How to tell if a fish is doing well in chloroquine phosphate?

[Tired]

Just gonna go ahead and @Humblefish for this, I think. 

 

I have made a potentially inadvisable impulse purchase. I went to my LFS today to look at cleaner shrimp, and they had two weird-looking little fish in one of the display tanks. "Curious wormfish". I've never even heard of these, but apparently they're gobies, related to dart gobies and firefish. They're really cool to look at, and my LFS said they haven't had these available in years, so temptation won out. 

 

Now I need to treat this lil critter in case it has ich. It looks healthy enough, but it's been in wholesaler tanks, so it's probably caught something. I can't do the tank transfer method because it's fast and buries itself in sand (I've given it a dish to sleep in), and I'm a little concerned about medicating it, since it's not a commonly-kept fish. 

 

So, how do I tell if it needs to be yanked out of the CP and put into clean water? Do I just watch it to make sure it doesn't stop eating? I won't be treating it for a bit, I'm going to make sure I can get a solid feeding response first. It seems healthy, no signs of disease, so I'm in no hurry to treat it. 

 

Anyone got any tips on these? From what I've found, they're a hovering goby that burrows at night and when scared, they can be kept in groups but will be aggressive towards each other if not introduced at the same time, and they eat typical frozen foods like mysis. They get 4.5" to 5" long depending on what source you check. The mouth is slightly tilted upward, so I don't think they pick at corals, and I didn't see either of the two going after the tiny shrimp in the tank with them. 

 

Here's a quick top-down shot of it being stressed about being in a cup. I've since moved it to a QT tank, and it's hiding under a piece of rock. 

[Humblefish]

Appetite suppression + lethargy are the two primary side effects of Chloroquine. You won't usually see these side effects @ 40mg/gal; more-so at 60-80mg/gal.

[Tired]

Good to know. I'll make sure to get it eating and acting normally before I treat, so I'll be able to tell if anything goes wrong. I assume I can yank it out of the medication immediately if needed, 95% or so water change? And do I yank it immediately if it starts not eating, or do I wait a day and see if it adjusts? I'd hate to kill the poor thing trying to treat it for a disease it may or may not have. 

 

Will clean sand with no biological filter interfere with the CP at all? The fish is still hiding, and this species is apparently fairly timid, so I think I might change the dish of sand out for a full (shallow) sandbed. 

 

Your guide talks about established biofilters binding the CP. Assuming I start with a clean tank, dry sand, and a chunk of dry rock, how long am I looking at before enough biofilter develops to be a problem? Should I be periodically removing and replacing portions of the sandbed to try and stop bacteria building up? 

[Tired]

Ah, just saw a thread where you stated that Chloroquine Phosphate treatment doesn't work in tanks with sandbeds. Is there any way around that, or should I just go with tank transfer and try to get better at netting fish? 

[Tired]

Got it eating! I had to put the food on the floor in front of it, but as soon as I did, it took the mysis. I'm not sure if it's eating the BBS that are in there with it, they might be too small. 

[Humblefish]

On 8/15/2022 at 6:49 PM, Tired said:

I assume I can yank it out of the medication immediately if needed, 95% or so water change?

Yes

 

On 8/15/2022 at 6:49 PM, Tired said:

And do I yank it immediately if it starts not eating, or do I wait a day and see if it adjusts?

I would use a different treatment at that point.

 

On 8/15/2022 at 6:49 PM, Tired said:

Will clean sand with no biological filter interfere with the CP at all?

Not initially, but as bacteria begins to colonize there then that will lead to biodegradation.

 

On 8/15/2022 at 6:49 PM, Tired said:

Assuming I start with a clean tank, dry sand, and a chunk of dry rock, how long am I looking at before enough biofilter develops to be a problem?

That's difficult to say, because the answer is dependent upon how long it takes nitrifiers to sufficiently colonize sand + rock to cause significant biodegradation. Could be weeks or even months.

[Tired]

That's good to know, thanks. 

 

 

It seems to be doing okay without any sand, so I'm a bit less concerned about that now. I'm inclined to go ahead and treat it in a bare tank, aside from a few hiding places. I'll probably swap the hiding places out now and then, to try to avoid too many bacteria colonizing them. On reflection, I might avoid the sand- it seems to be doing alright now that it's had some time to settle, and I don't need to add any more potentially complicating factors. I'll add sand for the observation period after the medication is done. 

 

Will update with how it responds to treatment.