Parasite on a Gill?

[EllieSuz]

Is there a parasite that attaches itself to a fishes' gill? My Flame Angel has something on her gill and I really can't get a very good look at it. It could be a wound, I guess; it's sort of white and it's about the size of one of those spines on a small tang. It almost looks like a little white sliver, but it has a black spot on it. Don't bother to ask for a photo. She's always moving. If you can give me an idea of what it might be, I could at least do a search for it. Thanks.

 

[jfl14609]

I have seen ich on gills before it looks like a little white spot only raised a bit

 

[dreaminmel]

it's sort of white and it's about the size of one of those spines on a small tang. It almost looks like a little white sliver, but it has a black spot on it.

Is it fluid in movement or stiff?

 

[johno4]

A while back there was a guy whose frogfish had a large parasitic bug in its gills. He tried many different medications with none of them worked. He ended up using tweezers to pull it out. Really interesting thread, it was in the fish only section at least a year ago probably more.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

the gill area would be an area that many parasites would choose to hang out...

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Is the fish acting strange? Breathing heavily, scratching on rocks? Could it possibly be flukes?

Is this a new fish?

 

[EllieSuz]

Scott, I've had this fish for nearly a year and she is not showing any signs of discomfort or unusual behavior at all. I think Flukes are more visible on or near the eye. Mel, the "thing" doesn't move. It looks fixed and hard, almost like a bone. It's appearance has not changed over the three days since I noticed it. Sure wish I could get a picture. I've tried searching "parasite", but it's too broad a subject.

 

[sg1838]

Eileen,

I would spend some time at WetWebMedia.com. There's still a whole lot of information to go through there, but I'd be surprised if they didn't cover what is on your Angel. Here's a link to the "disease" portion of their site:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mardisindex.htm

If you want, I can come over and try to get a couple of pictures of it, though if the Angel is always moving, it could still be difficult to try to get one. But, if we were able to get a pic, we could post it here and e-mail it to the WetWebMedia crew.

Let me know...

 

[EllieSuz]

Yes, Jason, your camera will certainly work better than mine and I'd like to share a picture of this thing so I know how to deal with it. Thanks for the offer.

 

[sg1838]

OK, so I went over to Eileen's this past Sunday, and did the best I could to take some shots of this "thing" on her Flame Angel's gill. These are the two best shots I have - it's the black and white thing in front of the fin at the bottom of the gill.

Any ideas?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

is the other side like that?

 

[graveyardworm]

Normal growth, just a bit discolored. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1817636&highlight=flame+angel

 

[EllieSuz]

Gary, nothing similar on the other side. The fish is still not showing any signs of discomfort or appetite loss and it is not changing shape or size that I can see. I have a couple of days off and I'm going to get my quarantine tank ready for a visitor in case the fish needs to be hospitalized.

 

[dreaminmel]

I think David (graveyardworm) is on to something. I forgot all about it but Flame angels normally have a gill spike in that exact area. The pics David linked to show it, but in it's usual color. These gill spikes very easily get caught in nets so I wouldn't be surprised if he lost the one on the other side and this one got damaged at some point in his adventure between the ocean and your tank.

 

[EllieSuz]

Hmmm, this theory requires some research. Maybe this is a result of adulthood and the juveniles don't have it, thereby explaining why I've never noticed it before? It would be nice if that were so. I could quit worrying about it. Thanks, Mel.

 

[EllieSuz]

David and Mel appear to be right on target on this one. Here's a picture showing the nearly identical growth on a different fish. .

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1751960&highlight=flame+angel

And just to seal the deal, this morning I notice the vague beginning of another one on the other side of my fish. So, this is a relief as I was dreading the effort to try to catch her and hospitalize her.