sailfin w hole in the head

[Krustylove]

I have treated frontosas' with this before but do not now what to do for a tang? I have changed his diet to fresh macro and mysis shrimp but do not know how to treat the existing wounds on his head? Maybe Neosporin-any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[leebca]

A photo would help us determine the likely cause and seriousness of the 'hole.' Can you show us a picture?

 

[Krustylove]

This is the best pic I could get, spend too much $$$ on fish. Anyways this fish came out of one of my customers tanks-I always tell them to ask me first before they go to the fish store, but they never do...He came out of a 60 gallon w/a fluvial, a seaclone, and a very large trigger for a tank mate. The guy does not even know enough about the hobby to top-off for evaporation and will not feed the tank so I do the best I can selecting dry food for the automatic feeder, but these guys really need their sea greens or this is what happens. Anyways I have him now in one of my quarantine tanks and he is getting better food but I do not know that better nutrition will help him heal. I just remembered I have some Kent marine vitamin C I can be adding to his hospital tank. Sorry again about the quality of the photo-I will try again later. The pink blurry spots to the left of his eye are holes and he has them on both sides of his face-like inlarged pores and also above both eyes.

 

[leebca]

Hard to see the holes in the photo, but at least they are not 'massive' in size.

I think I'd approach it like HLLE. This article has info on that for your consideration:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/sp/index.htm

In order of what I think is most likely:
Vitamin deficiency (A and/or C); Poor Nutrition
Chronic Stress
Poor water quality (including high levels of dissolved organic matter and/or nitrate)
Activated carbon (either removing something the fish need or the dust clogging the pores on the fish)
Stray Voltage (is your system grounded properly?)
Retrovirus
Hexamita
Amyloodinium-like dinoflagallate

Since your experience with the owner is one of poor attention, I'd put emphasis on improving the diet and water quality to the absolute top/best you can.

Only feed brine shrimp that have been gut loaded with spirulina, fats, and vitamins. Keep rotating different brands and differently gut loaded products. Then, only feed brine shrimp no more than once a day or once for every three meals. The other meals should be other foods containing meaty products with a lot of green matter.

If it will eat flake (and many can learn to do this) try to feed it Formula 2 flake. Alternatively, Formula 2 frozen and/or pellets. Soak everything in vitamins once a day and fats once a day and nothing once a day. This means it should get at least 3 medium sized meals a day.

Provide it a bit of seaweed/nori every day, even if it ignores it. (Remove the old and put in new every day). Try a variety of brands and colors (green is most often accepted, but try red and purple, too).

If it will eat gelled food, try that too. The gelled food often traps nutrients in the gel that benefit the fish more than just soaking foods in vitamins. Mine would eat such gel formulas as: VHP, and Angel.

Lastly, once a day give the fish beta glucan in its food (probably that third feeding). Beta glucan is a fine immune stimulator and can be gotten from a (human) health food store.

Still, investigate those other causes and make sure you address each other should there be a combination of problems.

I hope the above has been of some help, guy! :rollface:

 

[Krustylove]

Thank you, that is alot of information to digest but you spelled it out nicely for me-thanks again...It is hlle as I opened the attachment article it had a picture that looks like it was taken of my yellow tang that I rescued out of the same tank. I will remove some carbon, check for stray voltage (but I have never been shocked by this tank?) and start your suggested feeding regiment ASAP