dots on blue tang HELP
- Thread starter rayn
- Start date
Stuart60611
New member
Those two black spots definitely do NOT look like black ich. I have had black ich in my prior reef tank. It looks like tiny black dots. Your spots on the tang are much larger and more pronounced. At this point, my advice would be be do nothing other than feed well and keep parameters prestine. You need to figure out what is causing this b/4 you treat blindly. It could be something as benign as the fish geting startled, plowing into the rocks, and what you are seeing is some bruising. Research the best you can to determine what it is and then deal with it appropriately. If the fish stops eating and starts behaving poorly, then you may want to remove the fish to quarantine and treat with a broad apectrum antibiotic if you cannot figure out what is ailing the fish. I would only do this at this point if you are running out of time and options. If I were to guess, it appears that this could be a bacterial infection. If so, keeping water quality high and feeding well may be enough for the fish to overcome it on its own. Otherwise, the fish may need some help with an antibiotic in quarantine.
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Stuart60611
New member
A further thought, you can contact Fishman Chemicals and/or National Fish Pharmacy, and they can assist you with the diagnosis. They have vets available to talk to you, and I have found them very helpful with diagnosis.
steelhead77
New member
I don't believe it! Stuart actually agrees with me on something!!!
rayn
New member
Those two large spots are what stared this whole thread. Since I have noticed smaller black dots AND ich. This particular fish has a few issues. I've tried following the QT regimen, but emergencies dictated me in other directions for a time. Now I have the ability and space to QT this fish as needed.
Ill be home shortly and check the condition then, and decide on my next move, and post my findings.
Ill be home shortly and check the condition then, and decide on my next move, and post my findings.
Stuart60611
New member
Ok, well, your have a bunch of options and more things to consider here than you may realize. Take off the table the large black blotches for a moment which now with the additional information that you are also dealing with a form of ich I am convinced are signs of a bacterial infection which often follows ich. If your tang also has ich, then all of your fish in the system have ich. Treating your tang without consideration of your other fish makes no sense b/c even if you sucessfully treat the tang you will revisit this again once you re-add the tang back to the display after treatment, and he gets re-infected. If you have black ich which as described above is a form of worm parasite, the best treatment you can do is to treat all of your fish with prazipro. Real good news here is that if you do not have ample quarantine facilities for all of your fish, you can likely even treat your entire display with prazipro without any major problems. Some corals do not like it, and you could have some coral losses, but all of your corals will likely tolerate it fine. Inverts will also do fine, except for certain worms. Easy to remove and does not get locked into rock or sand like copper.
Once free of the black ich, I would play a wait and see approach. My bet is the bacterial infection will go away on its own once the black ich is out of the picture. If not, then you may have to put the tang in quarantine and treat with an antibiotic.
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rayn
New member
I can set up one more 55 for QT and leave it designated for QT if needed. I have a 29 that is already QT and has had copper in it. If I can get all the fish moved and leave the 120 fallow for the time period needed, then hopefully I can get this under control. The tang will be treated by itself, all other fish can be moved into the 55, then treated either together or slowly moved over to the 29 for treatment individually.
Fisrt thing first, getting the tang out.
Fisrt thing first, getting the tang out.
rayn
New member
<a href="http://s496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/?action=view¤t=HPIM1079.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/HPIM1079.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/?action=view¤t=HPIM1089.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/HPIM1089.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Here are pics from tonight. On the one side you can see the bigger two dots then the smaller five or six below the black stripe. On the second pic, without the rabbitfish tail, you can just make out the couple of small black dots. They are blurry again, but they are there. Maybe this helps.
<a href="http://s496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/?action=view¤t=HPIM1089-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/HPIM1089-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/?action=view¤t=HPIM1089.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/HPIM1089.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Here are pics from tonight. On the one side you can see the bigger two dots then the smaller five or six below the black stripe. On the second pic, without the rabbitfish tail, you can just make out the couple of small black dots. They are blurry again, but they are there. Maybe this helps.
<a href="http://s496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/?action=view¤t=HPIM1089-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/HPIM1089-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Ok. The first thing to do is determine what this is-I can't without actually seeing the fish up close. If it is black ich-Spot it cannot be cured by antibiotics this is an infestation of a particular type of worm as already mentioned. If it is a discoloration in the flesh it will not be raised. If it is black spot the skin will be raised and you should be able to tell. I've had hippo tangs for more than 30 years and they are more tuff than some give them credit for. If you have had this fish for some time it would not be likely that it got this in your DT. When I say for a while I mean more than 30 days. First do check to see if the spots are raised at all. If so and you have had this fish in and out of quarantine for some time rather than take him out see if you can acquire some skunk cleaner shrimp and/or neon gobies. Both are awesome critters to use natural means to remove parasites from a fish body. I always have them in my tanks and my hippos off an on get ich and both remove the ich completely. I'm not a fan of chemical warfare in the control of disease as I believe this takes a toll on the animal kind of like chemo on a human. Another product I use is MarineMax regularly. Between all three I have not had any disease issues for some time.
steelhead77
New member
OK. So like I said earlier. These spots are most likely caused from a tussle with the Foxface. Those spines of his are venomous. They will leave a mark on other fish. This happens to my fish ALL THE TIME! Those black spots are NOT ich. Jeesh! Sometimes I think we reefers are like new parents. At the first sneeze or sniffles on our new bundles of joy, we think they've got pneumonia. Calm down man. Those black spots are not ich. If you continue to chase that poor fish around in order to QT him, you WILL end up killing him. Leave the tank alone, for pete's sake. Let things settle for a few days. Keep your hands out of the water. Nobody has as many things go wrong with their tank(s) as you have rayn. IMHO, you need to step back a bit and let things run.
rayn
New member
I agree and disagree all at the same time. I have had some good luck with this and some bad luck with this. Maybe I have more issues then other, then again maybe I just look for answers more. Either way I have a sick fish that I don't want to die.
Tonight all looked good, but now blue is kinda just laying there not doing much. Not sure why.
steelhead77
New member
Well, maybe you look for problems more. I understand that all of us, as newbies, were super paranoid about every little thing we spotted in our tank that looked different than the last time we looked at it. I know it's hard to step back and just observe, but sometimes I think that is the best advise to give a newbie. Most people who have been doing this for awhile tell me that the best thing they have ever done is to keep their hands out of their tanks. Things seem to go much smoother and livestock is much happier when we leave it alone.
Now, I don't know what's wrong with your fish, but he has been thru some trauma the past few weeks with ich and the 3 qt's and all. So he's probably stressed and weak. This is why I am stessing to leave him alone for awhile and let him chill out.
steelhead77
New member
I still think it's from the FF. Those spines are pretty nasty and do leave marks.
Stuart60611
New member
It is possible it was the foxface, but the marks should be gone in a week or so if that is the case. Also, if you are seeing little black dots on your fish in other places then it is likely black ich. If it is black ich, it is probably too late in terms of your other fish becoming infected. However, as I stated before, black ich is much easier to deal with than crypt. Prazipro will take care of it, and you can even if you do not have ample quarantine space treat the display with prazipro without any likely adverse consequences and no lasting negative effects. You definitely do not want to leave black ich alone and not treat because it will not go away by itself and as the black ich worms multiply and further infest the fish you will likely see further bacterial infections from the open wounds the parasites create which can become fatal quickly and a loss of appetite. Moreover, black ich is not hard to treat, and fish handle prazipro without problem b/c it is maybe one of the most gentle medications used to treat fish. As to the large black spots, I think they are a bacterial infection whether caused by the foxface or black ich. They may go away by themselves once the primary cause is eliminated. Otherwise, you will have to treat with an antibiotic in quarantine.
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rayn
New member
Well the flashing and itching continued tonight. Also there is sideways swiming. Sorry steelhead, but blue is in QT now. Fairly easy to catch to which shouldn't be either.
Stuart, if I use the prazipro on the DT will it eliminate the floating black ich worms that may be in the sand or does it just work on the fish itself? If I see no signs of these spots on the other fish should I or do I need to still treat the DT?
Stuart, if I use the prazipro on the DT will it eliminate the floating black ich worms that may be in the sand or does it just work on the fish itself? If I see no signs of these spots on the other fish should I or do I need to still treat the DT?
Ethan_W
New member
not my oscars. they always think anyone who even walks into the living room has food for them lol. they're pigs. and same goes for my mandarin. every time i sit infront of the tank he comes out of the rocks and goes up and down the front glass like ive got something for him to eat
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