Markings on Tomini Face. Is this Bad

[AKL1950]

My Tomini has been in QT for about seven weeks. It is hard to see him close up, but I’m starting to see markings on its face. It has been through copper treatment and three rounds of PraziPro. Treatments finished 10 days ago.

Very hard to get a still picture. My camera is not fast enough. These are the best I could do. The markings on its face seem symmetrical, but worried they shouldn’t be there at all. It eats well, swims fine and is usually quite active as long as I’m not there staring at it. Are the light colored markings on its face something bad, or just markings?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like either skin erosion or bacterial. To work with this, assure good water quality and mainly diet consisting of:
LRS herbivore diet
Hikari marine cuisine
Hikari veggie diet
Small plankton
Mysis shrimp
Spirulina brine shrimp
-nori seaweed basted with garlic extract and selcon vitamins

mid facial blemishes get worse, in a separate quarantine treat with seachem neoplex

 

[AKL1950]

Will this affect the other fish in quarantine with it. There are also two clowns and an Orange Shoulder Tang in there with it. They all look fine. I was going to start moving all to the DT next week. Would the other three be safe to move?

Feeding has been Hikari Marine Quisine, Marine flakes and Nori on clips. Not sure how much of the Nori it gets, because the Orange Shoulder hogs it.

water: Temp 79, Salinity 1.024, PH 8.1, nitrate 18.0

Jetson

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My Tomini has been in QT for about seven weeks. It is hard to see him close up, but I’m starting to see markings on its face. It has been through copper treatment and three rounds of PraziPro. Treatments finished 10 days ago.

Very hard to get a still picture. My camera is not fast enough. These are the best I could do. The markings on its face seem symmetrical, but worried they shouldn’t be there at all. It eats well, swims fine and is usually quite active as long as I’m not there staring at it. Are the light colored markings on its face something bad, or just markings?

That is classic head and lateral line erosion (HLLE). That can become infected with bacteria, but these lesions are typically sterile. This fish is being bullied though - some of its fins have bites in them. I suspect the yellow mimic tang.

Here is my article on HLLE:

Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE)

This article discusses studies performed regarding head and lateral line erosion in captive fishes. Specifically, carbon use and nutrition as they relate to this syndrome.

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[AKL1950]

Yes, I was warned about QTing them together……my fault! I’ll separate them, get the Tomini healthy again and see where to go from.

 

[AKL1950]

I’ve read the suggested articles and I’m thinking the primary cause of my Tomini’s ailment is lack of proper nutrition along with stress caused by over zealous Orange shoulder tank. The Orange shoulder won’t let him eat.

So, my first line of treatment was to partition the quarantine tank to keep the two tangs separated. Tomini seems to be a little braver now and not constantly hiding. Eats better without being overwhelmed by the Orange shoulder. He gets his own algae clip now Which he seems to really like. His markings are stable and I should have the Neoplex if needed tomorrow.

My DT is ready for fish. Cycle is about complete. Ammonia is zero (nitrite dropping rapidly), nitrates at 8 ppm and there is a good bit of hair algae startling to grow on the rocks if he will eat it. Would it be okay to go ahead and move him to the DT and leave the Orange shoulder in QT for another week? That way the Tomini can relax, have a bigger tank and it’s own food supply to get healthy again. His only tank companions would be two little clowns Which would move with him. My thinking is that would be a quicker solution than cycling in a hospital tank. l Know I would be putting an unhealthy fish in the DT, but it seems that it’s ailment was not caused by a parasite, or something else that I wouldn’t want in the DT.

Jetson

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I’ve read the suggested articles and I’m thinking the primary cause of my Tomini’s ailment is lack of proper nutrition along with stress caused by over zealous Orange shoulder tank. The Orange shoulder won’t let him eat.

So, my first line of treatment was to partition the quarantine tank to keep the two tangs separated. Tomini seems to be a little braver now and not constantly hiding. Eats better without being overwhelmed by the Orange shoulder. He gets his own algae clip now Which he seems to really like. His markings are stable and I should have the Neoplex if needed tomorrow.

My DT is ready for fish. Cycle is about complete. Ammonia is zero (nitrite dropping rapidly), nitrates at 8 ppm and there is a good bit of hair algae startling to grow on the rocks if he will eat it. Would it be okay to go ahead and move him to the DT and leave the Orange shoulder in QT for another week? That way the Tomini can relax, have a bigger tank and it’s own food supply to get healthy again. His only tank companions would be two little clowns Which would move with him. My thinking is that would be a quicker solution than cycling in a hospital tank. l Know I would be putting an unhealthy fish in the DT, but it seems that it’s ailment was not caused by a parasite, or something else that I wouldn’t want in the DT.

Jetson

It sounds like these fish have gone through a full quarantine cycle, so yes, it is a good idea to add the weaker/smaller fish first, give them some time to settle in and develop territory, and then add the more aggressive fish. Be aware though, this doesn't always work! There will be three possible outcomes: the fish get along. The mimic tang takes up its previous behavior, or the tomini becomes the "king" and beats up the mimic.

Jay

 

[AKL1950]

Lol! I hear you. The only problem has been feeding time. The rest of the time they were fine. Hopefully once in the DT i can spread the food out better to give them both room. We’ll see. If the Orange shoulder decides to get mean it will be short lived. Next to get quarantined will be a larger Gem Tang and a Naso. I’m thinking the Gem will put him in his place.

Jetson