Swollen Cheek on Trigger.....
 

Hey guys,

So this weekend I noticed that one of my Triggers had a swollen lip/cheek on her one side.

She is not a new addition, and all my fish are QT'd and treated for 3 weeks prior to being added to the main system. There have no fish been added in over a month now so nothing new has changed.

Now I have two thoughts:

1) I have a foxface Lo. There could be a chance she got stung?
2) She gets scared really easily. There is a chance at night she got spooked and rammed into a piece of LR or possibly one of the power heads?

She has eaten very little since Saturday. Anyone have a similar situation and any ideas/thoughts/recommendations?


https://i.imgur.com/pkV4vBkl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6KW2pFVl.jpg

Bump.

Idk brother....looks like an injury of some sort.

Imo about all you can do is maybe buy a bottle of Slimecoat...SeaChem has stuff called StressGuard.

Ya I have some... I'll add it today when I get home.

Thanks for the reply.

Probably from the foxface, keep a eye out for a secondary infection. Is the trigger still eating?

Thanks for the reply.

No not really. Didn’t eat at all Sunday and today and I was watching it the whole time. So far it hasn’t eaten in 5 feedings. Any suggestions on what to do?

Try and get some clams on the half shell or squid to see if that will entice it to eat. I haven't ever had a fish get stuck by a foxface before, so I don't really have any great advice to give :sad2:

Thanks for the advise.... I got it o eat a little bit today. Its still super shy since being injured. It didn't eat as much as it normally does, but its a start.

Thanks for the help, Ill keep its progress posted!

Haven't seen him at all today or last night for either feedings...... not sure where hes hiding but it can't be good.

Typically not a great sign

Ya not good.... I didn't see him today either when I fed this morning, which is never happened this little guy was always the first and most excited to eat. I'm assuming he is either dead or about to unfortunately.

Getting him out now is another concern.... the tank is far too large to tear down looking for him, any ideas as to what CUC would consume him assuming he passed?

I REALLY want to try and avoid crabs if at all possible... but I suppose some dwarf hermits could work and pray they don't eventually turn on my all snail CUC.

Any recommendations would be great.

Hermits would work, not sure what starfish you have but most love easy meals. I'm sure you have a healthy population of bristle worms, they will also help consume the trigger. How large was the blue throat

Ya I have a starfish.... the problem is I think that the trigger died hidden in some of the LR caves and tunnels, I don't think the starfish can actually get to it. I saw my starfish on LR today for the first time actually to the cave entrance to where I know this trigger likes to hide... also not a good sign.

I don't have (many) bristle worms either, I started with dead rock and was super selective on which LR I added.... there might be a couple smaller ones but nothing I have seen.

I would estimate this little guy was approx. 4.5 inches if you include the tail.

With your size tank even if the trigger sits for weeks decomposing, I doubt your tank inhabitants will notice. If you're worried you could get some hermits and do a extra water change or two.

Thanks for the help... more just disappointed he died he was a really good looking and healthy fish with a super personality.

It sucks I know, I have been there. Though I haven't had a foxface stick one of my fish before, I have read about it several times before this and in all cases I believe the fish that was stuck died. Unfortunately its a risk we run when having these fish in our tanks.