LN Butterfly acting strange

When I came down this morning, I couldn't see my butterfly fish. After a while he emerged from behind the rocks, but kept going back. When I put food in he took a few pieces but then stopped (not like him).

When I looked later I couldn't see him again, so I looked in the reflection at the back of the tank and could see he was like, leaning upright against a rock while sat on the bottom, then he would get up, look towards the surface and just hover. He would do the occasional swim through the tank but then go back behind the rocks.

I have just returned again and looked behind the rocks and he appeared to be laying flat in the sand, so I figured he had died. I went and got the net, but when I returned, he was pointing skyward again swimming on the spot.

He really doesn't look like he is going to make it. I only have two clowns, coral and cleaner shrimps, a gobbie so a very stress free tank and they are all going about business as usual. There is no sign of ich on any fish, his colour is still bright yellow and up until yesterday he was fine.

I checked the big 3 with Salifert kits, ammonia 0-0.25, nitrites and nitrates 0. Salinity is 1.025, temp is 79, ph is 8.19


The only thing I have done is to raise the KH from 4-8 over a period of 6 days. And I did 3 x 5% water changes over 3 days with a new salt.

I am stumped as to why he has gone down so quick?

 

Sounds like he's becoming lethargic, possibly from his diet. How long have you had him, and what do you feed? Butterflies need a variety of meaty foods. A quality frozen butterfly blend may suffice.

Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish

 

I have had him about 6-8 weeks, I feed him frozen brine. The problem is I don't have access to much choice. I can't even get mysis shrimp here.

Up until this morning he would give the clowns a run for there money when it came to feeding, but this morning everything changed?

He had no loss of colour, no injuries that I could see, I checked the water, and everything checked out fine.

I have him in a separate tank now, but he is now just lying on the bottom, I don't see anyway of him pulling out to be honest, I think he will die in the next few hours. Really gutted, even more so because I have no idea what caused it.

I have just noticed him swimming, he seems to lay on the bottom close to death, then swims again. Are the signs not good, or is there a possibility he can survive?

 

Regular brine doesn't really have much nutritional value. Do you use any additives such as selcon? Do you have access to anything else?

 

I say reg brine b/c there is an enriched brine available, is that what you are using?

 

No, but I have ordered some Kent Garlic Xtreme from ebay which I am planning to add to the food. But I have a feeling it's too late in this guys case.

Problem is I am currently living in Brunei and they sell very little. Most of the equipment, kits and just about everything really, I have to have shipped in. Fish I can get, everything else is a struggle.

They do sell frozen Blood worms, but I'm going to ask the guy I get fish from if he can get me some mysis shrimp

 

I've used mysis and bloodworms, both are good choices. A varied diet would also be good for your tank if you can switch it up a bit.

 

Yeah, sounds like it's too late for him. I would suggest, however, that you go to the supermarket and get some raw clam and shrimp, maybe some squid or other meaty seafood and make your own fish food. Brine has very little nutritional value; you'll have trouble finding much of anything that can live on brine alone.

 

+1 ^^, making your own food is great and easy if you have a blender and a little time. Plenty of good recipes online.

 

ok cool, never thought of that. I will do a search now

So frozen bloodworms will be ok in saltwater? I thought they were for tropical

Thanks for the help