Marine Ich? or Fungal Disease Declivis BF

[rosko23]

So I got a Declivis Butterfly 2 weeks ago and because I was inpatient I didn't QT him.. That was a huge mistake. My Mitratus seemed to develop Marine Ich and I am treating with Metro & Focus. He was doing good, but today looks like the spots came back...

My Declivis looked real bad, so I pulled him out of the tank and put in QT.. My only question is i can't tell if its marine ich or some sort of fin gal disease. He has been scratching pretty bad on the rocks so I was thinking it was just some scratched off scales, but i sent this video to a friend and he said it looked possibly like a fungal disease...

Need some input so I can treat correctly...

and i know QT all fish... so no need to remind me of this =)

Click on pic for video

 

[keithhays]

It isn't ich, but it looks like an injury in which bacteria will most definitively will be invading. It hard to say if it is fungal yet. You would be safe in treating for a bacterial infection. Comparing this fish to others of his species on the internet, he is not a healthy fish aside from this. What size tank was he in?

 

[rosko23]

It isn't ich, but it looks like an injury in which bacteria will most definitively will be invading. It hard to say if it is fungal yet. You would be safe in treating for a bacterial infection. Comparing this fish to others of his species on the internet, he is not a healthy fish aside from this. What size tank was he in?

137 gal.. 48x30x22

 

[keithhays]

137 gal.. 48x30x22

He seems very alert, but stressed. It does need at least 120 gallon tank. I believe Maracyn plus or Methylene Blue would treat for bacteria. Low lighting would also be a good idea. If it doesn't turn red at the edges or start show growths, it could heal on its own, but I would probably go ahead and treat given it is a $400 fish.

 

[rosko23]

He seems very alert, but stressed. It does need at least 120 gallon tank. I believe Maracyn plus or Methylene Blue would treat for bacteria. Low lighting would also be a good idea. If it doesn't turn red at the edges or start show growths, it could heal on its own, but I would probably go ahead and treat given it is a $400 fish.

Yeah he's eating great and was getting metro and focus for past 1.5 weeks. He is very social and literally sees me approach tank and goes to waterline to get food. He was scratching like crazy and I think it Made him worse... I just want to treat him correctly... He's a beautiful fish...

I am 100% certain it was an unhealthy specimen bc where I got him from. That was a huge mistake but I had credit.


Thanks

 

[keithhays]

Scratching is not a good sign, that generally means an infestation of some sort. I would get Seachem Paraguard which will treat Viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal.

 

[rosko23]

Scratching is not a good sign, that generally means an infestation of some sort. I would get Seachem Paraguard which will treat Viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal.

Ok thanks.

I do think he has ich and was the one that brought to my tank since everything was perfect b4 him. Could i treat with copper and para guard?

 

[keithhays]

Ok thanks.

I do think he has ich and was the one that brought to my tank since everything was perfect b4 him. Could i treat with copper and para guard?

If you think it is ich, I would go with the cuparmine copper. It would be useful for other parasites as well. Check with seachem on mixing them.

 

[rosko23]

If you think it is ich, I would go with the cuparmine copper. It would be useful for other parasites as well. Check with seachem on mixing them.

Ok thanks

 

[OoNickoC]

No ones mentioned it but he has a very obvious bite on his shoulder. The mouth shape is very pronounced on it, also several other signs of impact in bad places. Aside from any possible pathogens I would safely say he severely fought with someone in the tank.

 

[keithhays]

No ones mentioned it but he has a very obvious bite on his shoulder. The mouth shape is very pronounced on it, also several other signs of impact in bad places. Aside from any possible pathogens I would safely say he severely fought with someone in the tank.

Well, I did say injury which would include bites, but the OP gave an explanation which appears to be that it came from scratching against rocks which does indicate something other than just an injury.

 

[rosko23]

No ones mentioned it but he has a very obvious bite on his shoulder. The mouth shape is very pronounced on it, also several other signs of impact in bad places. Aside from any possible pathogens I would safely say he severely fought with someone in the tank.

Yeah I would have said it was from my mitratus but I never once seen them fight. The mitratus is the only thing that is somewhat even "aggressive". They would always swim next to each other but never seen any aggression except for some chasing when I first added. Even then the declivis just swam away and this lasted for 2 days. These "marks" have only shown up in last 2-4 days.

Again my mitratus does have ich and it was 100% fine before I added this guy. I saw this guy scratch once or twice after i first added him but never consistent enough to worry me. But i guess I was wrong. It's hard to see bc of the color on him so I still can't see many white spots.

 

[jnc914]

I saw your post on the other reef site. I am also aware that you purchased it from a NY vendor that I have had serious issues with for years. I have been sent sick fish from this vendor consistently and have finally swore to not buy from them again, even when the price is too good to be true.

In regards to the Declevis, he does not have a fungal infection. A true fungal infection is rare in saltwater fish. If anything, it is suffering from a bacterial infection caused by the "injuries" or from an infestation. You have to remember that just because the ich or other parasite may not be visible, doesn't mean that they are still not in the gills and under the fish's scales. You defintely need to treat with an anti-biotic. I used to use Maracyn 2, however Mardel has stopped making the saltwater version and now sells Maracyn Plus, which is a different type of antiobiotic but should work just the same. You can also double dose the freshwater version of Maracyn 2 if you can find it. I would also treat with Prazi for flukes. These fish do poorly with any type of copper solution, incuding Cupramine. I have successfully QT'd butterflies using hypo or tank transfer.

Good luck.

 

[rosko23]

I saw your post on the other reef site. I am also aware that you purchased it from a NY vendor that I have had serious issues with for years. I have been sent sick fish from this vendor consistently and have finally swore to not buy from them again, even when the price is too good to be true.

In regards to the Declevis, he does not have a fungal infection. A true fungal infection is rare in saltwater fish. If anything, it is suffering from a bacterial infection caused by the "injuries" or from an infestation. You have to remember that just because the ich or other parasite may not be visible, doesn't mean that they are still not in the gills and under the fish's scales. You defintely need to treat with an anti-biotic. I used to use Maracyn 2, however Mardel has stopped making the saltwater version and now sells Maracyn Plus, which is a different type of antiobiotic but should work just the same. You can also double dose the freshwater version of Maracyn 2 if you can find it. I would also treat with Prazi for flukes. These fish do poorly with any type of copper solution, incuding Cupramine. I have successfully QT'd butterflies using hypo or tank transfer.

Good luck.

Thanks I will look into that.

And yeah I only used NYAquatics bc I had credit that I had to fight for when he sent 5 fish to me (for me and 3 friends) and they all died within 2 weeks.

I will NEVER pay $ for anything from him again.

 

[rosko23]

Well it didn't make it. I tried treating for a bacterial infection but it was too late. The infection was too severe. the missing scales are from rubbing on the rocks. The fish looked bad since day 2 and I credit it to the horrible quality at NYAquatics. This is the last fish I will ever get from them even though I still have $300 in credit. Between my 3 friends and I, we had 5 borbs, 1 tang hybrid and this one all die within 2 weeks of receiving. The kicker is it got my mitratus sick but he's eating and being treated.

I want to thank Brett at nicewrasse.com, he answered ALL million of my questions and this wasn't even a fish from him. That goes to show how much he cares about all these animals. He literally answered over 45 pm's in 3-4 day span and most of the time I got replies within 5 min. I have since told him to keep an eye out for another declivis for me. Brett has definitely won my business. =)