Blue Tang Diagnosis

[Hugo Garcia]

Hello folks,

I’ve recently moved and brought my tank with me. The whole process was very stressf, for myself but specially for the fish. Since the move, my Blue Tang has shown these white wound markings at its face and around the front of its body. The fish is very stressed and my clownfish have been keep giving it a hard time. They are fighting for new territory. Please help me ID what’s going on here and if there is anything I can do to help my fish.

Thanks.

 

[blaxsun]

#fishmedic

 

[fishguy242]

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[vetteguy53081]

It’s HLLE - head and lateral line erosion and often caused by poor water quality , poor diet or both
Assure ammonia and nitrate not elevated and proper diet fed such as LRS herbivore diet, formula 2, Hikari veggie diet, spirulina brine shrimp and mysis shrimp

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello folks,

I’ve recently moved and brought my tank with me. The whole process was very stressf, for myself but specially for the fish. Since the move, my Blue Tang has shown these white wound markings at its face and around the front of its body. The fish is very stressed and my clownfish have been keep giving it a hard time. They are fighting for new territory. Please help me ID what’s going on here and if there is anything I can do to help my fish.

Thanks.

That could be head and lateral line erosion (HLLE) or it could be something similar that blue tangs get, called epithelial thinning. I'm not certain which is the case here. HLLE is often caused by carbon use. Epithelial thinning is less known - perhaps more due to stress and poor diet.

In the first picture, the tang's anal fin looks fine. In the third picture, it looks to have bite marks on it. Were these pictures taken some time apart? If so, that indicates the clowns are causing some damage. That may stop, or it could continue - time will tell.

Jay