Marks On My Foxface

[Marco S]

My FoxFace has been through QT for 2 1/2 weeks of copper then transferred to another QT for 2 doses of General Cure. He has been in the DT for several weeks now. He has, marks all over his face and neck, (if fish have necks). He has absolutely no signs of illness or stress and swims around all day eating anything and everything he can find.

The only reason I am posting this is because I figured the marks were battle wounds he had received in the wild or during transport and that they would heal up in time. I have had him a while now and they have not gotten any better, (they haven't gotten worse either). I am just wondering if they are permanent scars or will they eventually go away?

 

[ngoodermuth]

Had he been treated for internal parasites?

I’ve seen foxface get these marks, I think it’s like HLLE in tangs. But, there are internal parasites that burrow through the sensory holes in the the head and face (hexamita). Though primarily a freshwater affliction, they do occasionally make their way into saltwater tanks as well.

 

[Marco S]

Had he been treated for internal parasites?

I’ve seen foxface get these marks, I think it’s like HLLE in tangs. But, there are internal parasites that burrow through the sensory holes in the the head and face (hexamita). Though primarily a freshwater affliction, they do occasionally make their way into saltwater tanks as well.

I did not treat for internal parasites, just General Cure in the water itself. I can definitely start feeding GC if that's your recommendation. They have not gotten any worse though and he does not have stringy poop, his poops look like sawdust. LOL

 

[ngoodermuth]

I did not treat for internal parasites, just General Cure in the water itself. I can definitely start feeding GC if that's your recommendation. They have not gotten any worse though and he does not have stringy poop, his poops look like sawdust. LOL

It doesn’t hurt to treat just in case, to be safe. But, it’s probably more of a “stress” thing...

 

[BestMomEver]

Looks like scars to me but @ngoodermuth knows wayyyy more than I do.

 

[Marco S]

It doesn’t hurt to treat just in case, to be safe. But, it’s probably more of a “stress” thing...

You're right, it doesn't hurt. I have General Cure, Metroplex with Focus and PraziPro. What would be best to feed for internal parasites and how long should I do it?

 

[ngoodermuth]

You're right, it doesn't hurt. I have General Cure, Metroplex with Focus and PraziPro. What would be best to feed for internal parasites and how long should I do it?

General cure is my preference, with focus to bind it to the food. I use 2 scoops GC per 1 scoop of focus for roughly a tablespoon of food. Feed twice daily for at least 10 days.

 

[Marco S]

General cure is my preference, with focus to bind it to the food. I use 2 scoops GC per 1 scoop of focus for roughly a tablespoon of food. Feed twice daily for at least 10 days.

Cool, thanks!!!

 

[Marco S]

Had he been treated for internal parasites?

I’ve seen foxface get these marks, I think it’s like HLLE in tangs. But, there are internal parasites that burrow through the sensory holes in the the head and face (hexamita). Though primarily a freshwater affliction, they do occasionally make their way into saltwater tanks as well.

I Googled hexamita and it kind of does look like some of the pictures. That got me thinking about cross contamination since I have freshwater tanks as well. I take great precaution not to cross contaminate my QT tanks and my DT, but I don't really worry at all about my freshwater tanks. Not that I use the same equipment or anything, but I could wash my hands more often when doing water changes or feeding if I put my hands in the tanks.

My freshwater tanks are disease free btw, just thinking of potential for future issues.

Thanks again! You're help here and on all the other threads I've posted is greatly appreciated!

 

[ngoodermuth]

One thing to keep in mind... for the parasites that can “cross over” between fresh and salt. There’s not many that do.

But, saltwater fish will have less resistance to freshwater parasites, and vice-versa. Since they aren’t likely to have encountered them in their natural environments. The exact reason why freshwater mollies are used as canary fish in saltwater tanks, they are very likely to show clear symptoms... even if the current residents aren’t because they have built up a tolerance to them.

So, it could be possible to have parasites in your freshwater tank that may not have progressed to the point of “typical” symptoms. Not saying they do, but it’s worth being mindful of.

All that said... I have seen these markings multiple times on foxface specifically, so unless hex really like foxface... it could still very well be a form of HLLE that is specific to them, and just a little different than what we usually see on other fish So, I wouldn’t panic just yet.

You can treat him, or just feed vitamin-enriched foods and watch for stringy poop. I don’t think either would be a bad plan at this point.

I treat my fish prophylactically for intestinal parasites anyway...since so many usually have them, more often than not.

 

[SakuraSky]

I know this is an older thread but hoping maybe I can get a response from the OP,
Did the marks on your foxface look similar to this?

I've been trying to find out what's wrong with my guy and have come across several posts of people saying foxface specific HLLE. Just wondering If it's similar. I had to do quite the digging to find any info

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I Googled hexamita and it kind of does look like some of the pictures. That got me thinking about cross contamination since I have freshwater tanks as well. I take great precaution not to cross contaminate my QT tanks and my DT, but I don't really worry at all about my freshwater tanks. Not that I use the same equipment or anything, but I could wash my hands more often when doing water changes or feeding if I put my hands in the tanks.

My freshwater tanks are disease free btw, just thinking of potential for future issues.

Thanks again! You're help here and on all the other threads I've posted is greatly appreciated!

Just an FYI - Hexamita and Spironucleus do not cause facial pits in saltwater fish, only freshwater. Oddly, Hexamita does not live in the pits, they actually are gut flagellates. Nobody knows why they cause lesions in FW fish.
Jay

 

[Marco S]

I know this is an older thread but hoping maybe I can get a response from the OP,
Did the marks on your foxface look similar to this?

I've been trying to find out what's wrong with my guy and have come across several posts of people saying foxface specific HLLE. Just wondering If it's similar. I had to do quite the digging to find any info

From what I remember it looked very similar to your photo. I did feed GC with Focus for a while and it, (or any of my other fish) never had any negative symptoms so I just forgot about it after a while. I just checked on it after seeing this photo and surprisingly you cannot even notice any marks at all now. If I look really hard or zoom in with a camera then you can see a couple of very tiny marks, but it has all healed up for the most part.

Sorry I couldn't be of much help as to what it was and how it healed, but hopefully someone on this site can help.

 

[SakuraSky]

From what I remember it looked very similar to your photo. I did feed GC with Focus for a while and it, (or any of my other fish) never had any negative symptoms so I just forgot about it after a while. I just checked on it after seeing this photo and surprisingly you cannot even notice any marks at all now. If I look really hard or zoom in with a camera then you can see a couple of very tiny marks, but it has all healed up for the most part.

Sorry I couldn't be of much help as to what it was and how it healed, but hopefully someone on this site can help.

Thanks so much for replying! Even a small amount of info helps. Glad your guy recovered! I'm hoping I can heal my guy, he's got tattered looking fins and to me his eyes look a bit of cloudy. He's definitely stressed out by something, just can't figure out what

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks so much for replying! Even a small amount of info helps. Glad your guy recovered! I'm hoping I can heal my guy, he's got tattered looking fins and to me his eyes look a bit of cloudy. He's definitely stressed out by something, just can't figure out what

When I hear skin issues, combined with tattered fins and cloudy eyes, I'm immediately thinking Neobenedenia. It may be lost in the thread, but have you given this fish a diagnostic FW dip?

Jay

 

[Marco S]

Just an FYI - Hexamita and Spironucleus do not cause facial pits in saltwater fish, only freshwater. Oddly, Hexamita does not live in the pits, they actually are gut flagellates. Nobody knows why they cause lesions in FW fish.
Jay

Hey Jay,

This thread was started back in May of 2019 by me. I appreciate your reply, but I am not sure why you replied to such an old thread, I can assure you that all is good with my fish now and this is no longer an issue.

As far as the member you are quoting above goes, they should open a new thread on their issue so they can get the help they need from you as well as others on this site. Not that I mind hijacking this thread, but I'm not sure how many will actually reply to a thread from 2019 and I want to make sure the member gets the help they need.

Thanks!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hey Jay,

This thread was started back in May of 2019 by me. I appreciate your reply, but I am not sure why you replied to such an old thread, I can assure you that all is good with my fish now and this is no longer an issue.

As far as the member you are quoting above goes, they should open a new thread on their issue so they can get the help they need from you as well as others on this site. Not that I mind hijacking this thread, but I'm not sure how many will actually reply to a thread from 2019 and I want to make sure the member gets the help they need.

Thanks!

Sorry! what happened was that Sakura sky brought the thread back up and I didn't check the original date. That is a big issue for me - multiple people on the same thread resurrecting threads from years ago. I'm too busy formulating answers (about 3 hours a day) that I don't always see the whole thread for what it is.....

Jay

 

[SakuraSky]

When I hear skin issues, combined with tattered fins and cloudy eyes, I'm immediately thinking Neobenedenia. It may be lost in the thread, but have you given this fish a diagnostic FW dip?

Sorry! what happened was that Sakura sky brought the thread back up and I didn't check the original date. That is a big issue for me - multiple people on the same thread resurrecting threads from years ago. I'm too busy formulating answers (about 3 hours a day) that I don't always see the whole thread for what it is.....

Jay

Sorry about that! I was just searching to see if anyone else had this issue and I thought it might be helpful to my situation if I touched base to see how the fish was doing or if they found something that worked