Trying to ID "bump" on side of new goldflake angel

[Lion-o]

Hi all,

Went to the LFS last Saturday to grab some snails for the 300g... ended up also going home with this juvi goldflake Looked healthy in the store, no signs of torture, flashing, etc.

Once we got home we noticed some darker coloring on him, looked almost like a bruise. That coloring has raised off the skin a bit, and now it looks to me a lot like a whitehead. Perhaps just an injury from trying to avoid being net? I'm not sure, I've never seen one quite like this. But maybe it just really stands out against his coloring...

Here's a vid (easier to see than in the pic, i think):
https://youtu.be/fYEGExGBb-Q

And a pic:

 

[george915]

Looks like an injury to me. based on the position of the injury, I am just wondering if it's caused by an improper decompression(needling). Keep a close eye on it and some antibiotics handy.

 

[Lion-o]

Appreciate the feedback. I hate that feeling of not knowing.

Keeping an eye on him and he does act perfectly normal. Would rather not aggravate the situation so if it will heal on its own... :|

 

[Lion-o]

Here's an updated video. The white portion is definitely a lot larger now, like a nasty growth coming out of his side. I have no idea what it is.

We started antibiotic treatment yesterday (melafix marine), it's a 7 day program so crossing my fingers that helps...

https://youtu.be/mQW4xvNMG70

 

[ThRoewer]

Looks like an injury to me. based on the position of the injury, I am just wondering if it's caused by an improper decompression(needling). Keep a close eye on it and some antibiotics handy.

That bruise looks like is from needeling: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16659421&postcount=6
Whether he makes it or not depends if vital organs have been damaged and if he didn't contract any internal infections. If the red mark developed after you bought the fish the outlook is rather grim as it is a sign of an internal infection.
I'm not sure melafix marine will be strong enough to fight this kind of infection.

 

[Lion-o]

yikes O_O

so what is the cauliflower looking thing growing out of him?

Maybe the LFS would refund if i cant fix :|

 

[ThRoewer]

The cauliflower thing is likely Lymphocystis - nothing I would be too concerned about. It's usually popping up on wounds, often after copper treatment.
It is infectious on contact but many of the virus strains are presumed to be species or genus specific.

 

[Lion-o]

i thought it did look similar to lympho, but ive never seen any lympho nearly this large. :O

 

[ThRoewer]

Lymphocystis can get pretty big.

 

[Lion-o]

Is there any antibiotic you would recommend that is stronger than melafix?

Would neomycin work? Anything we should mix in with food or just dose the tank?

 

[Deinonych]

I've had great success with kanamycin, and it's my goto med for bacterial infections. Furan-2 (nitrofurazone) is also a good one to have on hand. IMO, Melafix is pretty useless unless you like the smell of tea emanating from your tank.

 

[Lion-o]

Wife went shopping today for some of the stronger stuff. I'll let her weigh in on what she was able to pick up.

LFS recommended fresh water dip :rolleye1: I really miss reef culture

Any issues with mixing the antibiotics together? Or should we clear the system or melafix with carbon first?

 

[Lion-o]

Wife picked up Maracyn (erythromycin) and Maracyn-2 (minocycline?). Apparently this covers us for gram-positive and negative. I'm sure I'll learn more about those over dinner

 

[ThRoewer]

I wouldn't trust fish store personal too much on disease treatment. There are some knowledgeable guys working at stores here but even those usually recommend the standard stuff to inexperienced newbies - not because they are dishonest but because they don't trust newbies to use the advanced stuff properly or simply because they don't know any better (most are coral guys to begin with).

I've used human broadband ntibiotics like Septra in the past to fight bacterial infections on fish and it worked. Cipro worked well for anemones.
Which one you pick is really up to you and a good dose of luck is also involved.

Normaly I would recommend to lower the salinity with a sick fish but in this case you want the fish to drink as much as possible to ingest the maximum amount of the antibiotic. So keep the salinity in the 1.022 to 1.026 range.

In any case I would let the store know that they sold you a "needled" fish (explain it to them if they don't know what that is).

 

[Lion-o]

Thanks.

Only question I have before we start dosing is if we can mix Maracyn-1&2 with the already two days dosing of melafix. I'm assuming it will be OK since melafix is a natural remedy, but prepared to do water change / carbon soak if not.

 

[ThRoewer]

I would never mix medications unless I find a reliable sorce that give the OK to it.
Natural doesn't mean harmless. Some of the most toxic substances are 100% natural (you may even say "organic").

 

[Lion-o]

Unfortunately the little guy died this morning. As a bonus, he left the other two in QT with Ich. So I'm now treating them for that in a new tank we spun up this morning. Crossing our fingers but have fought ich once before and know it's nasty.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[ThRoewer]

Sorry to hear that, but it doesn't come as much of a surprise. By the time the infection shows like this on the outside the fish is pretty much gone.