Desjardini possible hlle?

[Brent Harpe]

So I picked up this tang today it has beautiful colors and I unfortunately don’t have a qt tank so he went straight into my display. Is this hlle by its eyes? It was in a frag tank at a local fish store for the last 6 months so I assumed it was in good health. All I knew before bringing it home was that it’s a desjardini a fish I’ve always wanted. His frag tanks aren’t glass or acrylic they are black plastic bins that are about 10 inches deal so I couldn’t get a good look at him. That’s why I asked how long he had him. If it’s hlle will feeding a good diet and maintaining good water conditions fix/stop the spread?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes, that's HLLE, but of the "epithelial thinning" type, as opposed to the deep lesion type. It's unlikely to go completely away, but it might regress. Avoid using dusty activated carbon on your tank. I did an extensive survey of public aquarists a few years ago and the two most common "cures" (about 80% of the reports) were avoiding carbon and moving the fish to a new tank that has never caused fish in it to develop HLLE.

Jay

 

[Brent Harpe]

Yes, that's HLLE, but of the "epithelial thinning" type, as opposed to the deep lesion type. It's unlikely to go completely away, but it might regress. Avoid using dusty activated carbon on your tank. I did an extensive survey of public aquarists a few years ago and the two most common "cures" (about 80% of the reports) were avoiding carbon and moving the fish to a new tank that has never caused fish in it to develop HLLE.

Jay

So it should regress/Stay how it is should I keep feeding well and maintain good water quality? I dont really use carbon except when removing medicines. And non of my fish have ever had hlle.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So it should regress/Stay how it is should I keep feeding well and maintain good water quality? I dont really use carbon except when removing medicines. And non of my fish have ever had hlle.

Actually, using carbon to remove medications is one common way fish get HLLE, in fact, copper treatments were once thought to cause it, when actually it was the carbon that is so often used at the end of a copper treatment. It isn't the carbon itself, but rather, the carbon dust that is left over that causes it. Protein skimmers export carbon dust, so that's why reef tanks often don't have issues with HLLE. Search Google for Hemdal HLLE The first and fourth hits should give you additional information.

Jay

 

[Brent Harpe]

Actually, using carbon to remove medications is one common way fish get HLLE, in fact, copper treatments were once thought to cause it, when actually it was the carbon that is so often used at the end of a copper treatment. It isn't the carbon itself, but rather, the carbon dust that is left over that causes it. Protein skimmers export carbon dust, so that's why reef tanks often don't have issues with HLLE. Search Google for Hemdal HLLE The first and fourth hits should give you additional information.

Jay

Ok thanks for the help! I’ll see how things go now that I have it in my tank instead of it being at the store. How long until I should notice a difference?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Remission of HLLE takes time, 4 to 6 months if it is going to happen. It's so gradual that you may want to take periodic photos to refer to in order to see if it is getting better, worse or staying the same.

Jay