Any ideas?

[Strydon]

Was doing my hourly checkup on my fish and noticed my pygmy angel has some weird discoloration on one side. I've attached a few pics, one if which is the other side which looks normal. The picture in which the fish is pointing to the left is the side I am concerned about I apologize if they are not the best pics. To my eye it looks like he has a patch of faded coloration... Any ideas on what it could be? Thanks in advance!!

 

[Strydon]

I wanted to add another pic as it shows the affected area better. Thanks everyone.

 

[Strydon]

Bump! A few more pics with the lighting better. I hate seeing something wrong with him...

 

[TheReefIndy]

What are your parameters? do you notice any aggressions from other tank mates? did you get the fish recently from your lfs? if you can provide us more details, we might be able to help you out a lot better.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Bump! A few more pics with the lighting better. I hate seeing something wrong with him...

How long have you had the angel?
Any chance it got attacked by other fish?
Is it breathing and eating normally?

I'm worried because the lesion looks deep-seated and it could be Uronema.

Jay

 

[Strydon]

Well...nevermind. I went to dinner with my wife, came home and found one of my cleaner shrimp trying to eat the pygmy's dead body. No clue why he died as he was swimming, grazing, and eating normally this morning except for that discoloration in the above pictures. My water parameters are all good and my other fish and corals are all looking great. That completely sucks.... Oh well.

How long have you had the angel?
Any chance it got attacked by other fish?
Is it breathing and eating normally?

I'm worried because the lesion looks deep-seated and it could be Uronema.

Jay

Hi Jay,

I ended up coming home last night and found him dead...I had only had him for a week and hadn't noticed any of the other fish antagonizing him... Thanks for the response.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Well...nevermind. I went to dinner with my wife, came home and found one of my cleaner shrimp trying to eat the pygmy's dead body. No clue why he died as he was swimming, grazing, and eating normally this morning except for that discoloration in the above pictures. My water parameters are all good and my other fish and corals are all looking great. That completely sucks.... Oh well.

Hi Jay,

I ended up coming home last night and found him dead...I had only had him for a week and hadn't noticed any of the other fish antagonizing him... Thanks for the response.

Sorry to hear! I feel bad because I didn’t see your post right away.

With the way it looked and having it just a week, I’d say Uronema. That really isn’t treatable, it starts internally and once you see the lesions, it is too late. The only drug that might work is chloroquine and that is hard to get. The only bright side is that if it was Uronema, it is unlikely to infect your other fish.

Jay

 

[Strydon]

Sorry to hear! I feel bad because I didn’t see your post right away.

With the way it looked and having it just a week, I’d say Uronema. That really isn’t treatable, it starts internally and once you see the lesions, it is too late. The only drug that might work is chloroquine and that is hard to get. The only bright side is that if it was Uronema, it is unlikely to infect your other fish.

Jay

Thanks very much for the info! I had planned on not replacing him any time soon and keeping any eye on my other fish. They all seem fine at this point, but didn't want to move to quickly to add another fish until I had a better understanding of what might have caused it.