Recommendations for treating fuzzy spot on anthia?

[jelazar]

One of my anthias developed two large gray fuzzy spots; one on her dorsal fin, and one on her anal fin.

The fuzz is almost three weeks old. I treated with MetroPlex for the first ten days or so. There was no improvement, so I upped it to MetroPlex, KanaPlex, and Furan-2 for the next ten days. Still no improvement.

The fish is active and alert, breathes normally, and eats well.

Any additional medications I should try? The fish is in its own QT so it would be easy to pull her out and administer a topical medication if needed.

 

[HotRocks]

Very possible it is just lympho.

It does look somewhat bacterial from the pic. Since you have already been using the trifecta I would lean lympho.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lymphocystis.257461/

 

[jelazar]

Very possible it is just lympho.

I agree that in the still photo it looks similar to lympho. But in person it's clear that the fuzzy areas are not a cluster of nodules like lympho. They're a combination of stringy tissue and slime.

What I'm most interested in is whether I should switch to a different treatment.

 

[HotRocks]

@Humblefish
@Big G
@4FordFamily

What do you guys think here?

 

[Big G]

Could be lympho or some sort of fungal infection. For the latter, I like to use Triple Sulfa + Neoplex.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Interesting case.

I dont think it looks like lympho.

Bacterial seems most likely. I would try a course of a different antibiotics. Also check the expiration date of those you used.

Fungus is a possibility. Although rare, it does occur in marine fishes. I have not dealt with it so I cant be of help regarding treatment.

 

[wangspeed]

One of my watanabei angels had a growth like this. I thought it was lympho, but it kept getting deeper on her head and eventually she died [emoji22] it looked like a huge fish took a bite out of her head by the end.

None of my other fish contracted it. It wasn’t affected by copper while in QT.

 

[4FordFamily]

I am leaning bacterial here but wow that’s a strange one... this one IMO is like throwing darts at a wall...

If it were me I’d treat for infections since it is most likely statistically to help your fish. Acrifalvine bath followed by kanaplex, furan 2, and metroplex dosed in a QT

 

[Toofattofish]

If it's fungal then maybe an anti fungal like fluconazole will help.
It could be bacteria that aren't sensitive to what you've given so far, so a different antibiotic (such as cipro, sulfa, or a tetracycline) may be helpful.
Or it could be an abscess or deeper infection that won't resolve with water treated antibiotics alone.

 

[jelazar]

I have a basic microscope and know how to prepare a slide with a skin scrape. But I don't know how to use stains or what exactly to look for. If I prep a slide, how hard is it to identify the true problem?

 

[Toofattofish]

Give it a shot and post pics. I'd think that you can at least tell yeast apart from bacteria. Do you have any stains at all such as methylene blue?

 

[jelazar]

I haven't identified a preferred antibiotic to try next, so I guessed and ordered some nitrofuracin green powder Saturday. It's supposed to be wide spectrum.

The fish died on Monday though

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Sorry to hear he didn't make it.

 

[HotRocks]

I haven't identified a preferred antibiotic to try next, so I guessed and ordered some nitrofuracin green powder Saturday. It's supposed to be wide spectrum.

The fish died on Monday though

Sorry to hear about the loss.

NFG is great stuff. Always good to have on the shelf.