ID the white spots

[katarian]

Hi everyone,

This morning my wife spotted these white spots on our foxface. They are on just one side of him and no other fish seems to be affected at this moment with it.
What are the spots? And how to treat it?

Any help will be appreciated.
Thank you

 

[DeniseAndy]

Hard to tell in picture are they raised and look like cotton? Are they just patches of white on the scales like an injury or sting? How old is the tank? What size? Did you qt or add anything new lately?

 

[deedubz]

How long have you had the fish? Any new additions- fish/coral/inverts?

It is a bit hard to see. Looks like it could be lympho or a bad infection? Can you get some more pics?

 

[Big G]

That's a nasty bacterial infection. Fish needs to be placed into a QT quickly and then dosed with the "trifecta" of Kanaplex + Metroplex + Furan2. Time is your enemy. It needs treatment quickly. Also suggest a bath in an Acriflavine product like Acriflavine MS or Ruby Reef Rally.

 

[DeniseAndy]

If those white areas are surrounded by red/pink as it sort of looks like, you do need to get the fish to a hospital tank and treat for bacterial infection. As Big G stated.

 

[katarian]

Hard to tell in picture are they raised and look like cotton? Are they just patches of white on the scales like an injury or sting? How old is the tank? What size? Did you qt or add anything new lately?

It's not raised and doesn't look like cotton, just a coloration on the scales and fins.
And I have a 40B that's been running for almost 2 years now. Have had the fish for a year now I believe.
The most recent additions were some corals from a fellow reefer two days ago, and a sandsiffting starfish and an emerald crab from a lfs last night.

 

[katarian]

That's a nasty bacterial infection. Fish needs to be placed into a QT quickly and then dosed with the "trifecta" of Kanaplex + Metroplex + Furan2. Time is your enemy. It needs treatment quickly. Also suggest a bath in an Acriflavine product like Acriflavine MS or Ruby Reef Rally.

Where do I get these things? It'll be my first time doing this.

 

[katarian]

If those white areas are surrounded by red/pink as it sort of looks like, you do need to get the fish to a hospital tank and treat for bacterial infection. As Big G stated.

Can't spot any red or pink spots yet

 

[Big G]

Where do I get these things? It'll be my first time doing this.

Your local fish store (LFS) should have them. If not, I get mine from Amazon. Especially if you have Prime. The sooner the better. Bacterial infections can go badly really quick. You could perhaps buy some time by giving the fish the bath in Ruby Reef Rally or Acriflavine MS.
Do you have a 10 or 20 gallon quarantine tank setup?

 

[deedubz]

Lfs should have it. Otherwise Amazon, though that'd take at least a couple days to get to you.

 

[katarian]

Your local fish store (LFS) should have them. If not, I get mine from Amazon. Especially if you have Prime. The sooner the better. Bacterial infections can go badly really quick. You could perhaps buy some time by giving the fish the bath in Ruby Reef Rally or Acriflavine MS.
Do you have a 10 or 20 gallon quarantine tank setup?

I do not. But my wife will go run to Petco to get one here soon. So all we need is a small tank, a filter and a heater? Correct? Anything else in the tank?

 

[deedubz]

Tank, heater, hob filter like an aquaclear, and preferably a small powerhead.

Oh, an ammonia alert badge if they have one.

 

[Big G]

I do not. But my wife will go run to Petco to get one here soon. So all we need is a small tank, a filter and a heater? Correct? Anything else in the tank?

From Humblefish's QT guidelines: highly recommend the HOB filter highlighted below: Aqua Clear are the best IMO.
Here's the link to the complete thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/#post-2177961

How to setup a QT - The following are the bare essentials:

• Aquarium (10-30 gallons seems to work for most people. Bigger QT lets you house more fish and gives you more wiggle room when it comes to ammonia. Smaller QT is cheaper, easier to maintain and can be setup/broke down quickly.)
• Heater/thermometer
• Small powerhead or air pump/air stone, for circulation & gas exchange.
• Freshly mixed saltwater which has been fully dissolved and circulating for at least 24 hours. Alternatively, you can use DT water to fill your QT so long as you are confident that your display tank is disease-free. Do not siphon near the bottom of your DT, to prevent detritus from being transferred to the QT.

Optional/recommended equipment:

• Light (can just be a simple, one bulb fixture)
• Hang on the back (HOB) power filter, where carbon or even a “seeded” sponge (explained later) can be added
• Egg crate (used on lighting panels), which can easily be cut with snips to build a custom top to prevent fish from jumping
• PVC elbows (see pic below) used as “caves” in which the fish hide
• Seachem Ammonia Alert badge (see pic below)

 

[deedubz]

Two of my clowns are being idiots towards their wrasse qt mates so I threw this together this morning. Pretty basic setup, but will get the job done

 

[Big G]

10 gallon will work fine. But, I have found that a 20 works a bit better but will need 2x the dosage of meds. Works better for bigger fish, like your fox face, tangs, or when you need to QT several fish at the same time.

 

[katarian]

Sweet
Wife is getting ready to leave for Petco and getting as much stuff as possible.

 

[deedubz]

Sweet
Wife is getting ready to leave for Petco and getting as much stuff as possible.

Awesome. Hopefully they'll have most of the stuff you'll need. They may or may not have the meds though. One Petco a few minutes from me doesn't carry a lot of medication but the one up closer to Baltimore does. Is there an lfs near you just in case?

 

[katarian]

Awesome. Hopefully they'll have most of the stuff you'll need. They may or may not have the meds though. One Petco a few minutes from me doesn't carry a lot of medication but the one up closer to Baltimore does. Is there an lfs near you just in case?

Yeah Petco doesn't seem to carry any of these meds. And yeah, I am about to call my LFS to ask if they have any of the meds.

 

[Big G]

Just in case, here's a list of antibiotics. You'll see the trifecta listed. The others work too, but the trifecta has a much wider range of disease treatment.

Anti-bacterial/antibiotics: A broad spectrum antibiotic that treats both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial diseases is recommended. Seachem Kanaplex, Furan-2, Nitrofuracin Green Powder and Triple Sulfa Powder are all good options to have on hand. Erythromycin & Minocycline can also be used but are becoming more difficult to find. To achieve the widest possible spectrum of treatment when battling a particularly nasty bacterial infection, combine the following: Kanaplex, Furan-2, and metronidazole (exs. Seachem MetroPlex, Metro-MS).

 

[deedubz]

Yeah Petco doesn't seem to carry any of these meds. And yeah, I am about to call my LFS to ask if they have any of the meds.

Perfect. If you're going to hit up the lfs, I'd strongly recommend picking up the Ruby Reef Rally to do a bath. Like @Big G said, that'd be a HUGE jump start for you.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/acriflavine.282887/