Atlantic Blue Disease Identification?

[TACoraled]

This morning I came down to give my fish some spirulina flakes (as I do every morning) and noticed my Atlantic Blue Tang had some 'dark patches' on his entire body. He was swimming fine, but looked terrible. I'm hoping it was a fluke (not the parasite kind) and he just hadn't un-camouflaged completely since the lights just turned on about 10mins prior.


I have noticed my foxface chases him away from the flakes and nori sheets when I first add them. I'd pull him out and put him into another tank, but all I have is a 40b and I know he'll get too big for that tank.

I've attached a couple photos from this morning so you can see what he looks like. I've had him about 3 months now. Had him with a Kole in QT for 6 weeks and showed no signs of disease/stress, but I know there is some stress from the foxface in the tank now.

 

[GrendelPrime76]

having a hard time seeing anything through all the coraline on the glass

 

[TACoraled]

What's wrong with coraline on the back glass? The spots you see are on the fish, not the front glass. The front glass is clean.

 

[TACoraled]

Anyone?

 

[b0bab0ey]

If it hasn't gone away by now, then my best guess is some sort of bacterial infection. But it's just a guess because I've never really seen anything like this before. Personally, I would QT and treat with Furan-2. It claims to treat a "wide variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases" and that sounds like you. A good friend of mine who works for a wholesaler swears by it and claims it will cure just about any bacterial infection.

 

[TACoraled]

Well I msg'd too soon. When the lights came on at 8am this morning I found him dead on the sandbed

Any chance my foxface stressed him to death?

 

[b0bab0ey]

Well I msg'd too soon. When the lights came on at 8am this morning I found him dead on the sandbed

Any chance my foxface stressed him to death?

I'm sure it didn't help matters any. Ya know, something just occurred to me. I'm not sure if you knew this or not, but a Foxface has poisonous spines. So if he did manage to somehow stick the hell out of your Tang, that would explain the markings on his body. In either case, if you just noticed it yesterday and he's dead today then I doubt there was anything you could have done to save his life.

Of course, it could have just been stress marks. This is what I originally thought but they don't usually last that long.

 

[TACoraled]

I knew about the foxface's spines, but I didn't see any puncture marks on the tang's body, just the blotches. If that's what stress marks look like then that may make sense. Not sure why the foxface went after him instead of the kole, unless it was because he was tiny compared to the Kole.

Just sad to lose him as I was hoping to see him change from yellow to blue.

Thanks for the help.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

I'm sure it didn't help matters any. Ya know, something just occurred to me. I'm not sure if you knew this or not, but a Foxface has poisonous spines. So if he did manage to somehow stick the hell out of your Tang, that would explain the markings on his body. In either case, if you just noticed it yesterday and he's dead today then I doubt there was anything you could have done to save his life.

Of course, it could have just been stress marks. This is what I originally thought but they don't usually last that long.

Sorry to hear you lost that guy. I agree with bobaboey on this one, I never really seen something quite like this and could've had something to do with the foxface's spines.