emperor angel juvie with white blotches

[geaux xman]

anyone know what this could be? the white blotches just started showing the last 3-4 days. it is not ich. the fish has been in hypo(1.008-1.009) since
12/14/10(tuesday makes 3 weeks).

amm 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 40ppm(high), ph 8.1

i just did a ~25% WC a few minutes ago. i feed NLS pellets 3x day, occasional oceanic nutrition beef flakes. it eats very aggressively.
fins are clear, just the blotches on the body. it does not appear like white spots at all.

the white blotches sorta looks like this bottom one here but not as severe. the eyes are black(no cloudiness at all)

 

[geaux xman]

before i got it, my LFS had it for 3 months. he also said the fish has been in copper.

 

[el tigre]

I believe that specifically the Emperors do this when they are stressed. The hypo tank might be causing this. I would put him in the dt when you feel safe too, especially since the fish has been in copper for 2 months.

 

[dviper150]

The emperor i have only does this when he is stressed. Maybe its something in the water that is bothering him? I would try to get the nitrates down a little more and see if that helps. My nitrates are a lot higher so i'm not sure if its the nitrates that are causing the blotches.

I added a UV sterilizer and that helped with whatever that was stressing my emperor out and he cleared up and has been clear every since.

 

[ENTMogul]

Emperor angels do this when they are stressed, so re-check your tank parameters. I would also feed some frozen Mysis and small Krill. You did not state you were feeding frozen food. Also, these angels LOVE to munch on sponges so go to your LFS and get a cheap ball sponge or what not and stick it in the tank.

Is there a reason your keeping this fish in hypo? If you are not seeing any signs of disease raise your salinity asap. That is probably going to help.

 

[svejil]

Have to +1 on the fact that this looks like stress markings. I don't see the size of this QT tank..... Also, although I am a big fan of NLS, I don't quite buy off on the feed this exclusively. Angels (more than most fish) require some foods in higher concentrations. Although NLS has a broad range of ingredients, I am not sure they have some of them in high enough concentrations.

I am a fan of the Brightwell AngeLixir. It contains the same amino acids that live marine sponges have, which angels feed on in the wild. Personally, the additive is easier than finding live sponge, and allows me to know they are ingesting this as it is soaked into their food. I have heard of hobbyist buying live sponges for their angels, only to find out, that particular sponge is for whatever reason not very "appealing" to the angel. It is an easy additive to add to foods like NLS. I also believe algae / spirulina is important, and would feed these as well too.

I feed my 12"+ Emperor NLS twice per day, but also mix in algae sheets, spirulina, mysis, and krill. Once every day I supplement food with the AngeLixir, vitamin c, and every other day selcon. My Emp. and Flame have great colors, nice streamers, and I have kept both in hyposaline conditions (1.008) with no loss of colors. I have had the Emp. for over 10 years.

Just my 02.

SV