Large white spot on Goatfish

Ev8siveaz · Dec 7, 2023

Hey everyone,

I noticed a very large white spot on my yellow goatfish. It looks like a giant version of ich. I recently put a uv sterilizer on my tank (3 weeks ago) to help with disease management as I know there is ich in my tank. It has been working as all my fish have no signs of ich and no scratching aside from this one large dot. I was curious if this is ich or something else because I've never seen a dot this large. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Jay Hemdal · Dec 7, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
Hey everyone,

I noticed a very large white spot on my yellow goatfish. It looks like a giant version of ich. I recently put a uv sterilizer on my tank (3 weeks ago) to help with disease management as I know there is ich in my tank. It has been working as all my fish have no signs of ich and no scratching aside from this one large dot. I was curious if this is ich or something else because I've never seen a dot this large. Any feedback would be appreciated.

How long have you had this fish? It is a bit thin (as goatfish often are).

The size of the spot is too large to be any external parasite, certainly not ich. It looks more like a damaged scale.

Jay

Ev8siveaz · Dec 7, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
How long have you had this fish? It is a bit thin (as goatfish often are).

The size of the spot is too large to be any external parasite, certainly not ich. It looks more like a damaged scale.

Jay

I've had him for a little over a month now. Believe it or not he is fattening up from when I got him from the fish store. I know they are supposed to eat a few times a day as juveniles but the store told me that since he's an 8 inch long adult he can be fed my normal twice a day. He eats like a pig!

Ev8siveaz · Dec 7, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
How long have you had this fish? It is a bit thin (as goatfish often are).

The size of the spot is too large to be any external parasite, certainly not ich. It looks more like a damaged scale.

Jay

Thanks for the input on the spot. I figured it was too big to be a parasite but wanted to check.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 7, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
Hey everyone,

I noticed a very large white spot on my yellow goatfish. It looks like a giant version of ich. I recently put a uv sterilizer on my tank (3 weeks ago) to help with disease management as I know there is ich in my tank. It has been working as all my fish have no signs of ich and no scratching aside from this one large dot. I was curious if this is ich or something else because I've never seen a dot this large. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Spending a lot of their time on the sandbed, may very well be a sand grain (grain of sand). Ich will move around and multiply. Check again tomorrow to see if its gone and/or remain as one dot

Ev8siveaz · Dec 7, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Spending a lot of their time on the sandbed, may very well be a sand grain (grain of sand). Ich will move around and multiply. Check again tomorrow to see if its gone and/or remain as one dot

It's definitely not sand. It sticks out quite a bit and you can see the skin raised under it thats not white. It looks like a pimple. Haha.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 7, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
It's definitely not sand. It sticks out quite a bit and you can see the skin raised under it thats not white. It looks like a pimple. Haha.

hard to tell from pic/angle but other could be from a minor injury

Ev8siveaz · Dec 9, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
hard to tell from pic/angle but other could be from a minor injury

I think so too.

Ev8siveaz · Dec 9, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
How long have you had this fish? It is a bit thin (as goatfish often are).

The size of the spot is too large to be any external parasite, certainly not ich. It looks more like a damaged scale.

Jay

@Jay Hemdal

I'm not sure if it was the picture but I haven't felt like he is too thin now. I just took a quick video and you can see his weight a little better. I feel he's a good weight. What do you think?

vetteguy53081 · Dec 9, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
@Jay Hemdal

I'm not sure if it was the picture but I haven't felt like he is too thin now. I just took a quick video and you can see his weight a little better. I feel he's a good weight. What do you think?

Confirmed injury and as a safeguard , I would apply Ruby Rally Pro which is reef/tank safe to use and will prevent infection. As for thin, Having these fish in the past , seems proportionate but assure its getting proper foods such as mysis shrimp, shopped krill, chopped clams, and LRS fish frenzy

Jay Hemdal · Dec 9, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
@Jay Hemdal

I'm not sure if it was the picture but I haven't felt like he is too thin now. I just took a quick video and you can see his weight a little better. I feel he's a good weight. What do you think?

It might have just been the picture - it looks much fatter in the video.

jay

Ev8siveaz · Dec 14, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
It might have just been the picture - it looks much fatter in the video.

jay

@Jay Hemdal

He definitely has good weight to him and is the most aggressive eater I've owned so far. On another note, do you think that large white spot could be lympho? He has a few more of those really large white dots between his eyes now. He's still acting normal and eating a ton so it doesn't seem like it's bothering him. I can get pics/video tomorrow when the lights come back on to confirm. Lympho is the only possibility I could think of.

PJ

Jay Hemdal · Dec 15, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
@Jay Hemdal

He definitely has good weight to him and is the most aggressive eater I've owned so far. On another note, do you think that large white spot could be lympho? He has a few more of those really large white dots between his eyes now. He's still acting normal and eating a ton so it doesn't seem like it's bothering him. I can get pics/video tomorrow when the lights come back on to confirm. Lympho is the only possibility I could think of.

PJ

Lymphocystis is usually seen on the edges of the fish's fins. When you see it on the body, it is most often a part of the body touched by an infected fin, where the virus transferred over to the body. I can't see these bumps well enough - but Lymphocystis lesions are usually gray/white (but can take on the fish's skin color some time). They also look angular, like cauliflower.

More spots on the head is a bit concerning because it implies some on-going process. Could they be injuries from running into things? Goatfish are a bit flighty.

Jay

Ev8siveaz · Dec 15, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Lymphocystis is usually seen on the edges of the fish's fins. When you see it on the body, it is most often a part of the body touched by an infected fin, where the virus transferred over to the body. I can't see these bumps well enough - but Lymphocystis lesions are usually gray/white (but can take on the fish's skin color some time). They also look angular, like cauliflower.

More spots on the head is a bit concerning because it implies some on-going process. Could they be injuries from running into things? Goatfish are a bit flighty.

Jay

I did have the thought that it was him scraping his head on the glass because he does tend to glass surf occasionally. Could that be the cause?

Jay Hemdal · Dec 15, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
I did have the thought that it was him scraping his head on the glass because he does tend to glass surf occasionally. Could that be the cause?

Yes - or it may get startled and run into things. If there are NO other symptoms, I would just observe for now.

Jay

Ev8siveaz · Dec 15, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Yes - or it may get startled and run into things. If there are NO other symptoms, I would just observe for now.

Jay

I managed to get a video and pic of him before lights came on today. Its weird because there may be smaller dots and it was hard to see in the dark last night. Let me know what you think. I can also get some when lights come on.

Ev8siveaz · Dec 15, 2023

@Jay Hemdal Here's a video with the lights on. He's waiting for food with the rest of them.

Jay Hemdal · Dec 15, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
@Jay Hemdal Here's a video with the lights on. He's waiting for food with the rest of them.

There is something else going on here - I can see a sort of generalized cloudiness to its skin and fins. It also seems to be breathing fast, but that may just be its high activity level.

This can be flukes or some protozoan issue. I don't have a clear course of action for you though. The fish is still eating well, so that's a good thing (but may change!).

Protozoan issues are tough to treat in a main display tank. You can treat flukes with Prazipro.

Jay

Ev8siveaz · Dec 17, 2023

@Jay Hemdal it appears that the white spots are starting to go away. I did notice that one of the barbels on his chin is damaged. Not sure how that happened. I would assume that it will heal itself but wanted to ask you to verify.

Jay Hemdal · Dec 17, 2023

Ev8siveaz said:
@Jay Hemdal it appears that the white spots are starting to go away. I did notice that one of the barbels on his chin is damaged. Not sure how that happened. I would assume that it will heal itself but wanted to ask you to verify.

I’ve never seen that happen before, but it ought to grow back.
I just saw the eel - any worries about predation with it?
Jay