Blue Hippo issue

[Murica]

I have a juvenile blue hippo tang that just got out of qt a few weeks ago.. treated for all parasites. He had white spots on him which almost looked like ich, so i emailed the person who qt’ed the fish for me and he stated that it is very rare that a parasite makes its way through his process.

I started noting some white spots on him, consistent with ich. Few days later there’s still some white spots, but some are dark gray and some almost look like the skin has fluke bites in it.

I know it’s hard to ID without a photo, but he hangs out in the very back which is 3 feet from the front panel, so getting a good enough photo is near impossible.

I honestly don’t know what to think.. sting from aiptasia? Flukes? Ich/black ich? Hlle. Hope you guys can help.

 

[Murica]

Unfortunately these are the best i could get. The marks are barely noticeable in the pics

 

[Murica]

I’m noticing more black dots on him

 

[TriggerFinger]

So it’s hard to know if your supplier did a proper quarantine of this fish. Assuming they did; a lot of hippo tangs will develop ich like spots after copper treatment. What I’ve read is stating that skin scrapings show the spots to be bacterial or viral and not parasites. I don’t think I’m allowed to link the other site here though.

 

[Murica]

So it’s hard to know if your supplier did a proper quarantine of this fish. Assuming they did; a lot of hippo tangs will develop ich like spots after copper treatment. What I’ve read is stating that skin scrapings show the spots to be bacterial or viral and not parasites. I don’t think I’m allowed to link the other site here though.

The more i look at it the more it looks like hlle, just weird how some of the spots started off like white specks. Also strange that while 80 percent of the marks look the same, the other parentage doesn’t

 

[TriggerFinger]

The more i look at it the more it looks like hlle, just weird how some of the spots started off like white specks. Also strange that while 80 percent of the marks look the same, the other parentage doesn’t

I can’t make out anything in the pics unfortunately. It could be HLLE. A proper diet always helps so hopefully it heals fine for you with good feeding. Good luck!

 

[Murica]

I can’t make out anything in the pics unfortunately. It could be HLLE. A proper diet always helps so hopefully it heals fine for you with good feeding. Good luck!

Yeah they’re terrible.. the fish practically have to be pressed up against the glass for me to take and decent ones.

And thanks! I got a little disheartened when i saw it, thinking it was a parasite. To be honest hlle would be awesome in comparison to all the other things they can get

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

HLLE on hepatus tangs starts around the eyes, so I don't think that is it. Hard to see the white spots on the fish from the white specks in the water (grin).

Jay

 

[Murica]

HLLE on hepatus tangs starts around the eyes, so I don't think that is it. Hard to see the white spots on the fish from the white specks in the water (grin).

Jay

As it’s progressing it looks like skin is deteriorating in small patches, especially on the head. As a precaution i started prazi and will hit it with a second dose in a few days. Fingers crossed it’s vital.. my goal is to have a completely parasite free tank.

My previous hippos were known to frequently have lympho so I’m hoping it’s that. We’ll see... thanks for the input and I’ll update how things progress.

 

[Murica]

Here’s an update, some patches of the hlle got better, but more white spots have shown up and he’s flashing occasionally. Still look like hlle?

 

[Murica]

@Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That isn't HLLE. It could be Lymphocystis, but more likely is skin mucus. Take a look at the article I posted in the articles section here on mucus. The file is a PDF link on the right of that page. See if any of that strikes a familiar chord.
Jay

 

[Murica]

That isn't HLLE. It could be Lymphocystis, but more likely is skin mucus. Take a look at the article I posted in the articles section here on mucus. The file is a PDF link on the right of that page. See if any of that strikes a familiar chord.
Jay

Thank you.