Sick Kole tang
- Thread starter Thomas Doty
- Start date
Got a new blue eye kole from lfs. I noticed some white patches on his sides, but he was eating off the glass and active. He's been in qt since last Friday. I treated 1/2 dose chelated copper first day, full dose day 2&3 thinking velvet. Did 50% wc day 4 and added low dose (5ml/20gal) methyl blue thinking fungus. Today he looks the same, and is still eating but skinny. I just did a 50% wc added carbon, and now I'm just scratching my head on what to do next. I'm starting to think he may have tange finger print disease? All thoughts and opinions appreciated. No3= 3, po4= 7, salinity 1.025, 20 gal qt
SynDen
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Well a bit too much, too fast I think. Can't really see the spots or issue in those pics, but I wouldn't jump through so many treatments so quickly. Any treatment you go with is going to take several weeks each to see any sort of improvement. Jumping around like that is only going to cause additional stress on the fish.
Can you better describe the white spots or any other symptoms? What made you think it velvet, then fungus, then something else?
I will tell you that if it was velvet, he likely would be dead already. Generally by the time you can see velvet, its already to late. So likely not that
All Tangs ime tend to be Ich magnets, and they tend to have a number of internal parasites. So in general I would put him in cooper to start, and keep him in that for 3 weeks, and then after that run him with 3 weeks of Prazi. If he keeps eating and makes it through those, then you should be good to go after that.
Can you better describe the white spots or any other symptoms? What made you think it velvet, then fungus, then something else?
I will tell you that if it was velvet, he likely would be dead already. Generally by the time you can see velvet, its already to late. So likely not that
All Tangs ime tend to be Ich magnets, and they tend to have a number of internal parasites. So in general I would put him in cooper to start, and keep him in that for 3 weeks, and then after that run him with 3 weeks of Prazi. If he keeps eating and makes it through those, then you should be good to go after that.
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The spots/ patches are most viable in the third Pic. I'll up load a search image that looks similar too. They are pale dime size patches with defined outlines and there are on both sides of the Fish. I dosed about 6 ml/ 20 gal copper as a precaution more than anything. I dosed the blue mainly because it was all I had on hand and copper safe and I figured the increased oxygenation wouldn't hurt either. The patchy look of things makes me think of a radial growth ring of a fungus or bacteria. Thanks for the reminder on slowing things down. Another random observation is the poop looks healthy, not stringy or anything crazy
Hard to see in the pics, but it may be lymphocytes. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publicati...nic disease,member of the family Iridoviridae.
I won’t lie I don’t know much on this subject but reading through that article I don’t think it’s lymphocystis. They focus mainly on the wart growth and how it can be confused with parasites in beginning stages. I think you could research all day and not 100% know. The plan that @SynDen imo is a great way to go about this.
SynDen
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I'll note too that Tang can all change their color, and when they do sometimes they can look 'blotchy'. So it is possible that the spot might just be a stress reaction.
Keep him eating, keep tank stable, and try to minimize his stress as much as possible. Don't rush the full dose of copper either, go slowly over 4-5 days, to ramp up to full dose, then maintain it for 3 weeks. Be sure to test the copper level periodically during treatment to make sure it stays steady and within safe margins.
I wouldn't do any water changes during this time either, unless you have ammonia in the water. Do test for ammonia every couple days though to be sure it stays within safe levels. If ammonia rises, then do a partial water change, and afterward, test the copper, redose to bring back up to safe level and retest the copper again to be sure.
Keep him eating, keep tank stable, and try to minimize his stress as much as possible. Don't rush the full dose of copper either, go slowly over 4-5 days, to ramp up to full dose, then maintain it for 3 weeks. Be sure to test the copper level periodically during treatment to make sure it stays steady and within safe margins.
I wouldn't do any water changes during this time either, unless you have ammonia in the water. Do test for ammonia every couple days though to be sure it stays within safe levels. If ammonia rises, then do a partial water change, and afterward, test the copper, redose to bring back up to safe level and retest the copper again to be sure.
I don't disagree with synden, but it's difficult to tell anything in these pictures. Lymphocystis does look similar, but usually larger spots. I could probably tell if I saw the fish, and definitely if I was able to get a scrape under a microscope. I think the copper period listed was too short for parasites, but the lack of any change leads me to believe it's something else. It was once part of my job to qt and treat disease in fish, but it's been more than a decade since that.
