yellow tang with white blotch on lateral line

[Guest]

My yellow tang has an irregular white blotch running along it's lateral line on one side. It also has a couple of fin tears, but those have come and gone in the past.

Everything else with the tank is fine, and I have had the yellow a year and a half with no problem.

Thanks for any advice![/img]

 

[steve-s]

Looks like HLLE which could be caused from improper foods, higher than normal DOC, stress and some suggest stray voltage. There is in fact very little conclusive evidence that points to any one thing but water quality and nutrition are generally at the top of the list.

What do you feed the tang?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Guest]

A wide variety of frozen foods including all the things with greens, Omega flakes including super-veggies, seaweed strips, some daphnia, occasionally live brine shrimp.

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

Well, I would check your water parameters and also you sould supplement their diet with marco algae which is what they eat in the wild and soaking any other food in selcon since Tangs need a diet high in Vitamin C and [acronym="Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acid"]HUFA[/acronym] in order the keep its beautiful color.

 

[steve-s]

Agreed with the above but be careful if using macro algaes as a food source. Many are not healthy for fish and caulerpa's should be completely avoided. A good substitute is Nori which is high in spurlina content.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Guest]

Anything else I should do?...any medication?...can it be contagious?

 

[steve-s]

No it's not contagious and meds would be pointless unless the tang developes a secondary infection. In most all cases maintaining pristine water conditions and ensuring the best possible diet high in vitamin fortified foods will do the trick. It won't heal up immediately but rather stop the progression. HLLE does not heal that quickly and will typically leave some sort of scaring.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Guest]

Thank you.

 

[Terry B]

If links to other Websites are permitted then I will direct you to a series of articles about HLLE. BTW, how do I get into my profile to make changes?

Cheers,
Terry B

 

[Atari]

Yes links are permitted, and you can get into your profile through the Welcome box which is on the right-hand side of the Home page.

 

[Terry B]

Thanks Atari,

Just click on this link www.MarineAquariumAdvice.com and look for a series of articles on HLLE in the library

Cheers,
Terry B