Small Scratches on my CBB?

[dodger1v]

I received a Copperband Butterfly about 10 days ago. I placed it in my new 90 gallon tank that had been up and running with live rock and a DSB for over 3 months. Along with my CBB I added a goby and a pistol shrimp. I've had a cleanup crew in there for about a month which is made up of peppermint shrimp, various snails, and 2 3/4 " emerald crabs. I also have a hitchiker brown mean looking crab that is no bigger then the emeralds but has proven more then a worth adversary for the traps I've tried.

I just tested all my water parameters and everything is perfect.

Nitrates are < 10ppm
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Phospates are barely undetectable so < .03 or w/e the salifert test says
PH 8.1
Temp 78
Salinity between 1.25 and 1.26
Calcium 350
Alkilinity 9 ( it's on the lower end of the acceptable range.)

There's the status of the tank. I didn't QT the CBB because he's at least 4 inches and my QT is a 20 gallon which would be far to small for him to reside in.

Now to my problem. He started out like most CBB do. Hiding and not eating. Thankfully that ended after day 3. Now he's at the point where he's swimming around the tank eating featherduster and aiptaisia and is PIGGING OUT when feeding time comes. He practically eats a full cube of mysis by himself 2 times a day. lol Like 3 days ago I noticed what looked like a small scratch under her dorsal fin. I assumed it was due to him hitting a rock as he swam quickly around to the bank of the rockwork. He has a habit of bolting for no apparent reason, seems very frightened. Now yesterday I've noticed that there are 2 new spots that look just like the first one that have occurred down on the same side of the first but towards her back fin. Both seem to have a tiny bit of pink exposed flesh and these are raised up just a little and look like bumps.

So my questions. Is it possible for a fish to harm itself while swimming? If it did cause itself injury and this is something along the lines of getting a scraped knee what should I expect the healing process to look like? Would the scratch scab up and look like a raised bump on his body?

Could the crabs be the cause of this? Maybe they attacked him at night while he was sleeping? I tried to take pictures but my digital camera is old and the fish is not very cooperative when I'm around the tank. Whenever I'm near the tank he hides in the back. No problems with my GF though, just me.

Any help here is greatly appreciated.

 

[leebca]

A quarantine procedure is best. I've quarantined a 5" Regal Angel in an area of 7" x 9.5" x 12" deep for 6 weeks without a problem. A small space for a short time is not a problem unless the fish is a big-time swimmer (the CBB isn't such a swimmer).

Anyway. . .A fish hurting itself on rock is not out of the question. Usually it doesn't get as bad as showing blood, lesions, or hemorrhaging but. . .not impossible.

Although your tank had many inverts in it, the tank was young and you put fish and other specimens in it too rapidly, IMHO. I've seen this result in what I think you see -- a kind of septicemia, or internal bacterial infection, that is now showing an outward manifestation.

Quarantine with one or more antibiotics is called for if this is the case. I'd use Maracyn Two for saltwater AND Maracyn One for saltwater at the same time according to the med's directions.

Good luck!