Purple tang sick??

[Tim slate]

Hello everyone my purple tang recently been getting these grey marks one one side of its body while the other is perfectly fine could anyone help identify the cause and I may need to get rid of it soon because its has outgrown my tank.

 

[blaxsun]

#fishmedic

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello everyone my purple tang recently been getting these grey marks one one side of its body while the other is perfectly fine could anyone help identify the cause and I may need to get rid of it soon because its has outgrown my tank.

Typically, fish diseases are symetrical - parasites on one side of the fish are also found on the other. When I see marks on just one side of the fish, the common cause is abrasion. However, these marks are very broadly spread, I don't see how a simple abrasion could cause them. How long have they been there, and have they been growing in size?

The scalloped dorsal fin is also pretty odd. I've seen that in yellow tangs that developed head and lateral line erosion, but I've never seen it in a purple. How long have the fins been like that?

Jay

 

[Tim slate]

Typically, fish diseases are symetrical - parasites on one side of the fish are also found on the other. When I see marks on just one side of the fish, the common cause is abrasion. However, these marks are very broadly spread, I don't see how a simple abrasion could cause them. How long have they been there, and have they been growing in size?

The scalloped dorsal fin is also pretty odd. I've seen that in yellow tangs that developed head and lateral line erosion, but I've never seen it in a purple. How long have the fins been like that?

Jay

I got it from a guy who had to get rid of it because it was fighting with his sohal tang and its kinda been like that since and I picked it up a little over a month ago.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I got it from a guy who had to get rid of it because it was fighting with his sohal tang and its kinda been like that since and I picked it up a little over a month ago.

The typical treatment when the exact cause isn’t known is to move the fish to a treatment tank and dose with a broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic like Kanaplex or Neoplex.
Jay