Purple tang - injury or ich or bacterial infection??

nanomania · Jul 6, 2017

Hey guys this is myvnew purple tang that i git from a fellow hobbyist, it was very healthy, no sign of ich no nothing when i got days back. Today i noticed some white stuff on top fin, on body, between the eyes on forehead, and some patchy stuff on one side of the stomach. Also i could see some spots in tail fin, looks like thin flat ich, very confused.

I just dont get wether its ich or injury or bacterial infection.

Kindly watch the video below a few times, as u know how tangs are. I have removed rest of the fishes to a separate qt though, and have done a 40% wc.

Shaddow_wolf169 · Jul 6, 2017

Looks like ich all tanks will get it.

ngoodermuth · Jul 6, 2017

It does look more like ich in this video, but what you're describing as "patchy" sounds more bacterial. It could be a combination of both, but at this point it is difficult to tell.

It could be your friend had an "ich-managed" tank, so that there was no outward signs of infestation until the stressor event (moving the fish) caused an outbreak by lowering his immune system.

aykwm · Jul 6, 2017

If you can take a picture it might has more details than a video (more resolution). I saw your last few videos from the other post and it looks like bacterial infection more than ich, my PBT developed similar spots on his face when I moved him to the newly cycled DT, I thought they were ich, but then they grew more and looked more like bacterial infection rather than ich, now they are clearing away on their own. Probably nicked itself in QT.
Observe the spots carefully and make sure they don't resemble ich.
I can see the bacterial infection on the bottom area, but the rest are unclear but hopefully they are not ich. You can perform TTM at the end of quarantine to be 100% sure.

melypr1985 · Jul 6, 2017

I don't see the "patchy" parts, but I do see Ich on the tang. You'll need to treat them all for it.

nanomania · Jul 6, 2017

So can i combine cupramine with metro, furan2 and kana??

melypr1985 · Jul 6, 2017

nanomania said:
So can i combine cupramine with metro, furan2 and kana??

Yes, but only if you need to. Increase O2 in the water while this happens and keep an eye open for bacterial blooms.

nanomania · Jul 6, 2017

melypr1985 said:
Yes, but only if you need to. Increase O2 in the water while this happens and keep an eye open for bacterial blooms.

Thank you.

nanomania · Jul 7, 2017

Mine is a 59 liter tank, i dosed 30drops of cupramine. Is that ok? As per seachem its 20drops per 40l. As per tank water volume, it might be approx 2liters less. So for 67liters i dosed 30drops.

Im seeing some twitching, is that normal? Also i saw the white stuff decrease on the tang.

Here

aykwm · Jul 7, 2017

For copper treatment always use a test kit to test available copper, there are many variables in tank that will fluctuate the concentration of copper. Also, you would want to test frequently to ensure you are within the range, not under not above.

Im noticing in the video that the tang is breathing heavily, and you mentioned earlier its sensitive to light, so be careful of signs of velvet. Since you are treating with copper this should take care of it. Also it wouldn't hurt to check for flukes too with FW dip.

nanomania · Jul 7, 2017

aykwm said:
For copper treatment always use a test kit to test available copper, there are many variables in tank that will fluctuate the concentration of copper. Also, you would want to test frequently to ensure you are within the range, not under not above.

Im noticing in the video that the tang is breathing heavily, and you mentioned earlier its sensitive to light, so be careful of signs of velvet. Since you are treating with copper this should take care of it. Also it wouldn't hurt to check for flukes too with FW dip.

I added carbon, when it started acting strange, now its eating. I guess copper is not something she likes.

aykwm · Jul 7, 2017

with copper you would want to ramp it up slowly, adding a lot at once might be very stressful and lethal, so without a test kit on hand I dont recommend it until you get one. Also some fish are sensitive to copper, so round 2 of copper if you observe stage behavior or stress then you will need to find other treatment. For now I wouldn't worry if it looks healthy and no signs are visible, but as mentioned earlier be careful of velvet and once you suspect it start copper again but at slower rate.

nanomania · Jul 7, 2017

aykwm said:
with copper you would want to ramp it up slowly, adding a lot at once might be very stressful and lethal, so without a test kit on hand I dont recommend it until you get one. Also some fish are sensitive to copper, so round 2 of copper if you observe stage behavior or stress then you will need to find other treatment. For now I wouldn't worry if it looks healthy and no signs are visible, but as mentioned earlier be careful of velvet and once you suspect it start copper again but at slower rate.

The bacterial infection reduced, but cud see a few spots though. So i Dosed copper and was going to dose metro, kana and furan2. But when it started acting strange, i added carbon. And looks fine now.

But since u told me that it doeant like lights, and these are the sign of velvet, im a bit worried. I dont see signs of velvet at all though. Also i dont have a copper testkit. I guess ill try cp. Confused.

aykwm · Jul 7, 2017

Dont dose CP yet. I still can't confirm velvet, might be other symptoms, im just telling you to observe and once you start suspecting velvet make sure the appropriate meds are on hand. I will wait few days to check, then maybe if its ich do TTM to avoid as much chemicals as possible, as all these are stressful for fish. For now continue with the antibiotic course and hopefully by the end of the treatment it will be healthy and fine.

nanomania · Jul 7, 2017

aykwm said:
Dont dose CP yet. I still can't confirm velvet, might be other symptoms, im just telling you to observe and once you start suspecting velvet make sure the appropriate meds are on hand. I will wait few days to check, then maybe if its ich do TTM to avoid as much chemicals as possible, as all these are stressful for fish. For now continue with the antibiotic course and hopefully by the end of the treatment it will be healthy and fine.

Dont have the tanks for ttm

Piranhapat · Jul 7, 2017

I like a freshwater bath with ph and temp matching. I like to switch qt tanks so ick or velvet is to a minimum. I saved my purple tang and truly believe the bath worked the best. I can see by your video that his breathing is rapid. If breathing gets worse time is now issue.

Piranhapat · Jul 7, 2017

It's hard to tell but he looks like velvet....purple tangs are pretty tough. Increase oxygen and dip him.

Maritimer · Jul 7, 2017

If the tang does have ich, you'll want to raise copper levels over a few days - not all at once. (Carbon will pull most meds from the water, so no idea what you've got in that tank at the moment.)

If the tang has velvet, copper levels should still be raised gradually, but over 24 hours rather than 48+.

If there's a bacterial infection complicating matters, Humblefish has an excellent write-up on the issue here: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/the-bacterial-infection-predicament.315/ Each antibiotic comes with a different set of instructions - it's generally best to follow them.

~Bruce, hoping it helps

nanomania · Jul 7, 2017

Piranhapat said:
I like a freshwater bath with ph and temp matching. I like to switch qt tanks so ick or velvet is to a minimum. I saved my purple tang and truly believe the bath worked the best. I can see by your video that his breathing is rapid. If breathing gets worse time is now issue.

Heavy breathing has stopped.