Achilles tang issues

[VikS]

Hi, I have a fairly large and fat Achilles in quarantine in coppersafe along with some other smaller fish. I got it from my LFS where it was eating Nori and LRS.

it has been two weeks in the 40 breeder tank. It had ich day 1 in the tank. That sorted out pretty quickly by being in copper. But now he has some markings on his side around the face and the side of the body. Is this HLLE? Quarantine tank ammonia has been zero but I have started more frequent water changes.

Fish is fairly active and I see him chasing other fish. But I have barely seen it eat while I am around the tank.


PS: the sand in the corner is for a burrowing wrasse, but tank is bare bottom. Tank has moderate lighting (one the the freshwater LEDs ) and I added a powehead.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That does seem to be an early start to HLLE. If you leave nori in the tank and then come back? Is it eaten? I think ultimately, Achilles are tough to quarantine, they just don’t like small QT, but they just die from ich if you don’t treat them.
Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That does seem to be an early start to HLLE. If you leave nori in the tank and then come back? Is it eaten? I think ultimately, Achilles are tough to quarantine, they just don’t like small QT, but they just die from ich if you don’t treat them.
Jay

 

[VikS]

That does seem to be an early start to HLLE. If you leave nori in the tank and then come back? Is it eaten? I think ultimately, Achilles are tough to quarantine, they just don’t like small QT, but they just die from ich if you don’t treat them.
Jay

Thanks Jay, I now have seen it nipping at Nori multiple times. I am soaking that with Metro and garlic.

Anything I can do to help with the HLLE? It does not seem to be worsening but the white (almost fungus type growth) around the forehead is persisting but otherwise is active. It still has about a month of quarantine left.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Jay, I now have seen it nipping at Nori multiple times. I am soaking that with Metro and garlic.

Anything I can do to help with the HLLE? It does not seem to be worsening but the white (almost fungus type growth) around the forehead is persisting but otherwise is active. It still has about a month of quarantine left.

Not a lot you can do about the HLLE, just avoid using carbon on the tank.

Be sure you are feeding air dried, not roasted nori. I'd skip the metronidazole, it is VERY bitter and will put fish off eating food.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

While a healthy diet does not heal HLLE, it can help the fish with prevention of such in addition to garlic. Feed this fish at minimum:

-Spirulina brine shrimp
- LRS Herbivore diet
- mysis shrimp
- small plankton
- Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract
- Hikari Marine cuisine
- Formula 2 flake and frozen
- Hikari veggie marine

Add selcon vitamins to the foods 2-3X per week and on alternating days, garlic extract for stamina and immunity health

For Photos. . . . Not a criticism but rather a heads up = when posting pics, assure both the glass and camera lens are clean as yours had many dots from the tank almost looking like velvet on the fish.