white areas

[noodus]

hey people i've had my fridimani pseudochormis for like 2 weeks. it's been acting normal, i mean no trouble swimming or eating. i've notice it had always had white spots on it. not specks, more like areas. could this be dead skin? when i got him he was in a tank packed with clowns. anyway one of his areas the white turned to a darker color. does anyone what is happening?

 

[steve-s]

i've notice it had always had white spots on it. not specks, more like areas. could this be dead skin? when i got him he was in a tank packed with clowns. anyway one of his areas the white turned to a darker color. does anyone what is happening?

Sounds like you could have a parasite. Clowns are notorious for Brooklynella. The symptoms you describe thus far could actually be a few things. Seeing any cloudy film around the fish, scales standing on edge, rapid breathing, stringy feces? Anything else no matter how small or unlikely can help.


Do you have a QT or can you get one set up? There is a good possibility you may need to treat the fish. What other fish are in the tank?

Cheers
Steve

 

[noodus]

algae blenny and a randalli goby and a bunch of inverts
they all look ok. it's moved to the fish eye, it looks a little cloudy.

 

[steve-s]

Cloudy eye can also be a symptom of a parasite but also of poor water quality or minor injury. So far you are not giving me much to go on as far as diagnosis information. Can you post a clear pic?

If not, try answering as many of these as accurately as possible....

1. How long have you had the fish? Do you know if it was wild caught, or tank raised?
2. How long has the fish been in the tank? What are the tank mates? Any aggression?
3. Is the fish eating? If so what does it eat?
4. What are the water parameters? pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, SPG? (actual numbers please: posting high, average or normal is not helpful) What saltwater test kit are you using?
5. Is the fish showing any physical signs of disease, grain of salt size spots, discoloration, ragged fins, misting or spots on the fins, cuts, cloudy eyes, etc?
6. Is the fish "flashing" (scratching or rubbing on rocks, decorations or substrate)?
7. How is the fish acting? Is it swimming around, or just hovering in one spot or corner of the tank?
8. Did you use quarantine? If so for how long and did you have a need to treat for any ailments? Is it in qt now? Are you currently treating with any medication(s)?
9. What size system? What type of filtration do you use? Do you have any live rock or sand?
10. Do you use any additives? Have you used any sort of meds in the main tank?

Do you have a QT or can you get one set up?

Cheers
Steve

 

[noodus]

first of all i would like to say thank you for helping.

1. i've had the fish for about 2 weeks i've known a lot of these fish to be tank raised, however i'm not sure whether mine is or isn't.

2. couple of cleaner shrimp, bunch of crabs, pistol shrimp, randalli goby, algae blenny, and no aggression. except for when anything big comes close to the pistol shrimp it will snap it's claw(without attack), but that is rare

3. the fish IS eating mysis shrimp

4. ph - 8.3, ammoina - 0, nitrite - 0, nitrate - 15, salinity is 1.024. i use test strips for the nitrate, ammonia, and nitrite. a refractometer for the salinity and an electronis test rod thing for the ph.. i don't know the techinical name for it.

5. the fish's appearance has gotten worse. the eye is a little cloudy now and it looks like there is a "bruise" on it's tail. some white spots as well, but not like grains of salt. the spots are roundish and the size of his eye. i wish i could take a picture but it would come out blurry.. i need to find a camera that takes good tank pictures.

6. i had never heard the term flashing, but yes now that you mention it. my fish does flash. not so much rubbing. very quick back and forth motions. it will do quick spins and it hangs out with the cleaner shrimp all of the time, ubt the cleaner shrimp never touches him.

7. mostly hangs out with the cleaner shrimp in one area. although once i did see it hang out in the top corner of the tank away from everything. was there for maybe 30 mins. only once.

8. i dont have a QT getting one setup right now would not be a option. maybe a 4 gallon bucket with a airstone... but not a full tank.

9. it is a 72 gal, with a 18 gal refugium. about 75 lbs of live rock, and about 120 lbs of live sand.

10. i've added a little calcium once. i've stayed away from meds, cause i've heard too many bad stories about them. however i do have "furan-2" manufactured by aquarium pharm. but i have not added it to the tank thinking it might do more harm than good. it does say " this medication will cause a harmless green color in the aquarium, which can be removed with activated carbon. this medication will not harm the biological filter in fresh or saltwater aquariums.

also catching the fish has been a task... well impossible, i've even tried a trap and failed....

 

[steve-s]

5. the fish's appearance has gotten worse. the eye is a little cloudy now and it looks like there is a "bruise" on it's tail. some white spots as well, but not like grains of salt. the spots are roundish and the size of his eye. i wish i could take a picture but it would come out blurry.. i need to find a camera that takes good tank pictures.

Starting to sound much more like a bacterial problem. Although your water specs might seem accebtable for the most part, low numbers do not mean low DOC. Please read <<here>>.

8. i dont have a QT getting one setup right now would not be a option. maybe a 4 gallon bucket with a airstone... but not a full tank.

You do need a typical "tank" for a QT and a pail will do in a pinch. You will however need more than an airstone. A heater and some kind of biological filtration will be an asset. If antibiotics are used, biomaterials become moot though. You may also need a small powerhead for aeration depending on the force of the airstone/pump.

10.however i do have "furan-2" manufactured by aquarium pharm. but i have not added it to the tank thinking it might do more harm than good. it does say " this medication will cause a harmless green color in the aquarium, which can be removed with activated carbon. this medication will not harm the biological filter in fresh or saltwater aquariums.

Try the remedies suggested in the article linked to above. If there is little/no result or it worsens, you will need to treat. A gram negative antibiotic would be best. Furan 2 contains Nitrofurazone, Furazolidone & Methylene blue so it should be relatively affective. This will require a QT though.

Cheers
Steve

 

[noodus]

steve i know it's been some time since i replied if you still see this topic thank you.. i quarantined the fish used furan-2 for about 10 days now. the fish looks gmuch better, however i do have one more question. when is it time to put him back in? still has a little faded white area on him, not sure if it's the disease or his natural look...

 

[steve-s]

i quarantined the fish used furan-2 for about 10 days now. the fish looks gmuch better,

however i do have one more question. when is it time to put him back in? still has a little faded white area on him, not sure if it's the disease or his natural look...

Where on the fish is the white area located & can you describe it in a little more detail. Dotty's in general are quick to startle but still quite bolsterous fish. Could be a self injury/scalle loss depending on what's in the QT.

How long did you administer the Furan 2 and at what dosage? Did you perform water changes during the treatment and what are the QT parameters?

Cheers
Steve

 

[noodus]

the white areas are sort of centered on it's body, doesn't look like the white spots that were on it when i first quarantined it. looks more like it's faded rather than white.

the quarantine is a 5 gallon bucket.

the furan 2 recommends one capsule per 10 gals. i used half a capsule per dosage (4 times). also do a 25% water change every other day.

there are two snails in there and a softball size piece of live rock 25 watt heater and a air stone.

i want to get him out of there as soon as possisble, but i also want to make sure he's rid of the disease. thank you thank you thank you

 

[steve-s]

Hmm. I would be concerned here the dosage may not have been strong enough. 30mg/gal is a more recommended level for Nitrofurazone as a one time dosage (for upto 5 days). You treated a total of 24mg/gal which is close but I think the water changes may have diluted the treatment further. Along with that, the LR could have sorbed some of the med.

I would remove the previous treatment via water changes and run carbon or a polyfilter for a few hours. Remove the carbon & retreat using 2½ tabs all at once and leave the fish for three days without water changes.

Nitrofuazone shouldn't be used for a prolonged period so be very sure you monitor the fish health and water parameters strictly. At the first sing of distress, discontinue the treatment.


Cheers
Steve

 

[noodus]

thanks i'll get to work on it

 

[noodus]

fish is in the main tank been there for a few days now and looks great!! thanks steve. you helped me save my $40 fish. (which happens to be my favorite) frimani's have the best personalities.

 

[steve-s]

Excellent news..

Cheers
Steve