Help With Diagnosis Please

Marco S · Apr 28, 2019

I have had my 2-Spot Bristletooth Tang in QT for 3 weeks now. The first couple of weeks she was perfectly fine and ate and swam like a healthy fish. My Blue Hippo, (in the same QT with Copper Power at 2.0 ppm) showed signs of flukes and a freshwater dip confirmed it. I transferred them to a new tank with copper at same level and dosed ProziPro.

The Hippo was fine, but the Bristletooth got really shy and started hiding more and eating less, (but still OK) Almost immediately in the Prazi there were a bunch of opaque spots all over her face and I assumed they were flukes and they would die and fall off soon enough. I waited 5 days and did a water change and re-dosed Prazi a couple days ago.

She has been swimming more now and eating better. but a few of the opaque spots did not go away so I decided to do a freshwater dip. Here are pictures while she is in the freshwater dip and I was able to get some good closeups...

Is this just damage from flukes, or Hole in Head, or something else? And how should I treat it?

She can be taken out of the copper and transferred into another tank now as she has been in copper for over 14 days and I will probably do that tomorrow so I can dose with whatever she needs without any copper.

#reefsquad

Big G · Apr 28, 2019

Looks like early stage HLLE

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hlle-head-lateral-line-erosion.259916/

Marco S · Apr 28, 2019

Big G said:
Looks like early stage HLLE

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hlle-head-lateral-line-erosion.259916/

There is no carbon and no stray voltage, so getting her out of the copper and treating food with vitamins should be the path to go?

HotRocks · Apr 28, 2019

Marco S said:
There is no carbon and no stray voltage, so getting her out of the copper and treating food with vitamins should be the path to go?

Yes that is the best thing to do, as long as you have completed the proper therapeutic treatment for copper. Copper can cause HLLE along with combining other meds. Vitamin soaked foods will help. Zoecon is the best to use for HLLE.

Marco S · Apr 28, 2019

HotRocks said:
Yes that is the best thing to do, as long as you have completed the proper therapeutic treatment for copper. Copper can cause HLLE along with combining other meds. Vitamin soaked foods will help. Zoecon is the best to use for HLLE.

Should I transfer her to a newly setup 10 gallon QT with no meds by herself or would it be OK to transfer the Blue Hippo and Splendid Dottyback also, (since it isn't contagious and I need to get them all out of the copper also)?

HotRocks · Apr 29, 2019

Marco S said:
Should I transfer her to a newly setup 10 gallon QT with no meds by herself or would it be OK to transfer the Blue Hippo and Splendid Dottyback also, (since it isn't contagious and I need to get them all out of the copper also)?

If you are ready to transfer, you are fine to move them all. It will not spread.

Marco S · Apr 29, 2019

Thank you @Big G and @HotRocks !!!

Marco S · Apr 29, 2019

This morning I woke up to 1 dead fish, (that definitely had HLLE) and 2 dying fish. I feel like such an idiot, because I probably introduced something last night when I was doing the freshwater dip. Maybe there was some chemical or soap, (even though I did rinse it) on the holding tank I used, or on the net or my hands, but somehow the water got contaminated with something and the Bristletooth died and my Blue Hippo and Dottyback were dying too. The Blue Hippo was almost completely white and they were both laying on the bottom of the tank breathing heavy.

I transferred them into a new tank with fresh saltwater and they seem to be doing fine again. My Blue Hippo has gotten all it's color back and the Dottyback is swimming around again. They are both breathing fine now and I do not see any signs of gill damage, (at least not visible). I tested the water and Nitrite and Nitrate are testing through the roof, (higher than I have ever seen on a test). Something has to be messing with the results because I test daily and everything was fine yesterday and the ammonia badge isn't even registering anything and that's why I think some thing got introduced into the water accidentally.

I did take a picture of the dead Bristletooth and it looks like the HLLE multiplied 10 times worse overnight and I assume that was a result of the water being contaminated since I read that HLLE usually doesn't kill fish. Here is a picture and you can tell how much worse it got overnight...