please help!!! sick tang

[mdl91881]

My koles tang is sick and Im not sure what it is or what i need to do. today i was looking at the fish and i saw a dark spot on his side fin. it looks like a small black ball stuck on him. after looking closer i noticed he had some fuzzy spots by the base of his tail and on his side, he also has what looks to be a small pin sized hole in his top fin. i watched him swim around for a little while and he seemed to swim crooked and was tring to "rub" up against the rocks and the glass. i took him out of the main tank and put him in the hospital tank. i treated him with E.M. tablets and he seems to be swimming better already.

have i done the right thing if not what should i do.

could what he has have spread to the other fish?

this is my first sick fish and i'm not sure what to do!!!

Please help!!!

 

[Anemoneman]

A FW dip (for up to 5 minutes) will be a better treatment. Do it now before it gets worse. The black spots are easier to cure than white and the white wil spread to your whole tank if not caught in time.

 

[mdl91881]

so just put him in a tank with pure FW for 5 min. do you have any idea what this is? do i have to have any worries about it spreading to the other fish in the main tank? after the FW did how long should i kept him in the hospital tank?

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[Anemoneman]

Adjust your FW to the same temp and pH. The white spots are marine Ich. The black spots are a common parasite of Tangs. After the dip, keep him in the HT until you are sure the spots are gone. A couple cleaner shrimp in the main tank wouldn't hurt. Here is a link that describes the diseases. http://www.seasky.org/aquarium/sea3e.html#Other Fish Diseases

 

[mdl91881]

i tried the FW dip for about 20 seconds and the fish stopped moving and floated to the top so i took him out. is this normal and should i just let it go or did i do something wrong?

 

[Anemoneman]

A FW dip is stressfull. A fish that is weakened may find it too stressfull as yours did. I would let it build strength and try again later.
I might add that all I've done is research onthe web and read reefrunner's posts on the subject. I'm no expert on fish disease. Only had Tang black spot once and the Tang kicked it in it's own.

Mark

 

[reefrunner69]

Only had Tang black spot once and the Tang kicked it in it's own.

My experience with black ick as well. Black ick is actually a parsitic worm, that usually dies off in a month or so. However, from the description...I'm not convinced the tang has black ick, it is usually present on the body of the fish rather than the fins, since it is an internal parasite. If the fish is removed to a hospital tank...I would begin treating the marine ick (white ick) with copper sulfate at a concentration of .15 - .20 ppm. I would really like to see a pic...if you can get one. The quick recovery after the use of E-mycin would be indicitive of a bacterial "fungus" infection.

 

[mdl91881]

i do not have a camera to get a pic. sorry.

so you would treat it with copper and not a FW bath.

there is only one black spot on the front fin. and the others are not spots as much as the are a discolored patch. the patches are very hard to see and you have to look very close to even see them.

what should i do?

the fish seems to be "healthy" besides the "scratching" on the rocks.

should i worry about the other fish gettinf this too?

thanks for the response!!!

 

[reefrunner69]

there is only one black spot on the front fin. and the others are not spots as much as the are a discolored patch. the patches are very hard to see and you have to look very close to even see them.

This could be indicitive of a bacterial infection, or simply missing scales from scratching on the rocks.

the fish seems to be "healthy" besides the "scratching" on the rocks.

This is a behavioral ssign of many parasites ick and velvet being the two most common. This is usually also visible, before the spots are. To be safe, I would probably treat with copper. Kole tangs are known as the "Typhoid Mary" of ick :?

so you would treat it with copper and not a FW bath.

I would. I am not a big fan of the FW dip, but I do acknowledge it's usefulness in some instances.

 

[mdl91881]

the tang is still alive, but things have changed today!!! the black spot is no longer black!!! I has changed to a fuzzy white spot, and aalmost doubled in size. as for the spots by his tail, they are gone, but he has developoed what apperers to be a large pale spot on the side of his body. this spot also seems to have a fuzzy thing around the very edges. any ideas on what to do?

 

[clownfish]

One fairly obvious reminder, that caught me recently. Have you been checking and maintaining water quality in your hospital tank? Make sure ammonia levels are 0. This jsut caught me by surprise and I think poor water quality was really making everthing worse. See my ? in the general discussion area

 

[reefrunner69]

the black spot is no longer black!!! I has changed to a fuzzy white spot, and aalmost doubled in size.

Describe the white lump, as best you can.

he has developoed what apperers to be a large pale spot on the side of his body. this spot also seems to have a fuzzy thing around the very edges.

This sounds like you are describing a bacterial infection. I would treat with E-mycin (which you started...did you do a complete treatment?) for 5 days.

 

[mdl91881]

i have been treating with e.m and it hasn't gotten any better (worse if anything) it has been four days.

as for the white spot. you can still see the black spot but now it has tripled in size and is just hanging onto the fin. it actually sticks up off of the fin and the fish seems to try to "fkick" his fin to try to get it off.

i took him to the LFS today and they said they have never seen anything like that before and had no advice. i'm at a total loss as to what to do now.

i don't want to lose this fish but it just seems to be getting worse.

there is one thing that i noticed today that i hadn't mentioned befroe.

the spot on his side is in the same position as the spot on his fin when he puts his fin to the side. not sure if you understand, but thats the only way i could think to say it. its almost like they match up when his fin is up. almost like it spread from contact.

any ideas on what to do?

thanks for all the help so far!!!!

 

[reefrunner69]

Yeah, I'm kinda at a loss as well. I was thinking the lump on the fin could be lympho, but I would think your LFS would be familiar with it. It could be a true fungus, in which case a dose of Mardels MarOxy may help. Do me a favor though...do not put your hands in the tank without wearing gloves (elbow to shoulder length), there is at least one SW disease that is contagious to humans.

 

[mdl91881]

thanks for the tip!!!!! i'm takeing the fish to another LFS today. they are alot better of a store the only problem is that they are 1 1/2 hours away. do you think this will be too much stress for the fish?