Dandruff?

[BWV]

I'm not sure what this is... All of my params and temp are typical... This fish has had this for at least a month and a half...doesn't get worse nor better.
It looks like he's abrading his scales on the rocks... It's not ick...the clown is unaffected.
This guy has been through ick, and then fallow(copper...then 11 weeks out..all the fish) no new fish nor coral...
I am just now seeing light at the dark tunnel that was the ugly stage(now I'm getting green hair patches...)
Can anyone ID this?
Activity wise, he seems in good health, appetite, etc... No off behavior.

 

[BWV]

(yes..I'm nervous about my phosphate and nitrate levels... I'm going to get new kits... There should be zero algae and dying coral with 0 for both...so I'm guessing there is some of each)

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm not sure what this is... All of my params and temp are typical... This fish has had this for at least a month and a half...doesn't get worse nor better.
It looks like he's abrading his scales on the rocks... It's not ick...the clown is unaffected.
This guy has been through ick, and then fallow(copper...then 11 weeks out..all the fish) no new fish nor coral...
I am just now seeing light at the dark tunnel that was the ugly stage(now I'm getting green hair patches...)
Can anyone ID this?
Activity wise, he seems in good health, appetite, etc... No off behavior.

Possibility it may be sand or Lymphocystis which is viral and often triggered by poor water quality or diet.
You have a few zeros, which may suggest false test readings althouygh not impossible. What test kits are you using?
Try to net fish without netting and see if these fall off fish confirming sand. If not, re-look your ammonia-nitrate-ph levels.

 

[vetteguy53081]

(yes..I'm nervous about my phosphate and nitrate levels... I'm going to get new kits... There should be zero algae and dying coral with 0 for both...so I'm guessing there is some of each)

These would actually be triggers for dinos. High phosphate promotes algae(s)
I run lower scale po4 and no3 and have no algae or dino.

Nitrate < 10
Phos < .06

 

[BWV]

I should have clarified I'm nervous of dinos with those levels...not fish health.

...Net a Royal Gramma ???? ...hehehehe last time I had to take the rock out he was hiding in. You can't catch these... I fear stress.

All kidding aside, thank you!
I'll give it a shot...

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I'm not sure what this is... All of my params and temp are typical... This fish has had this for at least a month and a half...doesn't get worse nor better.
It looks like he's abrading his scales on the rocks... It's not ick...the clown is unaffected.
This guy has been through ick, and then fallow(copper...then 11 weeks out..all the fish) no new fish nor coral...
I am just now seeing light at the dark tunnel that was the ugly stage(now I'm getting green hair patches...)
Can anyone ID this?
Activity wise, he seems in good health, appetite, etc... No off behavior.

Well, I'm stumped. Royal Gramma often become faded in captivity, but that isn't as spotty-looking as this. It isn't ich, or any of the common diseases though.

Jay

 

[BWV]

Thanks... Yeah, it just looks flaky on his head, like dandruff and further back not so much faded as scuffed off or abraded.

...Like he's rubbed himself on the rock cave he hides inside of too much. Maybe the cave is just rough... I'm using the black Hawaiian sand..maybe that's sharp?

Water quality seems good aside from low nutrients (that's really only since it got ugly..I feel the nutrients are there..maybe just locked in the rocks and microbiology consumption)
... No bad smell, got rid of the Evo sponge sponge system a long time ago, and am just using floss(cleaned or changed bi-weekly), ceramic media(some in high flow, some in no flow, neither ever changed, only shaken off) and carbon(changed monthly) I change 20% water every 2 to 3 weeks now (I was doing it weekly and still had dinos...now I only see mostly diatoms and hair algae under the 'scope from glass scrapings and gravel siphoning)

I'll post up if it changes and I'll see if I can get better picks.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Sharkbait19]

Any possible aggression from the clown?

 

[BWV]

Any possible aggression from the clown?

Nope. They get along fine. On the rare occasion I have to get a wet hand, the clown doesn't even bite me. (yet...)

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks... Yeah, it just looks flaky on his head, like dandruff and further back not so much faded as scuffed off or abraded.

...Like he's rubbed himself on the rock cave he hides inside of too much. Maybe the cave is just rough... I'm using the black Hawaiian sand..maybe that's sharp?

Water quality seems good aside from low nutrients (that's really only since it got ugly..I feel the nutrients are there..maybe just locked in the rocks and microbiology consumption)
... No bad smell, got rid of the Evo sponge sponge system a long time ago, and am just using floss(cleaned or changed bi-weekly), ceramic media(some in high flow, some in no flow, neither ever changed, only shaken off) and carbon(changed monthly) I change 20% water every 2 to 3 weeks now (I was doing it weekly and still had dinos...now I only see mostly diatoms and hair algae under the 'scope from glass scrapings and gravel siphoning)

I'll post up if it changes and I'll see if I can get better picks.

Thanks for your responses!

Cave dwelling species like this won’t tend to get scraped on rocks, they know how to avoid them.
It could be it has flukes and has been scratching itself to dislodge them.
Jay