Ich Protruding from Eye?

[ariellemermaid]

I just got this Kole Tang in 2 days ago, he's in my QT tank. One white spot has appeared on the right side of his body. So likely ich, right? However, what about this other white spot that appeared on his left eye? Is it normal for an ich plaque to protrude this much?

Thanks!

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

This may be fluke but let’s see what the experts say.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This looks more like an eye infection and will need immediate treatment. My suggestion is to treat with both Maracyn and Maracyn 2 in a quarantine setting for at least 5 days and increase oxygen with air stone during treatment and also monitor ammonia levels with a reliable test kit

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Looks like a fluke on the eye. I just went through this with a trigger in QT. Standard dose of Prazi with increases aeration and they had all fallen off within two days. A second treatment is normally used 4-6 days later to get any hatched flukes that weren't killed off in the first round.

A freshwater dip can help you confirm if it is flukes.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

If it is fluke the recommendation is that you do a fresh water bath BEFORE treating with Prazi. Reason being is that Prazi causes the fluke to spasm which can damage the eye. So you want it to fall off before treatment with meds.

 

[ariellemermaid]

I’ve had flukes several times and they were always invisible. The only signs were fin damage or pock marks on the body. Is there a species that’s bright white?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I’ve had flukes several times and they were always invisible. The only signs were fin damage or pock marks on the body. Is there a species that’s bright white?

Most flukes cannot even be seen with an un magnified eye, so yes, this would be one of the species that can be seen.

 

[ariellemermaid]

Well I have all the options available I just don’t want to react too quickly and go down the wrong path. Ex. Treating for flukes while ich kills all the fish or starting copper while flukes go unabated. I will add that there are 3 fish this QT round and only one has these spots, but today is the first day of any sign of disease in the tank though. I can start with a FW dip but without a microscope I’m not sure that would guide the decision. Just looking for the safest course of action! @Jay Hemdal

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I would wait for Mr. Hemdal to chime in. But I think a fresh water dip would be a good start. That would buy you time to treat the ich and then treat the flukes. I thinks that’s what I would do. But props to you for putting the fish in a quarantine tank to start with.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I’ve had flukes several times and they were always invisible. The only signs were fin damage or pock marks on the body. Is there a species that’s bright white?

I agree, eye flukes are translucent, hard to see, and don’t protrude like that. Both spots look to me like mucus from minor injuries. If secondary infection sets in, you’ll need to treat with antibiotics.
That said, this fish could have flukes or develop ich - do you have any preventative treatment planned?
Jay

 

[ariellemermaid]

I agree, eye flukes are translucent, hard to see, and don’t protrude like that. Both spots look to me like mucus from minor injuries. If secondary infection sets in, you’ll need to treat with antibiotics.
That said, this fish could have flukes or develop ich - do you have any preventative treatment planned?
Jay

Yes; I’ve gone back and forth between copper first vs. prazi or the other way around. I’ve had flukes kill multiple fish while I was dosing copper before I knew what was going on. So these says I tend to just observe first.

How would you recommend I proceed in this case?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes; I’ve gone back and forth between copper first vs. prazi or the other way around. I’ve had flukes kill multiple fish while I was dosing copper before I knew what was going on. So these says I tend to just observe first.

How would you recommend I proceed in this case?

Some people have been running coppersafe and prazi at the same time and getting away with it. I always treat with one or the other first and not concurrently, but that means I don’t have good personal data on that. I usually dose copper first because velvet kills faster than anything. A 5 minute FW dip would buy you some time, about two or three weeks if there are flukes.
Jay

 

[ariellemermaid]

Some people have been running coppersafe and prazi at the same time and getting away with it. I always treat with one or the other first and not concurrently, but that means I don’t have good personal data on that. I usually dose copper first because velvet kills faster than anything. A 5 minute FW dip would buy you some time, about two or three weeks if there are flukes.
Jay

Thanks; by yesterday night the white on right body had dropped off and now today there’s just a little string on the left eye. It does look now like there’s a little damage where the body plaque was. Otherwise active and eating well; will keep a close watch on him!

 

[ariellemermaid]

I’d like to ask a follow up regarding a different tang in this same QT group. The Kole tang is looking perfect. After starting to dose up the copper however this other guy started having a few white spots. At first I chalked it up to incidental damage but now he kind of looks like his skin is sloughing off and the situation isn’t getting better. It’s been 2-3 weeks now since I first noticed the spots (at the time they were ventral/caudal but now I’m seeing more sloughing around his head).

I still have about 10 days of copper left and haven’t treated with prazi yet. The other two fish in the tank look perfect and I haven’t noticed any significant aggression. He’s very active and eating well. Hoping @Jay Hemdal can help me figure out what I’m dealing with!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That’s mucus, as a result of some stress / skin irritation. Trouble is, I can’t pinpoint what the cause might be. Some people implicate copper as a cause of excess mucus. I don't see that myself - but what brand of copper are you using and at what dose?

The blue spot jaw looks good - and that is an achievement - they can be very tough to get through a quarantine because they don't always fare well in a bare QT.


Jay

 

[ariellemermaid]

That’s mucus, as a result of some stress / skin irritation. Trouble is, I can’t pinpoint what the cause might be. Some people implicate copper as a cause of excess mucus. I don't see that myself - but what brand of copper are you using and at what dose?

The blue spot jaw looks good - and that is an achievement - they can be very tough to get through a quarantine because they don't always fare well in a bare QT.


Jay

I’m using Copper Power with a target of 2.0-2.5. It’s mostly been around 2.3 or so. I will say I’ve felt like perhaps copper caused this because he was flawless before and this started right as the copper ramped up. But, obviously, total coincidence/bias is just as possible.

The Jawfish is doing great; he likes to poke out of the upright PVC pieces and is pretty darn aggressive with feeding. Unfortunately this is Jawfish #2 though because somehow his predecessor managed to jump despite a full hood. Lesson learned: zero gaps! It’s interesting though; I’ve read to offer burrowing fish a little bowl of sand but after a couple of watchmen and now 2 Jawfish none have shown any interest in the sand bowl whatsoever. All it seems to accomplish is making the tank a mess with top off’s and water changes.