Bad skin on new Kole Tang

davidcsmith · Feb 20, 2012

I have a new Kole Tang in my 110 gallon fish only tank. He's been in there for 8 days. Water specs are good, except for SG which is 1.021. An "expert" said it was good to keep it low in fish only tanks. I'm now raising it to 1.024....slowly. I don't think this is ich, and he's not being harassed by other fish. However, these two pics were taken one day apart. Look at his lower tail fin. How does that much fin disappear in one day? Please help.

Thanks,

aquabull · Feb 20, 2012

Low oxygen content can encourage the bacterial infection that this tang seems to be suffering from. How long had the dealer had it before you obtained it? Can we have specifics on the water parameters? (Many distributors and dealers do run lower salinity to discourage infection. Not really to be frowned upon> Sometimes it does help!)

hermesfansf · Feb 20, 2012

Did you ever treat it with any medication before adding it to the main tank?

STL · Feb 20, 2012

Is he eating? One thing that may help nurse 'em back to health is frozen spirulina enriched brine shrimp:

Saltwater Multi-Pack, Spirulina Brine Shrimp, Seaweed Salad Brown, Red & Green San Francisco

All our fish LOVE this stuff, including a Kole tang.

Mr Beardsley · Feb 20, 2012

I would get that fish into a quarantine, and treat with Furan2. It looks like the fish still has decent body mass, and can pull through if you start treatment soon.

davidcsmith · Feb 21, 2012

I have NOT treated it with any medication. I did a freshwater dip last night and a bunch of stuff turned white and fell off. Does that indicate what the issue could be? I've heard Bacterial Fin Rot. Water parameters are Ph 8.2 nitrate 5-10 nitrite 0 alkalinity 300.

Mr Beardsley · Feb 21, 2012

Just looking at your pictures, it is pretty obvious it is a bad surface bacterial infection. If you read the list of items furan2 deals with, you'll see that it matches the symptoms displayed by your fish.

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Furan-2 Medication - 10ct Powder Packets

cdness · Feb 21, 2012

Poor Tang

You really need to get him to QT and start treatment. I have never used furan 2 but it looks like a good treatment. If it was just a case of fin rot I'd say Melafix Marine worked for me but this is much worse. I hope he pulls through.

davidcsmith · Feb 21, 2012

my only quarantine is a trash can with a pump. would it be better just to treat my whole tank?

davidcsmith · Feb 21, 2012

Also, what about melafix instead of Furan 2? I have melafix, furan 2 i would have to order.

cdness · Feb 21, 2012

There are two different types of melafix with two different percentages of active ingredient. Make sure you have the Melafix Marine... I would say treat with the Melafix if its all you have and get your hands on Furan-2 ASAP.

Go to Petco or some other place and get yourself a 10G aquarium. It won't cost you much and you really should have one anyway. If I was closer I'd loan you a tank to use, but its a bit of a drive for me

Treating in the display runs the risk of the meds killing all your other stuff. Inverts are really sensitive to the stuff. Also keeping the fish in the display runs the risk of infection spreading to the other fish.

hermesfansf · Feb 22, 2012

I never believe freshwater dipped will really kill the bacteria/parasite especially those internal. Without treating the fish especially the tang, u r taking the risk of possible future ICH outbreak. Most of the tangs have ICH, and it will spread to other fish in your tank as well I usually treat the tang with 2 weeks of prazipro and 2 weeks of copramine. I have never used furan2, however I don't think melafix would work in your case. Melafix works for minor broken fin and tail, but not major parasite outbreak like your fish.

davidcsmith · Feb 22, 2012

The Tang seems to be doing a lot better. A lot of "stuff" fell off after the freshwater dip and I'm treating the tank with Pimafix and Melafix, which makes the water look terrible, but I'll be stoked if the fish pulls through.