Please help identify what's going on with this Tang

[jkobel]

I have a PBT in my display tank and have had him about 4 months or so. He has been, and continues to be, a seemingly happy fish. Hi appearance has been normal the whole time ive had him.

Over the weekend I noticed that he is looking bumpy on both sides of his body, no lesions anywhere. Its defiantly getting worse but his behavior is normal so I've been trying not to panic.

Ive included a video since the colors are better and you can see the behavior.

Any thoughts?

 

[jkobel]

link to video instead

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I think you have two issues - the bumps and marine ich. I’ve seen those bumps before. I don’t know what they are. They could be encysted digeneans, but they don’t seem to spread. The white spots are ich though.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree with Jay on the digeneans

 

[jkobel]

Ich, I'm surprised by that even tho I agree they look like that.

all fish have been quarantined for 4 weeks with no signs of infection before going into the tank. no other fish sho any signs

Do you think Ich is the only explanation for the white spots?

 

[threebuoys]

To me, the fish also appears malnourished. The ribs appear visible and the overall body does not appear full. What and how much are you feeding?

 

[Uncle99]

Ick showing for sure in that PB.
Not a bad case yet so he needs, Hypo, TTM or copper in a QT.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Did you do an observational or medicated quarantine?!

He definitely has ich and he has definitely malnourished.

He may have other issues but start with the ones you know of.

 

[jkobel]

To me, the fish also appears malnourished. The ribs appear visible and the overall body does not appear full. What and how much are you feeding?

2 frozen cubes a day (1 mysis and 1 brine) and a 1/2 sheet of nori for the tank split onto 2 seperate veggie clips since i have 2 tangs and a single clip was getting touchy. the PB eats most of all of that. its become a challenge to make sure the other fish are getting enough.

You think thats not enough?

 

[jkobel]

Did you do an observational or medicated quarantine?!

He definitely has ich and he has definitely malnourished.

He may have other issues but start with the ones you know of.

observational only. didnt want to medicate unnecessarily and i read that a 4 week quarantine without meds is enough. Seems like that isnt true

 

[threebuoys]

2 frozen cubes a day (1 mysis and 1 brine) and a 1/2 sheet of nori for the tank split onto 2 seperate veggie clips since i have 2 tangs and a single clip was getting touchy. the PB eats most of all of that. its become a challenge to make sure the other fish are getting enough.

You think thats not enough?

The frozen cubes, while tasty to the fish, are very low in protein or fat. They are mostly water. The nori has a higher for value. Other forms of frozen food have better nutritional value as you can see on the label. While some hobbyists shy away, I feed mine pellets and supplement with nori and occasionally with frozen cubes

Normally fish need to eat 3% +/- of their body weight daily. One of the stickies has a model to help estimate how much that might be based on species and fish length

 

[FIN&BONEZ]

I kinda scanned quickly but it looks like ich which others have said. If you want to save him your best bet is to introduce garlic right away. You can find it in gel tabs at any local drug store. Lights out low stress. Stress only makes a fish more sub. to the parasite.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

In my humble opinion observational quarantine is a joke (not criticizing you, rather the concept). Just treat every single fish as if they are infected and I’m sure many are. Especially a fish who is known to be an “ich magnet” like a powder blue. Even if a fish is not infected when it is caught, by the time it goes through the supply line it will have contracted some type of illness.

Now your entire tank is infected. The correct thing to do is put all your fish in QT and treat with copper while allowing your tank to go fallow for at least 45 days.

On the bright side, he didn’t have velvet. Had he, your entire tank would be dead.

With respect to food, I think you should give him as much as he can eat. If the food distribution is difficult try a food cup that allows for even distribution.

It is also possible that he may have an internal parasite taking away his nutrients. Ill will leave that one up to the experts though.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I kinda scanned quickly but it looks like ich which others have said. If you want to save him your best bet is to introduce garlic right away. You can find it in gel tabs at any local drug store. Lights out low stress. Stress only makes a fish more sub. to the parasite.

I will have to respectfully disagree. IF garlic does anything besides entice the pallet, it will not in this case. This fish is at a more advanced stage of disease and is already not in the best shape. He needs copper!!!

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

The frozen cubes, while tasty to the fish, are very low in protein or fat. They are mostly water. The nori has a higher for value. Other forms of frozen food have better nutritional value as you can see on the label. While some hobbyists shy away, I feed mine pellets and supplement with nori and occasionally with frozen cubes

Normally fish need to eat 3% +/- of their body weight daily. One of the stickies has a model to help estimate how much that might be based on species and fish length

Some good frozen choices include: LRS and Rod’s food. Look them up. A lot of LFS carry at least one of those brands. They will even save you money compared to cubes. My fish kill for them. If you look at the ingredients it will blow your mind. I highly recommend them.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Sorry, no. Observational quarantine doesn’t work well in most cases. Flukes often don’t even show symptoms for four to six weeks. Ich can easily fly under the radar for that length of time. Better to be proactive with treatments.
Jay

 

[neo1738]

Some good frozen choices include: LRS and Rod’s food. Look them up. A lot of LFS carry at least one of those brands. They will even save you money compared to cubes. My fish kill for them. If you look at the ingredients it will blow your mind. I highly recommend them.

Just feed my fish this for 1st time today (trying to get them better nutrition) and they LOVED it.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Just feed my fish this for 1st time today (trying to get them better nutrition) and they LOVED it.

Yay! Honestly sometimes I’m tempted to have a taste

 

[FIN&BONEZ]

I will have to respectfully disagree. IF garlic does anything besides entice the pallet, it will not in this case. This fish is at a more advanced stage of disease and is already not in the best shape. He needs copper!!!

Your probably right with that. BUT, I personally dont have a 100g q tank and Im pretty sure he dosent either. Back in the day we had great results with introducing garlic in food to help tangs. Honestly how could you actually catch a tang in a respectable tank that you created for them? Its stress so pulling it out will be worse than just treating it in the system.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Your probably right with that. BUT, I personally dont have a 100g q tank and Im pretty sure he dosent either. Back in the day we had great results with introducing garlic in food to help tangs. Honestly how could you actually catch a tang in a respectable tank that you created for them? Its stress so pulling it out will be worse than just treating it in the system.

I understand. Quaranty of an entire tank is no easy task. That’s why prevention is so important. Much easier to quaranty a single fish rather than an entire tank.

It won’t hurt to add garlic but I don’t think it will be the answer. I just want to make sure the OP understands that.