What has my Regal Tang done?

[blmichael]

I have had a Regal Tang for three months now. The water parameters are stable but I am dealing with green algae blooms. Today while I was feeding my fish, right after eating, my Regal Tang kept rubbing one side of his body against a rock. I have never seen him do this and have not seen him do this since. He did this about five or six times in a row. Now it looks like he has a scratch/cut on the side of his face behind his eye. I usually keep a close eye on him because I have read so much about Tangs and Ich. I did not notice the scratch/cut there before I started feeding. I have never seen white spots. Any ideas/suggestions?
Thank you!

 

[Terry B]

It is very possible that the tang has a gill parasite (ie gill flukes). I am not a big fan of Freshwater dips but they can be OK if you carefully catch the fish without catching it in a net and move it back and forth from the dip without removing it from water. You also have to be careful to match the pH and temperature. A less intrusive way to go is to treat it with hyposalinity for a week or so. Formalin dips work the best but you have to be careful how you do it. Go to the library on my Website and look in the library for an article about formaldehyde.
http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com

Terry B