is something wrong with this fish?

[dreamon7]

I had around 6-7 damsels and a tomato clown, and they all ended up looking like this fish. One by one, they'd change overnight, and once they did, they'd only last a day or so. They looked like they'd been shredded - fins all mangled, skin pale, eyes sunken, lips white. They'd act normal in the morning, but by nighttime they'd be swimming sideways, and by the next morning they'd be dead. It happened to all my damsels, then the tank was empty for a month. I just added a new domino damsel, and he was fine for a week. But today, out of nowhere, he looked like the others. Same exact thing - dead by the end of the day. There's nothing in the tank that could've roughed him up like that.

Here are some pics of him from today before he died:

[fleeton]

No signs of spots or lesions on them, just this mangled, zombie-like appearance. Looks like it's gotta be something internal, maybe a parasite or bacterial infection that's causing this.

[dreamon7]

I think I'm dealing with cryptocaryon irritans, or at least it starts out that way. Initially, I see these tiny white spots around the face, but they seem to go away for a while. Then, this whole thing happens all over again. I'm aware I should probably run the tank fishless for 8 weeks to get rid of the ich, but is there something else I should be looking out for too?

[fleeton]

"Zenoxa's right, Ich is like the ultimate enabler - it weakens the fish, then some opportunistic bacteria comes along and finishes the job. You've got a two-for-one deal in your tank, Ich that needs an 8-week QT to clear out, and some kind of bacterial infection that can just chill for a month. Since the tank's empty and bioload is low, might be worth hitting it with some antibiotics to see if you can knock out the bacteria."

[dreamon7]

I've got a bunch of corals and inverts in the tank, that's where I focus most of my time and money during QT. I'm thinking it might be okay to treat with antibiotics, considering the low bioload. I've been using 5-nitroimidazoles for the ich, but I'm open to suggestions on antibiotics. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[fleeton]

I had around 6-7 damsels and a tomato clown, and they all ended up looking like this fish. One by one, they'd change overnight, and once they did, they'd only last a day or so. They looked like they'd been shredded - fins all mangled, skin pale, eyes sunken, lips white. They'd act normal in the morning, but by nighttime they'd be swimming sideways, and by the next morning they'd be dead. It happened to all my damsels, then the tank was empty for a month. I just added a new domino damsel, and he was fine for a week. But today, out of nowhere, he looked like the others. Same exact thing - dead by the end of the day. There's nothing in the tank that could've roughed him up like that.

Here are some pics of him from today before he died:

I'd recommend a course of Maracyn 1 for a week to tackle that secondary bacterial infection, followed by a week of Maracyn 2. Then, just to be safe, I'd QT for the remaining 6 weeks to keep the ich under control. After that, you could try adding another fish to the tank and see how it goes.

[dreamon7]

You're a lifesaver, thanks for the help. I checked the info on Maracyn and it seems it doesn't affect the biological filtration, that's a huge plus. I'm guessing I should avoid using carbon or my skimmer during the two-week treatment period, just to be safe. The cost is also a big relief, only around $30 to treat my tank with both Maracyn 1 and 2 for the recommended time.

[zenoxa]

My domino damsel had this issue previously, and I found that adding spirulina and garlic to his diet seemed to help clear it up. I'm hoping that once I get the clones of my nem in a few days, it'll give him an immunity boost, assuming he decides to make himself at home in them.

[dreamon7]

My domino only ever ate garlic laced mysid and still got this issue, Spirulina and garlic supplements were what seemed to help clear it up in my case.