Flame Angel with one white spot

[Jax Reef]

Hi everyone. First post here. I have been keeping saltwater aquariums for 35 years, but believe it or not this is my first flame angelfish. My flame angelfish has been in the tank (I only have one tank) for 5 days, and today I see a single white spot that looks like the "grain of salt" appearance that I usually think is cryptocaryon. Two pics are attached.

Over the decades I have had many run-ins with parasites and diseases, and this one isn't quite like what I have had in the past. First, the fish is very active and feeding. Second, it has not scratched a single time. Third, there is only one single spot. Fourth, no other tank mates show any signs or symptoms. Fifth, the spot is sticking way out farther than I am accustomed to seeing, almost like a small fungus spot.

I know that any one or two of these indicators would not be any reassurance, but I have never had a problem where there were no other warning signs except the spot itself.

Before I net all of the fish out of the tank, does anyone else have any other ideas? Questions that inevitably will be asked:

No the fish was not quarantined (yes, I know, and I don't need to hear it again)
Tank size is 40 gallon
PH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate all perfect according to recent tests by LFS
Salinity 1.023 to 1.024
Coralline algae is growing, no unwanted algae is growing, and two anemones are happy, so I assume tank is otherwise in good shape
No corals are in the tank
Fish inhabitants are 1 Heniochus, 1 small yellow tang, and the flame angelfish
No other inhabitants show any signs of distress or disease
Tank age is ~5 months
Water changes every 2 weeks
I use my own RODI water for changes and top offs

I'm tempted to leave the angel in the tank to see what happens. In the past I have seen a suspicious spot disappear and never come back, but I also have been hit with a wiped out tank once in the past where every fish got covered with spots and died. It almost looks like a single tiny fungus spot like from one scale that got ripped off by a net, but I obviously can't say for sure.

I live in a tiny (and I mean tiny) apartment, and therefore I do not have another tank to remove the fish. I suppose I could find a way to set up a 10 gallon somewhere somehow, but it's not going to be possible immediately. I don't have the equipment on hand, and I would have to find someplace to put it temporarily, probably right in the middle of the living room floor.

I don't want to overreact, but I also don't want to loose these three fish and then have to leave the tank vacant for 2 months. All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

-Jax Reef-

 

[Newsmyrna80]

The spot is not ich. Brook can present in this way. Do you have a sea urchin? Your tank is too young and small to sustain these fish. Hopefully you have plans to upgrade.

 

[avandss]

Always a chance its lympho

Hopefully it's not brook as that is a really nasty disease

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

How do you know it isn't ich for certain? Only reason I'm asking, is because I've got two fish in my tank currently who have a couple of spots just like that and I was assuming it was ich

 

[Jax Reef]

Thanks for the input folks. This situation is interesting to me because this one single spot appeared in a matter of hours. Because he is a new and unquarantined addition to the tank, and my first flame angel, I have been examining him several times per day looking for any signs of distress, spots, slime, film, scratching, lethargy, breathing problems, etc. All is well. Just a few hours after I posted this thread, the spot was almost gone, and it looked like just a tiny trace of fungus remained. Today after observing all of this for 24 hours, I suspect this is exactly what it was, but only time will tell for sure. Today he is completely spot free with perfect skin all over. I am hopeful that is was just a tiny infection from being netted and stressed during transfer that he fought off.

Regarding the bio load and age of the tank, I agree with the bio load part. The Heniochus is, in fact, looking for a new home. He is too big for my 37/40H tank, and he is outcompeting the others for food because he eats like a pig and he is very aggressive about food. It's too bad that he has to leave because I really like him.

As for the 5 month tank age for this list of inhabitants, if I hadn't been doing this for 35 years I would say you are right. I would tell anyone with less experience that angels, tangs, and anemones in a 5 month old tank is asking for trouble. I actually feel semi-comfortable with it given what I have experienced during the 5 months since I took this tank down and reestablished it. It is extremely stable and has been since week 2. Excellent filtration, good lighting, skimming, pre-established live rock from another tank, and frequent water changes have helped get things stable and keep them that way. Otherwise the anemones would be dead by now.

The Heniochus will find a new home, and I'm going to add a tiny Clarkii clown to see if he will get in the long tentacle anemone. I'll consider the tank fully stocked at that point.

I'm not going to freak out (yet) over a single spot popping up and disappearing. I'll keep this thread updated for a few weeks for future reference. I can't really find anyone online who has had an identical experience. Anyone who is interested, stay tuned.

-Jax Reef-

 

[Jax Reef]

How do you know it isn't ich for certain? Only reason I'm asking, is because I've got two fish in my tank currently who have a couple of spots just like that and I was assuming it was ich

There is no way to be sure. The symptoms and lack of symptoms I described in my original post, when all combined, indicated to me that it would be less likely to be cryptocaryon irritans than something else (I always prefer to use the specific name cryptocaryon irritans rather than just "ich"). The question then is, what is/was it now that it is gone? Also, it remains to be seen if it ever comes back. I now suspect, given my recent update, that this was a tiny infection, but only time will tell. I will sleep better tonight though.

In your situation, as in mine, I would look at the overall picture of health. When two or three symptoms become apparent, then I get worried. If you have more than one fish with it, or if it increases from a couple spots to a few more spots, and if it looks like distinct hard grains of coarse salt, and if any fish is scratching, or if it moves around on the fish like it's dropping off and coming back, or if there is a slimy appearance on the fish, or if it becomes lethargic and/or breathes rapidly or loses appetite or gets pale, then I would be very concerned. These are the classic symptoms I have encountered over the years.

Diagnosing these things precisely without a microscope and a biologist isn't easy. It's usually an educated guess. I used to have a LFS 30 years ago with a marine biologist on staff who would gladly diagnose these things, but I just don't see that at any LFS any more, which is a shame. I do have a really, really good LFS here though. That makes a huge difference.

-Jax Reef-