Bristletooth Tang - White spots overnight

[tyguy1482]

Hello,

Woke up today to find my tang covered in spots. I've been dealing with issues in this system now for 2 months but the other fish seem okay at the moment (2 clowns and a blenny). I'm setting up a dedicated QT today but need to be confident in the diagnosis before beginning treatment. Please let me know what you think he has. Looks like ich to me.

Tank parameters (API and Salifert):
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 1ppm
Phosphate: 0ppm
pH: 8.0-8.2
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 79-80
Filtration: 100lbs dry rock, skimmer, 10gal refugium w/ 400W LED grow light
Last water change: 12 days ago, 30%

 

[Codeblack88]

Looks like ich

 

[tyguy1482]

Update:

Now almost all the spots are gone??? Is that possible with ich or could it have been sand/something on him? I will see if he eats tonight and if the spots reappear.

 

[Qasimja]

just keep an eye for the next few days to see if the spots reappear

 

[KGV]

Update:

Now almost all the spots are gone??? Is that possible with ich or could it have been sand/something on him? I will see if he eats tonight and if the spots reappear.

How is the tang doing now?

 

[Billldg]

Its really hard to say. Initially I would have said it may be Ick, but you say they are mostly gone now. I would do a fresh water dip and they monitor.

 

[tyguy1482]

Hi everyone,

So the tang isn't doing well. He has white discoloration around his gills and swims around somewhat erratically. I find him hanging out in front of one powerhead between the rocks. Still eating food soaked in Metro+Focus. Going to attempt a FW dip tonight after feeding. Was trying to find acriflavine today but no luck, I think it may be velvet. QT tank is running with fresh SW, matched temp and salinity. One rock from the sump because I'm worried about ammonia. I haven't put any Cupramine in yet but will hopefully start that tomorrow. Any advice?

 

[KGV]

Hi everyone,

So the tang isn't doing well. He has white discoloration around his gills and swims around somewhat erratically. I find him hanging out in front of one powerhead between the rocks. Still eating food soaked in Metro+Focus. Going to attempt a FW dip tonight after feeding. Was trying to find acriflavine today but no luck, I think it may be velvet. QT tank is running with fresh SW, matched temp and salinity. One rock from the sump because I'm worried about ammonia. I haven't put any Cupramine in yet but will hopefully start that tomorrow. Any advice?

You have any pictures/video of his current state?

 

[tyguy1482]

You have any pictures/video of his current state?

I have the lights off today but I just turned them on the take these:

 

[KGV]

I have the lights off today but I just turned them on the take these:

His body and fins seems to be free from any spots, right? (not entirely clear from the picture). Just his gills/head got a lighter cooler.

 

[KGV]

His body and fins seems to be free from any spots, right? (not entirely clear from the picture). Just his gills/head got a lighter cooler.

The only thing that crossed my mind is whether the lighter gills points towards local blood loss. I don't know whether the medication works and the parasites in the gills let loose, causing some blood loss. At least with gill flukes that can happen. Does he show any signs of head twitching, flashing his gills against surfaces, or irritation of the gills in general?

 

[KGV]

The only thing that crossed my mind is whether the lighter gills points towards local blood loss. I don't know whether the medication works and the parasites in the gills let loose, causing some blood loss. At least with gill flukes that can happen. Does he show any signs of head twitching, flashing his gills against surfaces, or irritation of the gills in general?

On the other hand, many fish show all sorts of different "stress-coats" that are due to a change in peripheral blood circulation. Just saying that blood loss may have nothing to do with it.

 

[Tcook]

So no spots for 7 days? I'm not sure how long the gap is between trophonts falling off and theronts re attaching? Days? A week? Also many of those spots in your photo looked quite linear. Flukes?

 

[tyguy1482]

His body and fins seems to be free from any spots, right? (not entirely clear from the picture). Just his gills/head got a lighter cooler.

No distinctive spots but the photo doesn't capture the discoloration on his body. It almost looks like patches. I really can't tell what it is. I need to get him in the QT tank asap.

 

[tyguy1482]

So no spots for 7 days? I'm not sure how long the gap is between trophonts falling off and theronts re attaching? Days? A week? Also many of those spots in your photo looked quite linear. Flukes?

I'm treating the tank with Metro but have PraziPro on hand. I already treated the tank once before for several weeks with API General Cure, Metro, and Prazi.

 

[KGV]

I'm treating the tank with Metro but have PraziPro on hand. I already treated the tank once before for several weeks with API General Cure, Metro, and Prazi.

I am sorry, but no idea. Shooting from the hip, I'd say secondary bacterial infection or brook. Are the patches smooth, that is, is his mucus coat smooth or uneven?

 

[KGV]

If he really gets worse, you can consider a fresh water dip. Then, if you have someone with a light microscope nearby you can take a sample of the sediment and check for suspects. I know it's involving but I find so many posts on R2R are wild goose-chases. Without an identified enemy it can be hard. Some fish have the text-book signs, but many others have more diffuse symptoms that are hard to classify.

 

[tyguy1482]

Guys, he got a lot worse today. Just did a FW dip, that seemed to help but here are some pics:

About to move to QT with 0.4mg/L copper.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Im thinking either flukes Or Stress. Saltwater Tangs are very fragile and sensitive to the water parameters of their aquarium. Sometimes environmental stress will cause a Tang fish to display discoloration which resembles white polka dots. None of these spots will be raised and they will appear significantly larger than the small granular cysts typical for ich. Stress spots tend to affect the Naso Tang the most, however, they can be seen on a wide range of Tang fish such as the Powder Blue Tang, Kole Tang, Hippo Tang, and others.
On the flukes, although they won’t be visually present on the fish’s body at first, flukes will become apparent during the treatment of a host that shows ill symptoms and with them vanishing after a FW dip is a good indicator. Did you happen to look on bottom of container when you did the dip to see if you noticed anything looking like sesame seeds or fish scales ?
The signs of infestation with flukes are fish flashing around the aquarium, scratching on objects, pale color, stringy feces, swimming near the water surface, lethargic behavior and troubles breathing with a rapid gill movement.
A common treatment of skin flukes for saltwater fish is the use of Praziquantel, chosen for its efficiency against these parasites. The recommended product that contains Praziquantel is PraziPro.

 

[tyguy1482]

Im thinking either flukes Or Stress. Saltwater Tangs are very fragile and sensitive to the water parameters of their aquarium. Sometimes environmental stress will cause a Tang fish to display discoloration which resembles white polka dots. None of these spots will be raised and they will appear significantly larger than the small granular cysts typical for ich. Stress spots tend to affect the Naso Tang the most, however, they can be seen on a wide range of Tang fish such as the Powder Blue Tang, Kole Tang, Hippo Tang, and others.
On the flukes, although they won’t be visually present on the fish’s body at first, flukes will become apparent during the treatment of a host that shows ill symptoms and with them vanishing after a FW dip is a good indicator. Did you happen to look on bottom of container when you did the dip to see if you noticed anything looking like sesame seeds or fish scales ?
The signs of infestation with flukes are fish flashing around the aquarium, scratching on objects, pale color, stringy feces, swimming near the water surface, lethargic behavior and troubles breathing with a rapid gill movement.
A common treatment of skin flukes for saltwater fish is the use of Praziquantel, chosen for its efficiency against these parasites. The recommended product that contains Praziquantel is PraziPro.

Hi vetteguy53081,

Thank you for responding. I never noticed him scratching or having lethargic behavior, he mostly just seemed stressed. I didn't observe anything in the FW during/after the dip but now that the tang is in the QT and I can observe up close; he has white objects attached to him (lightly more oval than round, hanging off) and large patches of skin discoloration. He isn't swimming erratically or into the direct path of the powerhead like he was in the DT. I just fed him some brine with Metro+Focus and am watching with anxiety.

Edit: His skin looks almost slimy and raised/pitted in areas.