Help, please - Firefish ill

[KNelson]

I came home to this...

 

Fish was fine last night.  Ate well, swam well.  I've been battling some algae, cyano I think although nothing targeted for such is getting rid of it (2x Chemiclean and 1x Blue Life).  No ammonia, that's all I've had time to check for.  3 other tank mates are fine right now.  25g with about 5g of rock, 2.5 years old (moved to current tank 1 year ago), only started having algae issues about 3 months ago and all water tests done recently were normal for my aquarium with the exception of my consistently very low nitrates.  5g wc weekend before last.  Firefish was first resident along with a clown that suicided long ago.  Current tank mates are citron clown goby and circus goby added when they were quite small 1yr 7mos ago.  And baby biota blue mandy added 10mos ago.  They are all quite peaceful but the clown goby is "friendly" with the only aggression I've noticed being when the mandy was new and ventured into the circus goby's cave.  

 

 

There are largeish pale patches on both sides, darkened edges of all dorsal fins and tail, and a patch on his lower lip that I can't really tell what's going on there... Bulge? Separation? 

 

I've looked through a few sites and can't find anything other than it's just dying.  Thoughts? 

 

Edit:  It has recently started sleeping in a new area on the sandbed in the corner of the tank near a zoa colony.  It was having trouble finding its hole in the rocks as the lights in the tank dimmed.  

[KNelson]

Just got home from dinner - he's dead.  Found him face first in a nearby rock missing his lower jaw.  I couldn't find anything wrong externally besides that. 

[Humblefish]

Some sources claim that dartfish/firefish only have about a 3 year lifespan. And you said you've had him already for 2.5 years??

[Crys]

Hi,

 

Sorry to here about the loss of your fish.  I just lost  my first fire fish as well.  Mine was only home for two days.  I have a lot more experience with fresh water fish, but the way his gills were moving he was having trouble getting enough oxygen. A fluke out break in fresh water fish looks the same. This can be a sign of gill flukes and he would have been at a very advanced stage.  Watch your other fish if they start flaring their gills a lot you may want to treat for flukes.  They can decimate a tank quickly as they breed exponentially.  So I may be way off giving advice from fresh water experience, but hope the rest of the fish are ok. 

 

[KNelson]

I looked at flukes and don't think he had em.   He was doused in fresh water as soon as I got home and found him dead... nothing fell off of him.  Not sure how long they hang out after death but he wasn't long in the tank dead.   I am leaning toward life expectancy death (I confess I never payed attention to that).