sick fish?

[wmboots]

noticed my kole tang had some spots I haven't seen before anyone know what this is an indication of

[mysterybox]

If it looks like grains of salt or sand imbedded but poking a bit, that's most likely ich. I can't see anything from pic. Might just be me.

[rdnelson99]

I see what kind of looks like blotches that are a bit darker than the surrounding areas. I have no idea what it is though. My kole would occasionally get a dime sized round spot that was much lighter than the rest of the body. It would only be one at a time. Someone told me it was just a bit of stress and not to worry to much unless other symptoms started popping up. After the first month of having him I it went away and I have never seen it come back.

[wmboots]

thats what I'm thinking it is but it has been so many years since I've had a fish with ick I forget the signs and symptoms. will try to get a couple better pictures but the little bugger won't stay still long enough

Edit: the only thing that makes think it might not be ick is if memory serves correctly ick is scaly white patches and this is just dark patches and there aren't any other symptoms evident at this time

[wmboots]

here is a better pic, more splotches have appeared and he has started jerking movements when he is standing still
I don't believe this is ICK, does anyone have any ideas?

[Dine]

that doesnt look good! sorry i dont have an answer but heres a bump hoping someone does!

[rdnelson99]

Ouch. That doesn't look good at all. Wish I knew the answer. To me, the dark spots look more like the natural color but the rest of him looks bleached. If it were me, I would send the pic to Jenn. If anyone knows what is wrong and what to do about it she would be the one.

[wmboots]

I was assuming she would see it here but I believe I will send it to her, as for the fish looking bleached the answer to that is it isn't. I have searched other forums and put google to work and from what I am reading on other forums it maybe stress. From what I am reading it seems kole tangs are very easily stressed and I am wondering if the noise from the little giant pump on the closed loop system is causing issues. I want to replace this noisy thing with something quiter and cooler running but not sure what to use. I have a mag 9.5 I'm thinkin about using but not sure if it will create enough flow or if it will hold up to a closed loop system

[rdnelson99]

Yeah, I can't help but think it is stress related. Not sure of the cause of the stress and I don't have a lot of knowledge to back that up but it just feels right. No matter what it is, I hope you find a solution. You have had enough bad stuff happening to last you a while.

[JennM]

Doesn't look good. Doesn't look like ich. Might be some sort of infection though.

Any other fish with same symptoms? How long have you had the fish? Any other relevant details?

The redness around the splotches - at least that's what it looks like to me, from the second photo, might indicate a bacterial infection (may have come from mechanical injury?) QT for sure - maybe antibiotics if infection is pretty certain... it's hard to say.

I don't think it's ich though, although ich if present, may have opened the door to infection.

Usually it's not ich or another parasite that actually kills the fish, usually it's the bacterial infection that sets in after the fact, that gains access to the fish from the wound sites.

Jenn

[wmboots]

no other fish have symptoms, this fish has been in my tank for about a week and I first noticed the splotches yesterday afternoon. Fish is eating fine and is an algae eating machine which is what he was picked up for. Fish was picked up when I decided to pull into an LFS I was driving by. One of those lets just stop in look around but don't spend any money. Kinda like when I go to see you for food and walk with with a $50 - $100 receipt.
But back to the fish other than the spots and what I think is somewhat of a jerky motion when standing still he seems healthy. Do you have anything in your store that I could treat him with? Guess I will be pulling out one of those 20's to put him in for a few days

Oh and thank you for your help and information Jenn but either you need to relocate your store closer to me or I need to move this 45 minute drive is killing me

[JennM]

I think I'm already the closest store to you, Bill but there are plenty of nice homes for sale here in Canton

How long was the fish in the store before you bought it and was it quarantined first?

Do you have a quarantine setup available and ready? I'd move it out.

Could also be Uronema...

Here's an article - scroll through and see what matches best :-/

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/10/aafeature1

I carry a variety of meds, but it's hard to say where to start since I'm not 100% sure what you've got going on there, and you can't really mix meds, so once you start treating for *something* you're committed to it, and if you treat the wrong thing and the medicine doesn't touch what's really wrong, it might be a moot point in the end.

I'd check with the dealer you got it from to find out how long they had the fish and if they've had any observations of other fishes in that shipment.

This is why quarantine is so important. Even if a shop has a protocol (some do, some don't), it's always a good idea to quarantine and observe before a fish goes into the display - that way if a problem crops up you can address it right away, and avoid problems infecting/infesting the display, where treatment is usually not an option.

Jenn

[wmboots]

thanks Jenn, from reading it seems "Turbellarian Infection" is the closest to what I see going on with the kobi tang. I don't have a quarntine system setup but I do have a 20 gallon tank, power heads and small protien skimmer. The trick is going to be in catching the fish amongst all the rock.
Reading the treatment calls for freshwater dip and I'm assuming that is exactly what it means. How long should I leave the fish in RODI freshwater? minute, 2 minutes or just flush him in and out a few times?

[JennM]

Hmmm, I hadn't considered Turbellarians because usually that presents as "black ich". I don't think it's that.

I take it he survived the night?

Treatment for Turbellarians is praziquantel - FW dip could help but I'd go straight to the PraziPro.

I am not so sure that's what it is unless you can see the black Turbellarians on it and we can't see that in the picture.

[wmboots]

The fish doesn't act like anything is wrong, appetite is normal, moves around like it always has it just has spots all over him and I noticed the tail this morning is a bit ragged

[JennM]

I'd still ask those questions I mentioned, to the dealer, as they may be able to shed some light on what's going on.

It's good that it's still eating and behaving normally -feed it well, maybe some garlic to boost its immune system so that it can fight off whatever it is.

I'm not 100% sure what it is so I'm not sure what else to suggest.

Jenn

[wmboots]

Update on the Kole Tang, I gave up on trying to catch this little bugger as he was just too quick and too many hiding spots in 150 gallon tank. In any case the spots haven't gone away but no more spots have developed. His/her colors are washed out a bit but it feeds like crazy, is very active and the only other issues I see are a nervous type of twitch when its not swimming. I also notice it seems to have balance issues when standing still.
Does any of this sound like any type of disease, parasite or anything other than a nervous condition to anyone on this board?

This fish has a great appetite it grazes on algae all day long and would eat 3 or 4 times a day if I fed my tank that often

[wmboots]

Kole Tang is still with me and seems healthy as ever, My tank looks like the diving around Nassau Bahama though. A couple corals in obscure areas surrounded by barren rock or old dead coral heads. 150 gallon display tank with a half dozen frags looks mighty barren. Time to start getting some frags to grow out

[rdnelson99]

Glad to hear he is still with us. Is the discoloration gone now? I think I am about to know what you mean about the bare tank. Something tells me that as crowded as my 45 is, it isn't going to do much to fill up that 125 but that is ok. The build is half the fun. Then I have a blank canvas on which I can paint my master piece right? hehehehe

[JennM]

Glad to hear it pulled through, Bill - I had my doubts, it looked pretty bad.

Did you ever figure out what it was? Or did you treat it with anything?

Jenn