Naso with black spots

[Jason B]

I was just at my LFS and i noticed that his Naso had black spots on the top of his head and down his body. He had no idea what it was and since he is still straightening out the store after he purchased it he did not have anything to quarantine in or salt water. He gave me the fish and said if you can help him you can keep him.

I am quarantining him right now in a 30gal rubbermade bin. Im not sure what it is and if there is a way to help him.

 

[Jason B]

after doing some research online i see that this is a parasite and is relatively easily treatable with Methylene Blue or Formalin.

Does that sound correct?

 

[Jason B]

HEEEELP!

I have had the fish in a QT tank with Methylene blue for two days. He looked fine last night but when i woke up this morning he was laying on his side at the bottom of the tank. his fin is still moving back and forth but he is not looking too good. Is there anything i can do?

 

[sandwi54]

i'm not quite sure what this is, but the fish is definitely stressed out (the stress marks are visible). What are the water parameters?

 

[sandwi54]

i just did some googling and it may be black ich. i've never personally encountered it before but all the sources say formalin or freshwater dip are the only effective treatments. methylene blue will not work.

if he's already laying on his side, he's pretty much on his way out. i would quickly perform a a freshwater dip right now. make sure the pH of the freshwater is matched to the tank he's coming from.

 

[Jason B]

Hey thanks for responding. I took the Naso to a LFS which specializes in helping out sick fish and as soon as they saw him they knew what it was. The girl up there told me that this happens alot with the fish that come from the pacific. What happens is when they catch the fish in the pacific, alot of the guys use cyanide to knock the fish out on the reef and then just scoop them up. Some of the fish make it but the majority of them suffer liver failure, which is what this fish was going through. He started to get white splotches on his skin and his stomach was bloated. I gave them the fish to see if they could help him but she said they almost never recover.

She said that they just lost an emperor angel to the same thing.

 

[sandwi54]

yes that is very common with fish caught in the philipines and indonesia regions, where cyanide is still practiced. i have lost an emperor angel and naso tang within two days of purchase for no reason at all, and i highly suspected cyanide.

naso tangs from hawaii are all net caught and treated very well. i now have a pair of them (male and female) and they do very well.

FYI many of the fish in this hobby come from the pacific. some are from red sea and yet others from the caribbean. when you purchase fish, it helps to ask where they come from. if given the choice, i'd purchase ones from the indian ocean or red sea. i avoid philippines and indonesia completely given my past experience.

also, naso tangs (unlike other tangs) under 4" do not adapt to captive life well. this is from my personal experience and also confirmed by experts like Bob Fenner. if you would like to try again, i'd get one that's over 5" and plump. it would also help if you have the store hold the fish for two weeks to make sure it's eating well and does not display cyanide symptoms.

 

[Jason B]

That is good advice. I personally will never buy a fish from that area again unless im purchasing from another reefer who has had the fish for a while.

I have a Blonde Naso around 5" or so, from the Indian ocean and he has been awesome. He eats like a pig and is one of the healthiest in the tank. I have only had him for about 3 or 4 weeks but he eats out of my hand.

Thanks for the help.

 

[geaux xman]

i've done(2x) 1hr formalin dips on 4 of my angels(2.5-4.5") after a bout with what i suspect as oodnium. i also have them in copper. for a while there, i thought for sure a couple of them wouldnt make it as half of my livestock was already wiped out.

the angels look fully recovered now. i feel much better about using formalin now and wouldnt be hesitant to do so on my fish.

if the naso is just laying on its side, then its probably too late.

i dont think cyanide would present with black spots like that though? from pics, looks more like black ich.

 

[sandwi54]

i've done(2x) 1hr formalin dips on 4 of my angels(2.5-4.5") after a bout with what i suspect as oodnium. i also have them in copper. for a while there, i thought for sure a couple of them wouldnt make it as half of my livestock was already wiped out.

the angels look fully recovered now. i feel much better about using formalin now and wouldnt be hesitant to do so on my fish.

if the naso is just laying on its side, then its probably too late.

i dont think cyanide would present with black spots like that though? from pics, looks more like black ich.

agreed. it looks more like black ich from the photos. the small black dots aren't the stress marks on a tang.

 

[CarlitosReef]

The naso still alive?

 

[Jason B]

I gave him to the shop to see if they could help him so im not sure. I will check with them Monday to see if he made it.

From what i understand 1 out of 5 fish are able to survive cyanide. They may live for a few months but if they are substantially stressed out during that period then they will not make it. My guess is that he was caught using cyanide but was ok until he caught the fungus or ich that you see. The disease stressed him out to the point that his system shut down.

Let me know what you guys think.