Not sure if this is ick

Sensei ClamMan

Sensei ClamMan

New member
Hi, please help ID this. I have a Vlamingi Tang in a 180g SPS reef. 12 fish total mostly small. The tang has the white spots, but they are weird, you can see they are long like a rice grain. Some of it seems to float in the mucus. He's had it for a week and is swimming, eating , breathing totally normal. Is this ich?
 
The tang is 5 years old and about an hour ago I caught him for a dip, he has wounded me terribly. I'm sure it came from a dorsal spine if anyone is wondering if these have venom, I would say yes. I send a picture shortly after I can move my hand again. It matches no Ich photos I've seen, it seems much smaller.
 
By the way, fresh water dips do nothing for ich. Be very careful about disinfecting your cuts.
 
Ya we're both in first aid mode. The spots are tiny. Not like a pimple, some of the photos I've seen it makes quite a bump, but not this. No bumps or lesions. I won't be able to post any pics till I go to work tomorrow, but the fish appears to be fine, other than the spots.
 
Sensei ClamMan said:
The tang is 5 years old and about an hour ago I caught him for a dip, he has wounded me terribly. I'm sure it came from a dorsal spine if anyone is wondering if these have venom, I would say yes. I send a picture shortly after I can move my hand again. It matches no Ich photos I've seen, it seems much smaller.
Click to expand...

Probably the switchblade tangs hide on their caudal area. Not venomous, but can really cause an infection. (Like any wound from a sea critter.) Why are you dipping the fish?
 
Hey everyone, thanks for the replies. I'm having a tough time with getting a picture on here, I'll get it figured out. Firstly I'm not sure why i did the dip, i guess I panicked. I've never had a sick fish in 15 years (anemone fodder, carpet jumpers,morays and fish store specials have claimed a few though) Vlad was pretty mad about that, thus the thumb injury. He's still got spots and seems perfect in every other way. Here's the best description, about 1/32" long and a third the width, hairlike. follows the lateral line distincly but everywhere. I may be wrong but crypto tophonts drop at night and the fish are clear in the morning,right? He's bad in the morning and by 9 pm there gone mostly. I've had him for 5 years and he's had this mildly before but allways dissapeared in 24 hours. It's not like any of the hundreds of Ich pics I've seen, I'm just worried it will eventually get him in time if I don't figure this out. If it was velvet or Ich I figure he'd been dead by now and I would have problem with my other fish.
 
I'd read the ich stickies above. ich spots do come and go; but don't follow any schedule like you're describing. If this was ich or velvet, other fish should be showing some of it by now. The coming and going makes no sense to me. I'd Google "HLLE", include images, and see if anything looks or sounds familiar. HLLE takes many forms, but this is just a guess.
 
I read through the stickies (mostly). I used to work in a public aquarium and, back in the 80's, lateral line was a really common problem, we had seen differences among species as well and I'm certain it's not. We didn't see alot of parasites though as we coppered in quarantine really heavily. It's something that has crossed my mind at first but it's definately 'on' the skin, I also thought it could be the edge of his scales as they are mostly vertical (weird) . I should've taken a scrape when I caught him and put it under someone's scope but I live in a small town and people think I'm weird enough. I'm sure when I get my pics on here someone may recognize this.
 
Sensei ClamMan said:
I read through the stickies (mostly). I used to work in a public aquarium and, back in the 80's, lateral line was a really common problem, we had seen differences among species as well and I'm certain it's not. We didn't see alot of parasites though as we coppered in quarantine really heavily. It's something that has crossed my mind at first but it's definately 'on' the skin, I also thought it could be the edge of his scales as they are mostly vertical (weird) . I should've taken a scrape when I caught him and put it under someone's scope but I live in a small town and people think I'm weird enough. I'm sure when I get my pics on here someone may recognize this.
Click to expand...

Everyone has a ''geek'' side. Remember Roosevelt Grier? He crocheted. Merlin Olsen was America's TV florist. I wouldn't dare insult either to their face.
 
Ha, no doubt. I suppose i can't attach my photo cause I'm using my iPhone. Will use the office computer tomorrow but the spots are subsiding now, there's less everyday. Still worse in the a.m. and by 8pm almost gone. Just weird that no has seen this.
 
photo.jpg
Ok Here's a pic, I hope. You can see by the eye (approx 10 oclock) in the morning he's got hundreds, in the evening they ar mostly gone. It's been getting better the last few days but I still want to figure out what it is.
 
I'd love to see it magnified, would isopods come off during a freshwater dip? Also, would they spread. Sorry, one more question - what kind of health hazard is there (are there some "mostly harmless" varieties?
 
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