kole tang with a blotchy face

[beer_baron1]

i know this isnt exactly a 'monster fish', but my 2.5" kole tang has a blotchy face and a white bump on one fin... i just recently added it to a tank with my columbian shark catfish (in full marine) and im not sure what to do. apart from lookin sick it seems to be doing fine

any help would be great

-c

 

[Ornatapinnis]

THis is a pretty tough question to answer with out more information. I'll take a stab at it but I think we'll need some more info from you to get a better answer.


What size aquarium is it in? Tangs often do poorly in smaller aquariums, (55 and under) What is your water quality? Must be pH 8.3-ish, 0ppm amonia, 0ppm nitrite, >20ppm nitrate in order for a tang to do well. Is it eating for you? If so are you feeding it a diet with alot of vegtable / algae matter? Tangs need this in thier diet. I would suggest frozen Formula Two from Ocean Nutrition as a good food choice.

Is the face just pale or is it white like pitting or skin loss has occoured? Is the fish "thin" for lack of better term in the head & face area (sunken in)

The spot on the fin; is it larger than a typical parasite? Looking kind-of like a little piece of cotton or like a tiny piece of cauliflower? If so, sounds like lynphosystis which is not uncommon on thisfish. It is a virus that causes skin cells to grow fast, kind-of like a wort. If this is what you suspect it is (look it up on line for pictures), it should go away on it's own. It's caused by stress and the fished inability to fight off the virus. As the fish gets more stable, it will fight it off on it's own. Don't try to treat this condition.

Check into these things and post back. Let's see if we can help out.....

Joel

 

[beer_baron1]

thanks for your help.

I tested my water, and realized that my nitrates are way up ( 3 ppm ) as well as my nitrates. Water changes are underway.

as the fish are pretty small, they are only in a 30 gal. at the moment. but an upgrade will be needed soon as the columbian cats grow fast.

The food is wardley spectra max. It does seem to be eating just fine (suprisingly it's appetite seems bigger than the catfish's) It also love to pic at any algea growing on the side of the tank. should i throw a little blanched spinach in there every now and then?

the blotches on the face are more like freckles. this pic is the best I could get... i hope it helps.

there seems to be a few smallish bumps on the fin as well. I havent any experience with paracites, so I have no idea what to look for

the ick looking white specs are actually bubbles and muck on the glass, not actually on the fish

[img=http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/9730/tang2fo.th.jpg]

hopefully water changes and some live rock will help lower stress levels. It's a fun fish. This is my first attempt at keeping a marine aquarium, so i've got a lot to learn.

pre-thanks again!
-c

 

[beer_baron1]

sorry, NITRITES are 3 ppm

 

[Ornatapinnis]

Hey,

Sorry for the slow response, been very busy.

I looked at the picture, that appears to be pitting in the face and head. What people generically refer to as hole in the head disease. It isn't a disease but a condition that occours for one (or more) of several reasons.

Water quality issues can cause this problem. So can dietary issues (poor diet), stray electricity & excessive or prolonged exposure to medications, (espcially copper) can cause this.

There are a few things I see as potential probable causes here. Any amount of nitrite is bad, I am asuming that you ment .3ppm not 3.0ppm nitrite. Either way, do what is needed to fix it. Get your nitrates down below 20ppm too, the lower the better. Water changes are a good initial remidy but, what let it happen in the first place? That needs to be determined and fixed (poor filtration - over feeding - etc..) My point is that if you do water changes to dilute out this problem, what's stopping it from happening again?

Defenetly switch to a better diet too. Ocean nutrition's Formula Two is a much better food than the Wardley. Buy the frozen type, not the flake. I would also suggest buying Salt water Vita-Chem and soaking your food in it first. THis will make a huge differance.

Consider a grounding probe. Many tangs are sensitive to stray electricity. A grounding probe will solve this issue.

I know that your plan is to get a larger aquarium, try and make it soon. Rarely do tangs do well in small aquariums. Even with optimal water quality, tang often don't last long in less than 55 gallon tanks. Larger would be better.

THe bumps on the fins do not appear to be a parasite or lynphosystis. I have seen these little bumps before on many fish. I am not sure of the cause but I believe them to be more of a injury that is healing or a spot where a parasite or lynphosystis once was. If it does not get larger or more of them do not appear, don't worrie about it. It should clear up in time.

I know I didn't originally ask this but what are you running as a filtration system? That easilly could be the cause of the tangs problem. A very efficiant biological filter is mandatory. A simple hang on the back type filter or modest size canister rarley if ever will be enough to produce a stable enough enviroment. Might be an area to look into.

Let me know if I can be of additional help...

See ya...Joel

 

[beer_baron1]

Thanks for the reply... As of the last feeding, the tang seems to have lost it's appetite. and the facial blotches seem to be spreading (as if it is loosing scales) Im getting worried.

the filter is a hang on tank Magnum canister filter running with a small bio-wheel. 250 gph

nitrites are at zero (24 hours since the last water change). They were actually at 3 ppm. I was blown away.

nitrates are still at 30



I'll have to look into the probe for stray electricity.... this is a new concept for me (tho it does make sence)

I put a piece of blanched zucchini in the tank and it didnt seem to touch it. I'll look into better food when stores open.

No medications have been issued as I don't know what's going on quite yet.



I have recently switched to "Prime" water conditioner, produced by Seachem. I'm concerned that this may be causing the spike in nitrites (amonia levels are at .25... not great but they seem to hover there no matter what i do)

Live rock wont be ready for 3 weeks or so.

thanks

 

[beer_baron1]

would copper plumbing cause a problem in the water? I live in an old building and EVERYTHNG is copper. I could salvage it all, replace it with pvc, and still make a fortune!

 

[Zoodiver]

That could very well be an issue. Test the water for it prior to adding it to the tank and see what reading you come up with.

 

[beer_baron1]

Ok...

I've added the probe and started feeding Formula Two. The addition seemed to have a positive effect immediately (tho this could be wishful thinking). It's appetite has come back too, and seems to really enjoy the new diet.

I did test for copper levels and nothing showed up

visibly, things don't look like they have changed much, but I would imagine something like this doesn't clear up over a weekend.

I'll keep my fingers crossed, and keep you guys posted.

Many thanks
chris

 

[Don4921]

you should set one up for problems like this isolate from others

p.s. have a sick fish in the tank stresses the other fish also. In quarantine tank you can treat it without having to worry about harming other fish or bacteria.