sick orange shoulder tang

Shellyfish

Shellyfish

New member
I need some help with my orange shoulder tang. I have had him for about 4 weeks and he began to develop these dark blotches about 2 weeks ago. He is still pretty active but I would describe his swimming as twitchy, he twitches his head a lot. Whatever it is has not affected his appetite at all, but I have no idea what is going on. Any help would be appreciated. His 2 tankmates show no signs of whatever this is.

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Anyone? I've had 2 suggestions on another forum, bacterial infection or hyper melanization, any thoughts? I would love to be able to fix this fish!!
 
Can you list the corals/anemones you have in this tank? To rule out the possibility of Hyper-Melanization.
 
No corals or anemones, it's a FOWLR. The discoloration occured after adding cupramine, not sure if that could be the cause of it? I'm thinking of moving this guy into a 20g QT and seeing what happens.
 
Shellyfish said:
No corals or anemones, it's a FOWLR. The discoloration occured after adding cupramine, not sure if that could be the cause of it? I'm thinking of moving this guy into a 20g QT and seeing what happens.
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Are you treating the DT for Ich? I've never seen anything like this after treating with cupramine, but I guess anything is possible. I would say it's possible you overdosed, but the other fish should be showing symptoms. In any case, it would be a good idea to test the Cu level at this point; you'll need to keep adding more cupramine to compensate for what the rock absorbs. But you don't want to do that without a test kit.

As for this fish, I would move him into the 20 gal QT. Don't add cupramine; see if his condition improves. Like humans, fish are individuals and it's possible this fish is having some sort of "allergic reaction" to the copper. But if his condition doesn't start to improve (or gets worse); then I think you have to assume this is a bacterial infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics. I would use Furan-2.
 
Never use Cu except in a bare tank. Copper levels need to be tested and the way LR & substrate can absorb & release copper, this is is impossible. Is this fish eating; if so, you can rule out copper as the cause. It sounds like you didn't quarantine this fish; it could have brought any number of strange diseases, parasites, bacteria, etc. along with him.
 
I have been testing the copper levels in the tank. They are at .5 and holding steady. I did a lot of reading before I decided to dose the tank. I did get a lot of mixed opinions (like everything else in this hobby) and decided to go for it as this is not intended to be a reef.

He is eating like a pig, no problems there at all. I just wonder about the cupramine because he was fine before I used it. The other fish show no signs of this at all, they are eating fine, acting normal and have no blotches on them at all.

Thanks humblefish, that was the exact plan I was thinking. I'll see if the blotches diminish in the 20gal or not, and if not I will get some furan 2. How long do you think I should give him before dosing the antibiotic? I was thinking 7 to 10 days or so?
 
I saw this and it made me think of copper burns.. Maybe I am completely wrong here, but I would be interested to see the fish in the 20 gallon with no copper. There is a LFS near me that keeps copper in his system constantly and I have seen some of the tangs get this burned look and it is from the copper. No, I'm not positive and this is just a guess. If this was the case though you could try adding some stress coat or something that helps heal the skin while in the QT. If this would be the case the fish would probably start looking better within 2 days.
 
Well I have moved him out into the 20g with fresh saltwater, no copper or anything. I'll keep you updated on how he does. I really hope he will start to improve after a few days. He is eating well so that's a plus. I tried googling all sorts of things to see what I could find, but had no luck finding things that looked like this. I will have to try copper burns. I would imagine it's not impossible for a fish to have a higher sensitivity to medication than others, after all it happens in people and pets all the time!
 
Shellyfish said:
Thanks humblefish, that was the exact plan I was thinking. I'll see if the blotches diminish in the 20gal or not, and if not I will get some furan 2. How long do you think I should give him before dosing the antibiotic? I was thinking 7 to 10 days or so?
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When to pull the trigger & use antibiotics is the million dollar question when it comes to bacterial infections; because unlike parasites/worms, a fish's natural immune system can win this war in a closed system. Some prefer just to use vitamin supplements and suburb water quality to aid the immune system. I think that's a good plan of action for the DT. But since you already have him in QT, I wouldn't hesitate to use antibiotics if you don't see improvement in the next few days. He doesn't have to look 100% better; but you should start to see some improvement.
 
Sounds like a plan. He's eating well, so I think I'll soak his food in garlic and selcon to help give him a bit of a boost. I'll watch for improvement but if there is none I'll start the antibiotics. I still find it odd I could not find anything similar to this anywhere I looked!
 
My tang has taken a huge turn for the worse. His mouth is swollen open, his breathing is rapid, eyes are cloudy and he now has redness in his body and fins. I think this is a bacterial infection, not hyper melanization. I only wished I had come to this conclusion sooner as I think he is not going to make it. I have started treatment with Furan 2 but I think I might be too late. I never thought bacterial infections were black :(
 
Sorry to hear, but good luck with the treatment. You never know tangs IMO are pretty resilient. I wouldn't count him out till he stops breathing. Keep the thread updated though I would like to see the outcome.
 
He was eating well up until today so hopefully I can save him. I'll let you know how it goes. I just wish I would have figured this out sooner. I spent hours on the internet trying to find a picture of something similar to what he was displaying and came up with nothing until tonight!
 
Bacterial infections come in all sorts of shapes and colors. It sounds like your tang's infection might be gram negative. IME those are very aggressive and almost impossible to treat; gram positive are much more common and treatable. Furan-2 covers both, so you're set... but don't expect a miracle. Sorry :(
 
Based on the way he looks I don't expect a miracle (although one would be nice). I fully expect to wake up to a dead fish tomorrow. I really wish I had figured out what was going on sooner and treated. He seemed ok yesterday, eating and swimming, I'm just amazed at what a difference one day can make. I was shocked at his condition when I got home tonight.
 
Shellyfish said:
Based on the way he looks I don't expect a miracle (although one would be nice). I fully expect to wake up to a dead fish tomorrow. I really wish I had figured out what was going on sooner and treated. He seemed ok yesterday, eating and swimming, I'm just amazed at what a difference one day can make. I was shocked at his condition when I got home tonight.
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That's the problem with bacterial infections. A fish can go from basically fine to what you're describing in no time. It's very difficult to gauge the seriousness. Next time someone suggests using antibiotics is overreacting - I'll point them to this thread.
 
Well, sadly he died. I figured he would, but I was really hoping to find him still swimming this morning. I can't believe he went from swimming and eating to dead in a little over 24 hours.
 
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