Bicolor blenny cheek bruise

Harken · Oct 26, 2020

Hi everyone,

I noticed a couple weeks ago a bruise in the cheek of my bicolor blenny. Since he was eating and goofing around as always, I decided to wait and see if it would go away but, unfortunately, it is still there. Any ideas what it might be? I hope the photos can help.

Thank you.

Jay Hemdal · Oct 26, 2020

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Weird - it is just on the one side? This isn't a symptom of any of the "classic" diseases, so that's a good thing! Due to the length of time it has had it, and as long as it is still eating, I wouldn't treat it. The only other thing is that there is a parasitic isopod that can get into a fish's gill chamber, where it eats away at the gills. Try to get a view from behind the fish, when it opens its gills to breathe, if you see a dark plated thing living there, it could be that. I have never seen those on a blenny, but I did a quick check and they have been recorded from blennies before.

Jay

Harken · Oct 26, 2020

Jay Hemdal said:
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Weird - it is just on the one side? This isn't a symptom of any of the "classic" diseases, so that's a good thing! Due to the length of time it has had it, and as long as it is still eating, I wouldn't treat it. The only other thing is that there is a parasitic isopod that can get into a fish's gill chamber, where it eats away at the gills. Try to get a view from behind the fish, when it opens its gills to breathe, if you see a dark plated thing living there, it could be that. I have never seen those on a blenny, but I did a quick check and they have been recorded from blennies before.

Jay

Thank you very much for the answer Jay. Yes, it is just on one side and the rest of the body seems perfectly fine. I will try to take a look from behind, but as you may know, bicolor blennies are not a "stand in the open" fish.

Harken · Oct 30, 2020

I managed to get some better(ish) pictures. Maybe they can help.

Jay Hemdal · Oct 30, 2020

It seems to be spreading to me, especially towards the back. Is there any way you can move it to a QT and treat with antibiotics? If not, a distant second choice would be to mix kanaplex with focus and its food, and dose it orally.
Jay

Harken · Oct 30, 2020

Jay Hemdal said:
It seems to be spreading to me, especially towards the back. Is there any way you can move it to a QT and treat with antibiotics? If not, a distant second choice would be to mix kanaplex with focus and its food, and dose it orally.
Jay

Yeah, I can move it to a QT. Which antibiotic do you recommend (and how to use it)?