What's on my Regal Tang?

[robbie2013]

I ended up getting Ich in my display tank so I pulled all of my fish out and got them into a QT tank. They have been QTed for about 4 weeks now and have been tread with MedIch. They will be in the QT tank for at least another 4 weeks to allow the display tank to fellow.

On Friday my Regale started looking like this: it doesn't look like Ich that I know of that looked like he had spots not a white line.

Can someone tell me what it is? And what if anything I can do??

 

[Cosmojo]

Unless your picture is just really noisy, that looks like a terrible case of ich...how big is your QT? If it's small, you might be stressing him out big time.

 

[robbie2013]

Ya sorry about the bad pic, my phone will not take good pictures in the tank lighting. Its basicly a white line and some white spots on the fish's black..... the spots around its eye are not as bad as the picture looks.

Its a 30gal. It is in it with 2 small clowns. Everyone is quite small the clowns are about 2" and the regal is about 3".

Everyone seems happy... they have been in for 4 weeks are eating anything I throw in the tank. Also, I have been treating them for 4 weeks.... can Ich stand up to 4 weeks of copper?

Thanks for your help!!

 

[gone fishin]

Look up lateral line disease, that is what it looks like from the pic. If you believe it to be this then stop running carbon if you are and do some WC's

The question about the copper is it depends on the level kept at and how consistent the copper level was. Many LFS and wholesalers keep a low level dose of copper in their tanks to keep symptoms at bay.

 

[CStrickland]

+1
Do you have algae for him to eat in the qt?

 

[robbie2013]

OK Then"¦.. thanks for pointing me in the right direction"¦.. I think for sure it is Lateral Line Disease. After doing some reading I am even more confused than before. It sounds like we don't know a heck of a lot about this disease.

CSTrickland, no there is not a lot of algae in the QT tank, and on the advice of my LFS I have been feeding them only frozen shrimp so they probably have not been getting the most rounded diate.

It could be caused by lack of light, high nitrates, poor nutrition, the copper I have been using to treat the Ich, stress, or about a dozen other things. It also sounds like it may be curable or it may not be.

The one thing I have not been able to find is weather or not this is contagious? Anyone have thoughts on this?? This fish is in my QT with my clown fish.

So for treatment I am thinking I am going to:
Stop the copper treatment. (I have treated for 4 weeks)
Kill the light (there is a lot of sun light in the house any way and this should reduce stress)
Feed the heck out of them"¦.. and start mixing up there food a little more.
To compensate for the over feeding I will do water changes twice a week. (I am currently doing 50% once a week because my QT tank doesn't have much in the way of filtration.

Thoughts??

Also, it sounds like the fish may or may not recover from this. Combind with my lack of knowledge weather or not it is contagious I have no idea if keeping this fish is a good idea or a bid idea, it is not planned to go back into the display tank fo 4 more weeks so I have some time to decide.

Thoughts on this?a

 

[CStrickland]

Even if you do nurse him back to health, do you have a 250 gallon, 8 foot long tank for him to live in after qt is finished? If not, keeping him is a bad idea and I would find him a home that can take better care of him. It sounds like you got in over your head a little. There's a thread called "setting up" that has a lot of good info that will help you get your tank back on track.

Idk "medich," but if you shortcut copper treatments by not keeping the levels high enough, or long enough, it's kinda pointless. Maybe give the tang back to the shop, ttm the clowns, and run the display fallow for 6 weeks. Also, I'd be surprised if a qt without much filtration could go a whole week without a waterchange and not have any ammonia.

 

[gone fishin]

Sadly I know very little myself about it. I have read some folks believe using carbon in the tank is the cause along with a whole host of other possible causes. Maybe some of the folks in the fish disease forum can offer some insight. Some have significantly more experience with illness and disease than I have.