Help!!

[KeMo]

Ok so I bought a mandarin fish on Tuesday. Looked good when I got it.
I did the drip with him. So after placing in the main tank he hid for about an hour. Then he started to eat pods right away.
Today when I woke up it looks like his back fin is melting away. Looks like fin rot looks bad too.
Could it get that bad over one night ?
So I went to the store that i got it and told them. They tested my water and my PH was abit low around 8.0 . They said that was the problem and to buffer the ph up . To also give him fresh water baths for 1-2 mins until he starts to look better. Is this what i should do ?
It is now about 6 hours since i have came back and it looks worse, It seems to be spreading to his body now.
Please if anyone can help I feel Really bad. My Poor guy.
What should I do ?
I did a 20% water change after I got home and gave him a 1 and a half min fresh water bath ?
Their is one other fish in the tank but it shows no signs of any illness
Oh When i walked in the room tonight I saw a snail like sucking on the end of the poor guy were it looks like its rotting away. He could not get free, I did knock the snail free. It was the snails that live in my sand bed.
Thanks

[bvlester]

those snails are called nassarius snails they eat dead and decaying tissue you need to remove him right away and QT he does have some kind of fugues or perisite from what you are saying the nassarius snails can eat him alive if he can not get away from them when they approch. nassarius snails can be pretty fast for a snail. He could be on his way out and you do not want to infect the other fish. what type of fish is the other one? Can you snap a pic and post it there are so many things that can be doing this to him including a fish bit and now the nassarius snails know they can get a meal off him they may not leave him be.

Bill

[KeMo]

update!!

The fish did not make it through the night I feel shitty.
Im almost 100% shure that they sold me a sick fish like someyone said.
Was in their this morning to give them a piece of my mind. Looked in their main display tanks and saw more then 3 fish , 2 with fin rot and one with marine velvet.

I will never be shopping their again. Plus they are still saying that my ph @ 8.0 is what killed him. Fish was dead in less then 48 hrs.
Fin rot had spread to his body. Could that happen ? like could my tank cause the thing to rot away in less then 48 hrs ? everything else is fine in the tank. All crabs,snails,1 clown fish , 3 feather duster , leather corals ?

Thanks for taking time to read all who did .

[reefwars]

i can guarantee that your ph of 8 didnt kill your fish lots of people have ph around their. your fish was sick when you bought it and they should refund your money if they dont tell them your going to be posting warning ads on every site and sharing your experiences with people at other stores:) if they still wont .....dont go back:):) sorry about your fish, but make sure you watch fish for a while before buying, if its an impulse buy inspect the fish thoroughly and see him eat.always have a qt tank and qt fish untill you know their safe, i never add a fish untill hes spent a couple weeks in my qt tank:):)

[bvlester]

For your PH to have been the cause it would have to be down around 7.6 or 7.4 I forget which level is basically deadly to saltwater fish.
Not to worry you but watch your fish if they had MV in their tanks. It could have spread to the fish you bought because a lot of LFS put a bunch of tank on one sump. Now your tank is at risk of having MV so watch your tank over the next 3 months. I know someone that is dealing with MV as we speak. I can not stress this more we all need to QT fish before you put them into your DT. I know it takes time and the fish don't seem happy in a QT but the other fish in your tank would appreciate it greatly if they did not come down with a sickness. So get a larger tank for your Qt and use the old QT as a hospital tank. I have put fish directly in to my tank in the past (many years ago.)and have lost fish. now I QT every fish that come in my door, I dip all corals.

Bill