Kole tang mouth sore

[nwkennard]

I noticed a few days ago my kole tang acting a bit weird, he was swimming erratically and shaking his head a lot. I'm in the middle of a tank transfer and fallow so the 60gal he's currently in is going to be used for copper/prazi/etc... just waiting for the last of my fish to come in then I start. So since i noticed this behavior I went ahead with a dose of prazi thinking it might be flukes. Today I noticed what looks like dead tissue on his mouth. I've had him for almost a year with no problems. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

 

[nwkennard]

Just took a better photo

 

[deedubz]

@Humblefish @Big G

I'd recommend a fw dip followed by either an acriflavine(acriflavine ms or Ruby rally) bath or methylene blue. Either will help to sanitize the wound/infection. Doing the dip and bath will also provide relief from the nasties he's dealing with. Depending on how bad it gets, you can use copper and antibiotics simoltaneously. If you do..Make sure you've got a power head aimed at the surface and a couple airstones. Also, is the qt already cycled? If not you can use an hob filter like an aquaclear or fluval c series and take the sponge/biomax and soak it in biospira/Tim's/whatever bottled bacteria you fancy

Infections can get REALLY nasty REALLY quick. I'd highly advise treating him now

 

[deedubz]

Let me say it's not generally advised to mix meds. I'm dealing with velvet and for the first few days I was finishing antibiotics while starting copper. It made the water VERY cloudy...even with a gyre pump, 3 hob filters, and multiple airstones. This is more a last resort

 

[Humblefish]

Does he graze around those palys I see in the first pics? Could be a coral sting.

 

[nwkennard]

Qt tank is cycled because it was my DT before I got a new one, which I’m transfering corals/live rock to. I still have to remove the sand, but it’s got a sump with a skimmer and a bio block in it, so I’m sure I’ll be good with aeration and the bacteria.
@Humblefish yeah he does, live rock is sparse since I removed most in preparation for fallow, but that is right in his swimming path, I’ve definitely seen him touch those palys.

 

[Humblefish]

I’ve definitely seen him touch those palys.

That’s probably the source of the problem then.

He would greatly benefit from either a Methylene Blue or Acriflavine bath en route to QT.

 

[nwkennard]

@dwwataz Only meds I dosed was 1 round prazi, and I’m still going to have to do two more rounds of that back to back since today I just had the last of my fish come in from LA. So my original plan was 2 rounds prazi, then treat for internal parasites (flameback angel has the white stringy poop) then copper. So I’m guessing go with fw dip then acraflavine bath then antibiotics? Then after that should I proceed with the prazi/internal parasite/copper order?

 

[nwkennard]

@Humblefish just saw your response, do you think he will need antibiotics after? And if so what kind?

 

[Big G]

As Humblefish has suggested, Methylene Blue is great for burn, cuts and injuries; and Acriflavine, my preference is Ruby Reef Rally, has both antibiotic and antiseptic qualities that work on fungal, bacterial and some parasites in a bath format. Highly recommend keeping RRR in your fish med cabinet.

 

[deedubz]

@dwwataz Only meds I dosed was 1 round prazi, and I’m still going to have to do two more rounds of that back to back since today I just had the last of my fish come in from LA. So my original plan was 2 rounds prazi, then treat for internal parasites (flameback angel has the white stringy poop) then copper. So I’m guessing go with fw dip then acraflavine bath then antibiotics? Then after that should I proceed with the prazi/internal parasite/copper order?

I'd start with the dip and bath. If it doesn't get worse then hold off on antibiotics.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/

If you do acriflavine
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/acriflavine.282887/

MB
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/methylene-blue.257467/

Other than head twitching, have there been any other symptoms? Yawning, scratching, swimming in front of a power head, light sensitivity, etc? That'd dictate whether you'd want to stick with prazi or move onto copper

 

[nwkennard]

@dwwataz no scratching on rocks, No yawning but def favoring of the mouth. No swimming into the power head. Besides the head shaking, he’ll also kind of go to a corner and swim backwards...almost as if something is on his face that he’s trying to get off

@Big G I’ll pick up some RRR asap