Brown scopas tang HLLE help

Forestwalker101 · Mar 5, 2016

Hi all,

My dad's brown copas tang looks like it's suffering from HLLE. Has anyone dealt with this before? I believe it's because my dad put two large bags of activated carbon in the sump without rinsing it first and was running without a skimmer for a few weeks while I was fixing it. I've removed the carbon and the skimmer is back in. He seems healthy definitely active and eating flake, shrimp and kelp. Any advice?

Diesel · Mar 5, 2016

Not sure from my side but lets ask some others........ [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

kschweer · Mar 5, 2016

Stable water parameters and a healthy diet will go a long way with hlle and also what may be some fin rot. I would suggest getting some selcon or other vitamins to soak the food in. Best of luck. Hopefully @Humblefish and @melypr1985 will chime in as well.

Humblefish · Mar 5, 2016

Not rinsing carbon before using it will definitely cause HLLE, as all that carbon dust in the water is pretty abrasive to a fish's skin. Other possible causes of HLLE are discussed below.

Head & Lateral Line Erosion "HLLE":

Symptoms - HLLE literally looks as though the skin is rotting or peeling off the fish. Affected areas usually include the face and lateral line, and may be white in color.

Treatment options - This is more of a condition than an actual disease. Since no one can agree on the exact cause, all you can do is address all of the following theories regarding HLLE:

1) Stray voltage - Use a titanium ground probe & test your tank for stray voltage.
2) Running carbon - Don’t use it, or use only premium grade carbon.
3) Nutritional deficiency - Feed high quality nutritional foods. Some have had success reversing the effects of HLLE by soaking food in “fish vitamins” and also feeding nori.

4FordFamily · Mar 5, 2016

Looks like beginnings of HLLE to me

Forestwalker101 · Mar 5, 2016

Thanks for the input guys. This is consistent with the research I've done. Assuming I fix the offending issue will the fish regrow it's scales? It's a juvi and he's very active and eating well. Is titanium necessary or would stainless steel suffice?

Humblefish · Mar 5, 2016

Forestwalker101 said:
Thanks for the input guys. This is consistent with the research I've done. Assuming I fix the offending issue will the fish regrow it's scales? It's a juvi and he's very active and eating well. Is titanium necessary or would stainless steel suffice?

He could make a full recovery in time (impossible to say for sure). Soaking his food in Selcon & Zoecon (on alternating days) should help.

For under $12, I would go with the titanium probe: http://www.amazon.com/RV2735-Rid-Volt-Titanium-Grounding-Probe/dp/B0002DGSWE