Need Help!!! Yellow "Clumps" on Snook

[coralAnn]

I woke up this morning to find my juvenile snooks with these yellow clumpy thingys on their bodies and tail. No signs of distress noted. We brought them back from FL back in July when they were tiny babies. They've made it this far...I sure would hate to lose them now. They are in a 6 gal Fluvall Edge...all water parameters are WNL. Temp is 78.3 degrees F. They are the only two fishies in this tank. I just did a 25% water exchange yesterday...maintenance routine. I'm not seeing them having any problems. They munched aggressively on flakes and blood worms this morning. It doesn't look like ich...which I just battled with in my other tank. I've not mixed anything between the two tanks. Could it be Lymphocystis (been looking on Google)??? These pics may help:















Ughhh!!! What is this???

 

[bskerrichard27]

Better pics but I'm guessing marine velvet

 

[bskerrichard27]

Better pics but I'm guessing marine velvet or Ichthyosporidium Symptoms: Sluggishness, loss of balance, hollow belly, external cysts and sores.

Ichthyosporidium is a fungus, but it manifests itself internally. It primarily attacks the liver and kidneys, but it spreads everywhere else. The symptoms vary. The fish may become sluggish, lose balance, show hollow bellies, and eventually show external cysts or sores. By then it is usually too late for the fish. Treatment is difficult. Phenoxethol added to food as a 1% solution may be effective. Chloromycetin added to the food has also been effective. But both of these treatments, if not watched with caution, could pose a risk to your fish. It is best, if diagnosed soon enough, to destroy the affected fish before the disease can spread.

 

[coralAnn]

Better pics but I'm guessing marine velvet or Ichthyosporidium Symptoms: Sluggishness, loss of balance, hollow belly, external cysts and sores.

Ichthyosporidium is a fungus, but it manifests itself internally. It primarily attacks the liver and kidneys, but it spreads everywhere else. The symptoms vary. The fish may become sluggish, lose balance, show hollow bellies, and eventually show external cysts or sores. By then it is usually too late for the fish. Treatment is difficult. Phenoxethol added to food as a 1% solution may be effective. Chloromycetin added to the food has also been effective. But both of these treatments, if not watched with caution, could pose a risk to your fish. It is best, if diagnosed soon enough, to destroy the affected fish before the disease can spread.

Thank you so much for taking the time to research this!!! Very nice of you!!! You and I know that a true diagnosis would be identified under a microscope...and I ain't about to go there!!! lol!!! I think it's either ICH (which I THOUGHT I treated my recent outbreak...those parasites must be sneaky lol) or what you said. They remain asymptomatic...no change in behavior either and eating aggressively.

See if these pics are better:

 

[bskerrichard27]

I'm almost positive its not ick...

 

[coralAnn]

I'm almost positive its not ick...

Yeah...it just doesn't really look like it...like salt. They are different shaped "pustule-looking" blobs on his body, very unsightly!!! One even looks like the shape of a half-moon. The other snook (bigger just a tad) only has a couple of places on him that are very small. They are still showing no signs of illness...eating well, no change in activity or breathing. Geeze...wouldnt it be nice to have a MICROSCOPE!!! No...I wouldn't know what to look for!!!

I will keep posting regular updates...keep checking back as I may need your brain!!!

 

[bskerrichard27]

Ok no prob ..try doing a fresh water dip on one see if it changes

 

[coralAnn]

Ok no prob ..try doing a fresh water dip on one see if it changes

You're not gonna believe this!!! I was continuing to research ich on Google, and found an article about using hydrogen peroxide to rid ich and other parasites from the aquarium (strength 3%). It also mentioned hyposalinity...like you mentioned the freshwater dip. Well...yesterday I poured some peroxide into the aquarium, and today the larger snook has nothing on him!!! The smaller snook, that had all the yucky places on him, has almost cleared up!!! I don't know for certain if the peroxide did it...could be a coincidence or something. Normally I wouldn't have done that but I've just got those two snooks in this aquarium right now and thought "Oh what the heck...try it!!!" My copper level is .25 after two weeks. I dunno....quite a weird ordeal. At least he's not dead and made it through whatever this is!!! These two travelled all the way from Fort Walton beach to our home in Little Rock (about 550 miles!!!). We've had them now for 7 months and have enjoyed watching them grow from 1/4 inch to now 11/2 inches. I know they get to be HUGE. We were wanting to take them back next year to set free in the ocean. Yes...before you ask...I'm certifiably crazy lol!!!

Thanks for your help and input!!! If it's not all gone tomorrow, I'll dip him like you recommended!!!

 

[bskerrichard27]

Your copper ? U been dosing copper? If so u can't use these other treatments it will kill the fish ...

 

[coralAnn]

Your copper ? U been dosing copper? If so u can't use these other treatments it will kill the fish ...

I only dosed with the copper once and that's been almost a month ago. I checked the level yesterday, and it was less than .25. It was so faint I could almost say the copper is just about gone from the water. I never re-dosed with copper, and did many water exchanges after reading all the negative effects it can have on the fish and tank as a whole. I've just been slowly trying to get rid of it, and the level has steadily dropped.

Thanks for telling me cuz I'm kinda ignorant about these things!!! I'll know better now!!!

This morning when the light was turned on, there were no infected-looking places seen on either fish!!! It's wild...totally blows me away!!! The fish acted as if nothing ever happened. Of course, they came from the ocean and snook (lol) aren't the typical aquarium fish!!! Maybe that was in their favor. I just hope we can keep them healthy until we go back to Fort Walton to release them back into the ocean...with acclimation for sure !!! Thanks again for your input!!! Very much appreciated!!!