
stringy material. But without a picture it's hard to say for
sure.> Although he arrived with a punctured bag and rather
cold water, he seemed very stable with normal apparent gill
movement and grazing on live rock...good color too. I was hoping
he would pull through but not sure here. If the situation is
futile please let me know how to mercifully handle this
situation. <Oy, no need to panic just yet I don't think.
Generally, there's an expression used in teaching human
doctors about diagnosis, it goes something like "when you
hear hooves, think horses, not zebras." The same might apply
to fish health too... if the fish seems generally healthy,
chances are that anything coming out of its anus is just poop. If
it were expelling its organs, I imagine it would not appear to be
swimming or breathing normally. But do see if you can get him to
eat something.> Hoping for the best. Steven <Best, Sara
M.>
Re: Emperor Angel -- Need help ASAP 03/16/08
Sara, Thanks for your very quick reply. I don't want to
stress the fish with a camera flash but might take a picture
tomorrow AM. I am not sure about this being "poop".
There are two loops not strings that came out of the anus. The
loops are about the diameter of spaghetti and look exactly the
same (symmetrical) in nature. I will be patient and observe, but
something tells me these are supposed to be inside this fish.
These loops are approx. 1/2" in length, they exit the anus
and loop right back in and are a dull white color.
<Interesting... but I still can't think of any condition
or parasite that would cause a fish to expel organs from its anus
(that wouldn't be completely debilitating the fish). To me it
still sounds like the fish ate something it couldn't digest.
But I suppose, it's conceivable that if the fish had an
intestinal worm that died for some reason, it would get expelled
this way. But I don't know. I'm sure a picture would
help. And I do hope Bob or another crew member has more insight
into this...> Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Regards, Steven <Best, Sara M.>
Re: Emperor Angel -- Need help ASAP 03/16/08
Sara (Crew), Update as of this AM. The two loops were completely
expelled. <excellent> The whole time the Emperor seemed to
swim normal, continuing to graze on live rock, and peaceful. The
two loops that came out are exactly the same length each (approx.
1.5" circles). They sank to the bottom of the tank and were
of no interest to the other fish, which told me these may not be
organic in nature. My fish tank is quite tall, but I have a long
instrument that I could reach the two pieces so I pulled them
out. THESE TWO FLEXIBLE CIRCLES ARE RUBBER BANDS!!! It seems they
must have been from the shipping bags either in transit to the
retailer or in transit to me. <Hehe! I thought it must be
something like this. I almost even suggested rubber bands, but I
couldn't believe a fish would accidentally eat those. But I
guess it happens!> Emergency over. You were
correct...something he ingested. <Yep, but I'm much too
mature to say "I told you so." ;-)> Thanks again,
Steven <I'm happy for you, the fish. I hope all continues
to go well. Best, Sara M.>
|
Emperor Acclimation - 01/09/2006 This is my third
emperor in about 4 months. The first two
were teeny tiny juv.s (about an inch long) <Too small to
start... shame on the collectors> this one is probably
twice that size, maybe a little more. I thought a
slightly older one might get over whatever am missing.
<Better at 3-4 inches overall length> Its starting
off in a 30 gallon fish only ( yes I know, please
don't hurt me! ) <You will do this yourself>
Its tankmates are 3 cinnamon clowns and a
bi-color blenny. <Too small a volume. I hope they are leaving the
angel alone> The first two days after getting
him home he seemed fine, swimming around picking at
the rocks etc. But now after a few days, and like
the last two he is staying at the top, not moving
two much. His breathing
seems normal, his fins seem fine,
coloration gets white and blotchy occasionally, but from
what I've read here, and what I can
see, probably cause he isn't happy about
something. <Like your grammar> I did probably about a
10% water change, maybe a little
more. My readings all "appear
"normal, ammonia and nitrite at 0.0 and my nitrate at
10, is that normal? <Mmm, okay, normal> I have to
admit that my biggest success at saltwater was a panther
grouper who got to about 6 or 7 inches from 1. <A very hardy
aquarium species> Though I read they are the
Oscars of saltwater fish. <An apt comparison> Back to the angel,
( sorry I have that a.d.d thing ) <Ahh, I
have other shortcomings, not quite so popular> I have halfheartedly
attempted feeding him different things, but if he
isn't well that would be hard to get him to do?
<Yes... or too stressed... I would not place a Pomacanthus angel in
such a small system, with other fishes as you list...> Eat I
mean. Right now I have the lights off in the tank and
my fingers crossed. What have I done? If
you can possibly tell from this incoherent rambling email.
<Please take a read re our Emperor Angel materials:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/angels/pomacanthus/imperator.htm
and the linked files above. You can avoid mistakes with the knowledge
archived there. Bob Fenner>
Emperor with Tumor Bob, I am the guy that wrote to you
recently on the Emperor with the mouth tumor (9" Red Sea, on
Oxytetracycline food), subsequent to your recent Q&A
covering the very same subject. I dared accept the challenge. My
son and I caught him, placed him in a five gallon bucket with
aquarium water, prepared "Dip Away" solution, and
cleaned several small utensils such as tweezers, knives, etc with
alcohol. My son held him as I plucked slowly the tumor in multiple
pieces. We dipped him in the Dip Away solution and placed him back
in the main system. Well, he is doing great so far (about four or five
days now). He is eating like a pig. No signs of any infections. I
did leave a small stump as I was afraid to accidentally cut his
mouth if over trimming. Do you think this will be OK? <I'm
hopeful...> Should I have taken it all off and chanced more
damage? <Hard to state... there are trade-offs,
compromises...> My guess is he will be just fine given the results
to date. What are you additional thoughts? <None worth positing
here... congratulations> Thanks for the great advice. Regards,
Carlos >> <You're welcome, Bob Fenner>
Emperor Problem Bob, I have a 9" Red Sea Emperor Angel
with the same identical problem you note on today's Q and A.
He has had it on the lower part of the inside of his mouth since I
bought him (over a year ago) and always stayed the same size. It
has shades of white, black and even red. It only seems to bother
him in the sense he is selective in eating smaller bits of food
but continues to have a great appetite. Two weeks ago, it suddenly
erupted into many more "chunks". I dipped him three
consecutive days in Aquatronics Dip Away for 4-5 minutes and one
of those times, he expulsed a chunk of one into the water when
placed back in the main tank. It looked like a tumor with evidence
of some blood where it was attached. It has improved but not gone
away completely. I have been feeding him Oxytetracycline (so I
have been told) food which he seems to enjoy. Do you really think
I should mess with trimming this "thing" out of his
mouth? It is something I actually considered but chickened out
of. After all, it is only about $300 to $400 to replace this
prize fish. How would you address the possibility of an infection
after the removal? I have a 225 tank which will be very expensive
to treat with antibiotics and he is much to big for a hospital
tank. Will the "Oxytetracycline?" prevent
the possibility of an infection? It is really interesting to hear
this is not as an uncommon problem as I thought it might be.
Thanks for all the help. I really enjoy the column. Regards, Carlos
>> Thank you for writing so lucidly... Yes, there is a fine line
between "just waiting", hoping that such tumors will solve
themselves... and going so far as to effect a surgery... If the animal
ceases feeding, your hand may be forced to the latter... Secondary
infection is a real concern in exposing a fish through this sort of
manipulation... and is best dealt with through oral administration
(feeding), and/or injection of appropriate antibiotics... And of the
broad-spectrum, gram-negatives, Oxytetracycline is often used in
foods... If you have enough "emotionally invested" in this
animal, I would check with a local veterinarian who has some background
with fishes (call and ask around, other vets know who these folks are
in your area), and have them assist you in the actual surgery and
injection of an appropriate amount, type of antibiotic. They are
welcome to contact me re the last for opinions. Bob Fenner
Re: Problems with my Emperor Angel Thanks for the advise.
Today, I also noticed that the two front fins and the black area of the
body, where the fins attach, seem to have cloudy patches on them. He
also seems to be hiding more than normal, although he ate normally
today. I am getting worried now and think I should take him out and put
him in a hospital tank? <I wouldn't move this animal...
look to improving, keeping the present environment... moving it at this
point is very stressful> What do you recommend for treatment?
<Zip, nada, nothing> I am kind of new at this and hope I
don't do anything wrong! About your reply, I am kind of confused
about gas solubility, I have two Rio 1700's for circulation. Is
enough? <Circulation is not equivalent to gas solubility,
exchange... air stones, air intakes on your powerheads should be
employed if there is any doubt of saturation> Also how do I go about
getting macro-algae? <Order them and place them... in the main
tank, a lighted sump, or both> I thought that was something that
came when you get live rock, which I can't get here? <?> Is
Ogo a form of macro-algae, or fish food? <Both> And
finally, I have a porcupine puffer, will he try and eat the cleaner
shrimp if I were to put them in? <Assuredly> Thanks again for the
speedy response. I don't get much help here from the LFS. >>
<Then seek to help THEM... are you on the Big Island (call Mr.
Stokely), on Oahu? Call Randy Fernley at Coral Fish Hawai'i... tell
them I sent you...> Bob Fenner>
|
Angelfishes for Marine
Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available
here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
here
by Robert
(Bob) Fenner
|
|
|