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jay1335

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I just got a new rabbit fish and everything has been fine for the first three days. Now he has what looks like a shrimp sucking on his side. Is there such a thing as a parasitic invert? What can I do about this? Will it kill him? It can't be good for him. Thanks for any help!
Jay
 

Dre

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Most parasites are inverts. A fresh water dip for a few min. should take care of that problem. Do you have more fish in the tank and can you take a pic of it?
 

KathyC

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Yes, a pic would be most helpful to identify it.
Be sure the water you dip in is the same pH as your tank!

If the dip doesn't get it off, you can try and pick it off, not easy to do :(
 

jay1335

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60f686ea-2729-5a4d.jpg

That's the best pic I can get right now. I'll get a better one on my lunch.
 

jay1335

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Levito that's exactly what I have this isn't good. I'm gonna catch my rabbit and try the freshwater dip. Trying to pry one of these off a venomous fish doesn't sound like too much fun.
 

marrone

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You want to be really careful when you're handling the Rabbit fish, as the sting can hurt quite a bite. You want to make sure you have gloves on, and not just latex ones but thicker rubber gloves, like dish washing gloves. If you don't have thick rubber gloves you should use leather gloves, that way you're not going to get stung. If you do get stung you should put the area under hot water or under a MH or hot lamp. This will help reduce the pain.
 

jay1335

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QUOTE=marrone;886856]You want to be really careful when you're handling the Rabbit fish, as the sting can hurt quite a bite. You want to make sure you have gloves on, and not just latex ones but thicker rubber gloves, like dish washing gloves. If you don't have thick rubber gloves you should use leather gloves, that way you're not going to get stung. If you do get stung you should put the area under hot water or under a MH or hot lamp. This will help reduce the pain.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the warning. I'm very familiar with venomous fish. I've been nailed by a lion before, luckily im not allergic, and I've also worked in the seafood industry and man getting pricked by the dorsals of a red snapper is no fun either, your finger will double in size haha.
So on a better note..... I caught the little sucker!!!!! I went home for my lunch ready to try and net my rabbit. He was chillin right by one of my powerheads so I came at him from underneath. He bolted so fast that he dislodged his death sentence. The little isopod swam right into my net!!! And even better the isopod was only attached to his anal fin not on his body. So the prognosis looks good for my rabbit. Now I just have my fingers crossed that the little guy didn't have the chance to reproduce in my tank. I also have some video and pictures to put up.

I hope this thread will bring awareness to the reef community about these guys. I have been in the hobby for a good amount of time and have never heard about these guys. Thanks for all the help everyone offered!!!!!
Jay
 

jay1335

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South Salem
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looking at my rabbit a little closer it looks like the parasite hooked right into one of his venomous spines. Maybe thats why it was so easy to catch. What are the chances of that? Maybe this could be investigated further as a way to kill/catch the little f'ers.
 

dynamictank

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That's a shark type of parasite I've seen then on sharks never really on a juv fish. Use a hook to catch the fish if anything remove parasite n quarantine the fish in antibiotics there will be a small whole n a red spot after removing where did u get that fish from I'll be sure not to go there
 

jay1335

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South Salem
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Dude what are you talking about? Read the links put up about this parasite. It comes on rock, in sand and on all types of fish. And there is no way I'm going to go fishing in my tank. That would probably be more damaging to any fish in my tank than the parasite is!!!
 
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I don't see isopods on fish very often at all. I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen them on a fish and I have seen A LOT of fish. It isn't something I would lose sleep over, worrying if they are in my tank.

However, it isn't rare at all to see isopods attached to cleaner shrimp and other species of shrimps.
Link is here: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/index.php
 
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jay1335

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South Salem
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That's an interesting article with a smart way to rid your tank of a major infestation of these guys. Use a "bait" fish. Use a fish that is easy to catch and let these little guys latch on and then pull them out one by one. I'm not losing sleep over there being an infestation in my tank. If there is I'll deal with it then.
 

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