please ID possible parasite on hippo

acr0p0ra · Dec 4, 2017

Hi everyone.
I have several fish in coppersafe now for 3 weeks. I posted pictures and it was determined that my copper level is higher than 2.0 which I am working on bringing down to 2.0.

A couple fish are still scratching and I see these spots on my hippo tank. I see no other spots on any other fish. I did freshwater dip and stuff comes off but it doesnt look like flukes to me unless its a kind that I have never seen before. This looks like more if you were to take flake food and crumble it up in the water - except its white. Im not sure if it is coming off the fish or out of it.

Here are a few pictures.

Thank you

Maritimer · Dec 4, 2017

When I see things like that (white, on the edges of fins), generally the first thing that pops into my head is Lymphocystis. As it matures, it can take on a "cauliflower" look.

Lymphocystis is a virus - there's no known cure - but it's also a fairly benign virus, sort of like cold sores in humans.

Pretty thorough article on the beastie here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lymphocystis.257461/#post-3043397

~Bruce

Humblefish · Dec 5, 2017

Some of what I see on the body looks like flukes to me:

Also, the video below shows what flukes look like coming off a fish during a FW dip:

acr0p0ra · Dec 5, 2017

i will try another dip on another fish.
Its 100% not lymph.

could it be anything other than flukes? with the copper at 2-2.5ppm is it possible that its cryptocaryon still?

roberthu526 · Dec 5, 2017

acr0p0ra said:
i will try another dip on another fish.
Its 100% not lymph.

could it be anything other than flukes? with the copper at 2-2.5ppm is it possible that its cryptocaryon still?

It’s not ich for sure. It’s either lymph or fluke. If it was fluke, prazipro will take care of it easily.

acr0p0ra · Dec 6, 2017

Did another fw dip on two fish. Nothing came off. Can I did a treatment of prazi as preventative treatment with our concern with Coppersafe in water?

Humblefish · Dec 6, 2017

acr0p0ra said:
Did another fw dip on two fish. Nothing came off. Can I did a treatment of prazi as preventative treatment with our concern with Coppersafe in water?

You can, but if nothing came off during the FW dip there is no reason to treat for flukes/worms.

Arthur Jen · Dec 6, 2017

I would use Marine Melafix to take care of it, it will help on repair the damaged fins and open woulds..but also for some external parasites

acr0p0ra · Dec 6, 2017

can marine melafix be combined with coppersafe?

Arthur Jen · Dec 6, 2017

acr0p0ra said:
can marine melafix be combined with coppersafe?

I would not mix any other medication with copper, can be toxic for your fish or coral, if you want to use a different medication, try in a separate tank

acr0p0ra · Dec 7, 2017

Here is a video showing the spots. Copper Spears to be 2ppm or maybe higher. For 2 weeks

acr0p0ra · Dec 7, 2017

Test results

Maritimer · Dec 7, 2017

Those spots do bear a resemblance to ich ... if not that they almost seem a bit large for ich. I've seen similar spots on my dwarf angels (flame and coral beauty) that came ... and went ... on those two fish only, not long after a full re-quarantine and introduction to my DT.

Pretty obvious there's no problem with his appetite!

~Bruce

acr0p0ra · Dec 7, 2017

He is still in copper as the test shows. Should I keep him in longer? All other fish are spotless.

Humblefish · Dec 7, 2017

acr0p0ra said:
He is still in copper as the test shows. Should I keep him in longer? All other fish are spotless.

If its been at least 4 weeks, I would remove all the copper. If you wanted to play it safe, transfer the Hippo to a separate QT prior to lowering the copper. Something tells me what you are seeing on him could actually be an adverse reaction to being in copper. We've seen this before with Hippo Tangs and a few other fish.