Powder Blue Tang Trouble/Injury

[abelltx]

I got this Powder Tang Five days ago. The first day my yellow Tang and a Potters Angel showed him who was in charge, but the next day all was well. He swam as happy as he could be. On the morning of the third day I noticed he scrapped his head a little. Kind of like when we scrapped ourselves but not deep enough to bleed just enough to pull some skin back. Well day four it look like it started to spread a little. He then started to just stay in a little cave area and he only comes out and then turns to go right back in. Today (Day 5) I thought Ick just sprung on him but it looks like little bubbles going underneath the scrapped the skin. (the skin is transparent and I do not see punctures in the fish) I am now fully concerned cause he also doesn't seem to want to eat at all. I turned off the water pumps and placed the food right infront of his cave and he just swam above it, like he wasn't hungry. (Formula 1 % 2 and frozen brine shrimp) I can setup a QT however I am afraid I could stress him out, cause I am sure I will have to take all my rocks out so I can catch him. None of the fish have been attacking him at all. Occasionally he will make one lap around the tank with no problems from any of the tank mates. Please help Thanks.

Adam

 

[NaH2O]

Hi Adam! Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

Do you happen to know anyone with a fish trap? I don't know how helpful it will be if the fish isn't interested in food, but you might give it a shot. It seems like there is more going on than just a scrape, as the eyes appear cloudy in the photo. Is it just the picture, or do the eyes look cloudy in person? Does the tang respond to algae on a clip? How long has the tang gone without eating now? At first I thought about HLLE, however, the lateral line doesn't appear to be effected. Here's a bump for Terry or steve-s.....

You may want to start setting up the QT, just in case you have to get the tang out to save it. Just to cover all the bases....what size tank, how are your water parameters, was the fish eating fine in the store and prior to the head issue?

 

[abelltx]

Specs and stuff

I have 140g. Nitrates were up a bit but nothing dangerous. PH 8.3 and all other levels normal. This morning I found him in the middle of the open area of my tank. He was breathing extremely heavy and his sore on his head look like it had decayed over night. He also had a large white spot appear over night on his side. When I saw this, I immedietely pump 10g of water into a 10g tank and put a heater, and an air stone in it, and transfered the fish. (So same water different tank.) Cause of the white dot on his side, I assumed ick. Treated it with Ick remover. But I dont understand; it happened over night. I had not seen any signs of ick previously. Unfortunetly, when I got back from college he had died. I am pretty upset. I don't know where I messed up. I dont know if I messed up. I acclimated him just fine, Day 1 he seemed perfectly happy. Its like his little bitty scratch just started to decay him over 4 days. I have attached a picture of the day two when it the pealed skin first appearred. All my other fish seem to be just fine so I dont think its a disease or something. One possibility I am think may have happened. Is that Petco gets their fish in every Wednesday and I goto see what's new in stock. I saw this guy and he had a sale tag of $45 from $80. So I went ahead and got him. Could the fact that he just came out of his shipping box and then acclimated to their water and then acclimated to my water could have caused something? I really dont know what I did wrong. I have attached pictures of the final stages.

 

[steve-s]

Looks like a vibrio (possible bacterial) infection, they can be quite nasty and quickly fatal. Your other fish may indeed show no issue if they are well fed and the tank parameters in good order. I would suggest having a QT up and cycled just to be on the safe side.

What "ick remover" did you use/what dosage?

Cheers
Steve

 

[abelltx]

Ick Medicine

QuICK cure. Made by Aquarium Products in about 10g I did 10 drops. (Per Instructions)

Could I have done anything to prevent this?

Adam

 

[NaH2O]

Adam - I don't think this was something from the fish scratching its face, but as Steve suggested, some other type of infection. QT prior to going into your main display may have helped, although I'm not sure if the fish was sick prior to your purchase, then you could have quickly be able to attempt a treatment. Sorry to hear you lost the fish. I'm glad you took the time to take and post photos...it will definately be a help to members.

 

[Reefreak]

abelltx, Welcome to RF and sorry for your loss.

I would agree what you experienced was a bacterial infection that needed antibiotic intervention in quarantine at the early stage of the infection. As for the cause its very difficult to know. It may have been as simple as a scrape on the head or secondary to a parasitic infestation however, bacterial infections are almost always secondary to another underlying problem.
The best advise I can give is keep your quarantine going and use it for ALL new arrivals for a minimum of 30 days.

 

[abelltx]

Future

Heaven forbid this to happen again, but if it does how would I treat it?

I would like thank everyone for such fast responses.

Adam

 

[steve-s]

QuICK cure. Made by Aquarium Products in about 10g I did 10 drops. (Per Instructions)

Not much you could have done from what I can see. I would venture to guess this may have been pre existing although five days is enough time for it (if vibrio) to develope. Really depends on water quality and the immune health of the fish. It's also possible if bacterial that it was systemic given the speed of the death. The Quick Cure would have made matters much worse if open sores like what I saw in those pics where present at the time you medicated. Never use formaldehyde based remedies with open wounds of any kind. It's also not a great choice for crypt.

In future, I would highly recommend hyposalinity as a treatment for C. irritans unless you suspect or cannot discerne it from velvet. If something else appears down the road (bacterial/viral), it makes it much easier to treat in conjunction with rather than seperately. Many different types of meds cannot be mixed, while many others can. Formalin/formadehyde products usually being iffy at best.

Regards
Steve

 

[steve-s]

Heaven forbid this to happen again, but if it does how would I treat it?

Hard call. If it was purely bacterial, I would suggest a strong treatment. Gentamycin would be a good option. You might also have tried Nitrofurazone mixed with Focus (Seachem). The problem here is you (we) do not know the cause of the bacterial infection. Either secondary to a wound, the result of a parasite or otherwise so without further sysmptoms/diagnosis it would be difficult to suggest an exact approach. In the photo's you posted I see no evidence of C. irritans but that does not preclude the presence of something else.

Cheers
Steve

 

[abelltx]

Emergency Preparness

Well I researched Gentamycin Sulfate and it looked to be about $35 dollars for 25g. Basically what I would like to learn from this mistake, is what emergency medications should someone always have in stock (just in case...)? Or is it common to have any form of treatments on hand at all times? Not just for this problem either. Like Freshwater I always have Ick medicine ready to go for any new fish that may come in. What would be a good recommendation for saltwater?

Adam

 

[steve-s]

A good all 'round antibiotic would be Maracyn II for saltwater (Minocycline). Dosage should be 2mg/gal added daily for 7 days with a 25% water change prior to each new dose. Ignore the manufacturer recommendations. It will not cure everything but is a good "catch all" for the most part. Kanamycin is also good and has a little more punch to it. The usage is the same but at 0.06 grams/gal (1/8 tspn per 10 gal). As far as other meds, I would keep Cupramine for velvet and crypt can be handled with hypo. Some fish can be rather susceptible to worms but quite honestly most have some but never really manifest as a problem. Personally I would check and see what your closest LFS has available and only buy an emergency stock on what they do not have. Be sure if you do buy an emergency stock, check the expiration dates.

Cheers
Steve