Coral beauty markings

[Alexmcm81]

Does anybody have any idea what these markings could be on my coral beauty? He’s currently in a hospital/quarantine tank. Had him in a tank where he was the only fish to survive a velvet outbreak. He has been treated with copper and is showing no other symptoms aside from not eating as much as he normally would. Apart from these markings he’s tip top

 

[threebuoys]

Please describe your copper treatment process.... how long, what product, what concentration, what test kit, etc.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Are you talking about the pale spots on its nape/forehead? That looks like the start of head and lateral line erosion.

Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE)

This article discusses studies performed regarding head and lateral line erosion in captive fishes. Specifically, carbon use and nutrition as they relate to this syndrome.

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[Alexmcm81]

Please describe your copper treatment process.... how long, what product, what concentration, what test kit, etc.

Waterlife cuprazine. He was treated for ten days with cuprazine held at 0.25-0.30 as recommended. Copper was then removed and bio media added to internal filter. Water changes have been carried out the same as if there was no filtration. API copper test kit used

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Waterlife cuprazine. He was treated for ten days with cuprazine held at 0.25-0.30 as recommended. Copper was then removed and bio media added to internal filter. Water changes have been carried out the same as if there was no filtration. API copper test kit used

Centropyge angelfish don't do well under ionic copper treatments and the API copper test is difficult to use with ionic copper (since the dose is so much lower). There is a persistent rumor that ionic copper causes HLLE. I think in many cases, it is because people use carbon to remove the copper and carbon has been shown to cause HLLE.

Jay

 

[Alexmcm81]

Centropyge angelfish don't do well under ionic copper treatments and the API copper test is difficult to use with ionic copper (since the dose is so much lower). There is a persistent rumor that ionic copper causes HLLE. I think in many cases, it is because people use carbon to remove the copper and carbon has been shown to cause HLLE.

Jay

I understand. I never removed the copper with carbon but I put fluval bio max in the internal filter as stated on the bottle along with 50% water changes every 2nd day. I’m thinking HLLE but if so I’m unsure of 2 things. 1) how to treat and 2) is it transmissible?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

HLLE treatments - there are literally dozens of reported "cures", but in a survey that I did, about 80% of the "cures" involved not using carbon and/or moving the fish to a new tank. HLLE seems linked to the tank, it is not contagious in the normal sense, but any fish species that are susceptible to getting it (not all are) will show signs in a tank that one fish gets it in.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree with copper leading to HLLE and often stopping copper, removing carbon and improving water quality and diet will reverse it. Its a condition and not disease which is the good news.
Be sure to test with reliable test kits and this is not a flake and pellet diet fish. What foods are you feeding ?