Help with disease identification

[qasim99]

I just got sent a picture from home, that my Regal Tang had died today. I had him for just over 3 weeks. He was occasionally showing some symptoms of itching as he was scratching against the rocks. He was eating, but not that much. It spent most of its time in and around the rocks, but it used to swim around as well. Yesterday when i got back from work, i noticed that it did not seem happy at all, it was hiding deep inside a crevice and didnt come out at all. I figured i would leave it for one day before quarantining it in a seperate tank.

While at work today, i got sent a message that its dead ( , and stuck next to the side of the powerhead. I asked my brother to send me a pic, and it does not look good according to this picture.

Could somebody perhaps help identify what caused the white markings around the gills, tail etc. and if it is something i should be worried about? (Will my other fish be at risk etc?)

Apologies for the poor quality of the photo, its the best i could get sent to me, before it gets buried.

 

[HumbleFish]

I can't tell much from the pic, but you saying he was "scratching against the rocks" tells me it was likely a disease that took him down. A few possibilities:

1. Ich - any salt or sugar like sprinkles on any of your fish? Can also harbor inside the gills.
2. Flukes - inside the gills, so you wouldn't see them... but if the fish was targeting his gills when scratching flukes is a possibility.
3. Velvet - same as ich but the fish might be completely covered in sprinkles. This should quickly spread to all your other fish and is a nightmare scenario.

 

[qasim99]

I can't tell much from the pic, but you saying he was "scratching against the rocks" tells me it was likely a disease that took him down. A few possibilities:

1. Ich - any salt or sugar like sprinkles on any of your fish? Can also harbor inside the gills.
2. Flukes - inside the gills, so you wouldn't see them... but if the fish was targeting his gills when scratching flukes is a possibility.
3. Velvet - same as ich but the fish might be completely covered in sprinkles. This should quickly spread to all your other fish and is a nightmare scenario.

I didnt notice any ich-like spots on the fish tbh. Regarding the scratching, he didnt do it much, maybe just a brief scratch every few days, not targeted at the gills. He used to ich much more when i first added him, but the itching died down considerably (I probably seen him scratch himself very briefly probably 2 times in the last week or more)

 

[snorvich]

Describe fish behavior, acquisition time, source, etc.

 

[qasim99]

Describe fish behavior, acquisition time, source, etc.

I had it for just over 3 weeks. Fish spent most of its time between the rocks, but did swim around a little (Didnt move too far away from the rocks) and it was bought from a LFS

 

[snorvich]

I had it for just over 3 weeks. Fish spent most of its time between the rocks, but did swim around a little (Didnt move too far away from the rocks) and it was bought from a LFS

Based on the timeline and behavior, I suspect Velvet. Your LFS likely runs a low level, non-therapeutic dose of copper in their system. If correct, your other fish are at risk.

 

[MrTuskfish]

He used to ich much more when i first added him, but the itching died down considerably (I probably seen him scratch himself very briefly probably 2 times in the last week or more)

As Snorvich suggested; sounds like velvet to me as well.

Are you saying he had ich when you bought him? You need a QT/HT to treat the remaining fish and all new ones. Ich or velvet is almost certainly in your tank
and will stay there, killing fish, until you've properly treated your fish in a QT and left your DT tank fishless for 10-12 weeks. Also, read the disease stickies at the top of this forum section, vital info for all of us.

 

[qasim99]

As Snorvich suggested; sounds like velvet to me as well.

Are you saying he had ich when you bought him? You need a QT/HT to treat the remaining fish and all new ones. Ich or velvet is almost certainly in your tank
and will stay there, killing fish, until you've properly treated your fish in a QT and left your DT tank fishless for 10-12 weeks. Also, read the disease stickies at the top of this forum section, vital info for all of us.

Hi i do have a QT. I noticed my Coral beauty, scratching against the rocks a few days ago as well, and i also noticed it shaking once as if it was being electrocuted or something. No visible signs on the body, besides 1-2 small pimple like spots which i couldnt really see clearly (it was between the patterns on the side of its body, about 2 pimples only on one side). I managed to catch it eventually after a few hours of trying, and have put it into a QT which already had 2 clowns in it (Clowns were new, i recently bought them and have them in QT before i put them into the display)

QT is being treated with Chloroquine Sulphate, will this be good enough? The Coral Beauty is still alive, but goes to hide as soon as it sees anyone go in front of the QT. How long should i leave it in there before i can move it back?

The other fish look fine for now, the only other thing that might be worth noting, is that my female trigger seems very active, much more than before... swimming up and down alot. She has a few marks on her face and head which could be parasites, but im quite sure they are just scratches from the rocks, as these marks are only on the head and not anywhere else on the body