Kole tang with damage or disease?

[D_Nyholm]

Picked up this Kole tang last week. They had a bit of a struggle catching him and now I notice these marks that seem like scratches or cuts. Not sure where to proceed from here. He is in a tank with corals and unfortunately I don't have a qt tank. He is the only fish in the tank. Thank you for your help.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Edited the photo to make it a bit easier to see

 

[Humblefish]

Looks like he got damaged in the net and as a result, now might have an infection.

If you can't QT, try soaking Kanaplex (an antibiotic) in his food also using Seachem Focus to bind it: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/metronidazole.298762/#post-3655831

Or soaking his food with vitamin supplements (exs. Selcon, Zoecon, Vita-chem) might help him heal as well.

 

[Cment]

Definitely agree with Humble...my word of advice is to not wait with the kanaplex. Bacterial infection can come on fast and don't always go away on their own and kanaplex takes some time to kick in. I would rather be safe than sorry and start the kanaplex asap.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Awesome. Thanks for the reply. I'm going to see if I can source the kanaplex and focus locally. Would it be a better or worse course of action to go kanaplex/focus/vitamin supplement all together?

The tang is really fond of mysis. Would that be a suitable carrier for the medicine?

 

[Humblefish]

Awesome. Thanks for the reply. I'm going to see if I can source the kanaplex and focus locally. Would it be a better or worse course of action to go kanaplex/focus/vitamin supplement all together?

The tang is really fond of mysis. Would that be a suitable carrier for the medicine?

Frozen mysis is fine. I personally would feed Kanaplex laced food in the AM; vitamin soaked food in the PM. Or vice versa.

 

[Cment]

You can do it just like humble says...You can also feed kanaplex food AM/ selcon soaked nori afternoon (rubber band to small rock)/ kanaplex food again in the evening. I like to feed the kanaplex multiple times a day spread out so more gets consumed since kanaplex takes some time to work. If he's not big on nori yet you can also try red seaweed which can be found at most petcos under omega one name.

 

[4FordFamily]

I agree that looks like an infection, now.

 

[melypr1985]

Looks like he got damaged in the net and as a result, now might have an infection.

If you can't QT, try soaking Kanaplex (an antibiotic) in his food also using Seachem Focus to bind it: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/metronidazole.298762/#post-3655831

Or soaking his food with vitamin supplements (exs. Selcon, Zoecon, Vita-chem) might help him heal as well.

Agreed.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Not looking good. He stopped eating and has pretty labored breathing. Looks like I acted too slowly. Still going to get the meds ASAP and start Dosing. Hopefully things will turn better.

 

[4FordFamily]

Not looking good. He stopped eating and has pretty labored breathing. Looks like I acted too slowly. Still going to get the meds ASAP and start Dosing. Hopefully things will turn better.

Good luck, we certainly hope so! Prayers sent!

 

[Humblefish]

Not looking good. He stopped eating and has pretty labored breathing. Looks like I acted too slowly. Still going to get the meds ASAP and start Dosing. Hopefully things will turn better.

In which case, performing an acriflavine bath and then dosing antibiotics directly into a QT might be your only chance of saving him.

 

[D_Nyholm]

If I can't get him to eat the mysis, should I just dose the tank with the kanaplex? It says 1 scoop per 5 gallons. Should I turn off my protein skimmer too? It doesn't say anything about that, just chemical filtration.

 

[ngoodermuth]

If I can't get him to eat the mysis, should I just dose the tank with the kanaplex? It says 1 scoop per 5 gallons. Should I turn off my protein skimmer too? It doesn't say anything about that, just chemical filtration.

You would need to move to a QT. You shouldn't dose antibiotics directly into a DT.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Well it is a frag tank and he is the only fish in there (minimal cuc). Could the antibiotics harm the corals?

The only sort of qt I have would be a 5 gallon bucket. I think the stress of trying to catch him again my be worse?

 

[Humblefish]

Well it is a frag tank and he is the only fish in there (minimal cuc). Could the antibiotics harm the corals?

The only sort of qt I have would be a 5 gallon bucket. I think the stress of trying to catch him again my be worse?

Antibiotics can kill corals; I wouldn't risk it.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Well I Dosed the antibiotics and vitamins yesterday morning. Tang was dead by the evening.

How do you guys dispose of these bigger fish? I'm a freshwater guy and normally would flush any dead fish. This guy is just too big to put in there, he would probably fit but I don't want to risk it.

 

[Humblefish]

How do you guys dispose of these bigger fish? I'm a freshwater guy and normally would flush any dead fish. This guy is just too big to put in there, he would probably fit but I don't want to risk it.

Place the body in a ziploc bag (to contain the smell) and put it in the garbage. Or dig a hole in your backyard.

 

[Yellowjacket]

Sorry to hear the Kole died. I usually bury larger fish near a place I want to fertilize.