Is this ich or fungus?

[alddb]

I have a puffer. He has white spots that appear to be under his skin. Then some on his fins. He has puffed up yesterday so I know some on his body could be due to that but not his fins.

how would this be best treated?

ammonia, nitrate, nitrite at zero. Ph at 8.0, temp at 79 and salt at 0.025.

no weird behavior, not scratching, not breathing heavy. Other fish not affected.

 

[Murica]

Looks like ich. It depends if your goal for your tank is ich management vs ich eradication. Eradication means you’ll have to treat all fish with... typically copper and run a fallow tank for 76 days.

Ich management, which the vast majority of people probably do, is making sure the fish has a very healthy diet and reduce its stress as much as you can. If this is successful, the ich should go away as the fish’s immune system will fight it off.

Some other things can mitigate parasite transmission, such as uv sterilizers.

My second guess is lympho.. which typically comes out when a fish is stressed

 

[Sam816]

I dont think its ich. the white spots are protruding from the skin. ich digs in. I think its bacterial. how is your puffer reacting? is he scratching, going to the surface to breath, sluggish, eating well?
calling #reefsquad to the scene.

 

[alddb]

Looks like ich. It depends if your goal for your tank is ich management vs ich eradication. Eradication means you’ll have to treat all fish with... typically copper and run a fallow tank for 76 days.

Ich management, which the vast majority of people probably do, is making sure the fish has a very healthy diet and reduce its stress as much as you can. If this is successful, the ich should go away as the fish’s immune system will fight it off.

Some other things can mitigate parasite transmission, such as uv sterilizers.

We turned the heat up last night 2 degrees. We started a UV sterilizer. The other fish have no spots. I was thinking more fungus because the fins are not pure white dots but more like cotton... it’s large and combines with the other dots. Nothing on his belly. Only his top.
we accidentally used a flash light other night (we forgot to check for evaporation) and scared him to point he blew up. This was when most of these dots formed.
we originally thought it was sand because he gets a beard of the spots at times but it goes away within five minutes. Not like his body.

 

[WallyB]

Is the Puffer a new fish?
If not..... did you add new fish?

Looks like Ich and it came from somewhere. That's really nice fish so act fast.

There are many treatments for ich.

I have done the Chemical Free (TTM) method many times and alway been succesful.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

It does take work and a proper setup QT to do.

Also if it's ICH the Tank the Puffer is in, is now contaminated and ICH will stay there unless you remove all fish and go Fallow (NO FISH) for the required Fallow Period. Or you treat the TANK (if possible).

 

[alddb]

I dont think its ich. the white spots are protruding from the skin. ich digs in. I think its bacterial. how is your puffer reacting? is he scratching, going to the surface to breath, sluggish, eating well?
calling #reefsquad to the scene.

Acting like himself. Demanding to eat twice a day (he sees us walking by he swims quickly to see us). Eats krill. Wont touch clams or live feed as of yet. Swims around, follows our fingers on glass. Not on top, not breathing fast, not scratching.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Has this fish been treated with copper? It looks like lympho in the fins but that’s not typically on the body
@Jay Hemdal

 

[Murica]

I dont think its ich. the white spots are protruding from the skin. ich digs in. I think its bacterial. how is your puffer reacting? is he scratching, going to the surface to breath, sluggish, eating well?
calling #reefsquad to the scene.

Looking a little closer, i agree. It looks like lympho now

 

[alddb]

Acting like himself. Demanding to eat twice a day (he sees us walking by he swims quickly to see us). Eats krill. Wont touch clams or live feed as of yet. Swims around, follows our fingers on glass. Not on top, not breathing fast, not scratching.

And yes it is like lumps coming out of skin, not going into. It’s like us having a rash. I read at times when they blow up this occurs to the body.

 

[alddb]

Has this fish been treated with copper? It looks like lympho in the fins but that’s not typically on the body
@Jay Hemdal

What is lympho?

 

[alddb]

Has this fish been treated with copper? It looks like lympho in the fins but that’s not typically on the body
@Jay Hemdal

No cooper. No new fish. 150 gallon tank. He is with a trigger and Angel fish. No other fish. Just been holding off on more fish.

 

[TriggerFinger]

What is lympho?

It’s a virus with raised, cottony bumps.

 

[Sam816]

do you add any fish food vitamins in his food? It should help him recover faster.
any other fish showing any symptoms? i am assuming you don't have any corals and inverts in the tank. you can treat the whole tank if that's the case

 

[alddb]

do you add any fish food vitamins in his food? It should help him recover faster.
any other fish showing any symptoms? i am assuming you don't have any corals and inverts in the tank. you can treat the whole tank if that's the case

I have one coral in tank. Knock on wood he has left it alone. We can move it out if necessary.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I’ve read that lympho may crop up after a stressor. He’s had a couple stressors with recently being moved to your tank and then he puffed up last night. Hang tight for an expert to review. Get high quality foods for him, that’s always a good immune booster.
I do not believe it’s ich, the spots look way too big.

 

[Sam816]

You should watch him closely. hopefully the spots will go away by themselves. If not, you can try something like polygaurd or kanaplex by seachem. both are broad-spectrum medicines. don't know if they are puffer or angelfish safe so you will need to do some more research on it.

 

[alddb]

You should watch him closely. hopefully the spots will go away by themselves. If not, you can try something like polygaurd or kanaplex by seachem. both are broad-spectrum medicines. don't know if they are puffer or angelfish safe so you will need to do some more research on it.

We are watching closely. Has a great personality. Hoping it was just due to being scared the other night.

 

[saltyhog]

It certainly looks like lymphocytis but I've never seen it that extensive or on the body like that. It does not need to be treated other than feeding healthy foods and supplying excellent water quality.

 

[alddb]

It certainly looks like lymphocytis but I've never seen it that extensive or on the body like that. It does not need to be treated other than feeding healthy foods and supplying excellent water quality.

Just on top of his body, nothing on his belly. He didn’t have it on his body until he blew up with the flashlight incident.
I was more worried about the fins itself.

We did a small water change today and my daughter put some melafix in water tonight. Turned off the skimmer. Still eating very well. Tried a silverside tonight but didn’t care for it. We did mix in some garlic in the krill and shrimp to boost the immune systems.

He is hiding more tonight, we have noticed that. But not real concerned provided he is out again tomorrow. He was out at feeding time tonight swimming around like his normal self waiting for food.
Other fish out as normal swimming around. No lumps or spots.

We did a lot of internet searches to ensure it was safe for the coral and the puffer. Mostly natural ingredients is what we read. We did not fully dose tank either in respect to rock in water.

I gotta say they poop a lot!!

 

[alddb]

Just on top of his body, nothing on his belly. He didn’t have it on his body until he blew up with the flashlight incident.
I was more worried about the fins itself.

We did a small water change today and my daughter put some melafix in water tonight. Turned off the skimmer. Still eating very well. Tried a silverside tonight but didn’t care for it. We did mix in some garlic in the krill and shrimp to boost the immune systems.

He is hiding more tonight, we have noticed that. But not real concerned provided he is out again tomorrow. He was out at feeding time tonight swimming around like his normal self waiting for food.
Other fish out as normal swimming around. No lumps or spots.

We did a lot of internet searches to ensure it was safe for the coral and the puffer. Mostly natural ingredients is what we read. We did not fully dose tank either in respect to rock in water.

I gotta say they poop a lot!!

Some new pics from tonight.