Red blotches on yellow tang

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Hi All,

My yellow tang is showing red blotches along his body and close to the fins. I've read about it and most commons suggestions are either bacterial infection due to very high organics and acclimation issues due to major salinity shifts, but my tank has low nitrates and phosphates, and the tang is there for a month now, at least, so I'm not sure this is the correct diagnosis.

He's eating just fine, from Nori, to Misys, to flakes. Pretty much everything I throw at the tank, and no other fish is showing any symptoms of anything.

Current tank parameters (tested today) are as follows:

Alkalinity: 8.4 dKh
Calc: 440 ppm
Mg: 1380 ppm
Nitrates: 2 ppm
Phosphates: 0.07 ppm
PH swings between 8.05 and 8.4
Temp is 25ºC (77 F) (this is the only parameter that changed in the last few days as I removed my "winter heater" and the temp dropped 0.5 C or 1 F)

The tank has Softies, LPS and SPS and I see the yellow tang usually goes by the soft corals a lot. Could this be hyper-melanization?

Attached picture for reference of the current state of the YT.

Thank you all!

 

[MnFish1]

Usually this indicates some kind of bacterial infection - that requires treatment. @Jay Hemdal may weigh in

 

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Usually this indicates some kind of bacterial infection - that requires treatment. @Jay Hemdal may weigh in

Thanks MnFish1!

Isn't that usually related to high organics? Would that be common in a tank with regular Nitrates and Phosphates?

 

[MnFish1]

Thanks MnFish1!

Isn't that usually related to high organics? Would that be common in a tank with regular Nitrates and Phosphates?

Not necessarily - it can be from a wound which has spread bacteria to different areas. Kind of like people can get an infection from a plain scratch. Part of it also likely depends on the underlying condition of the fish itself (feeding, etc)

 

[SPS2020]

Mine had the same thing about ten days ago. It has gradually disappeared with no assistance.

 

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Mine had the same thing about ten days ago. It has gradually disappeared with no assistance.

Thanks SPS2020 and MnFish1. So should I wait a few days before doing anything? I don't want the fish to go over the stress of me chasing it and moving to a QT, which could make his immune system even worse, if this is something he can fight himself.

 

[MnFish1]

Thanks SPS2020 and MnFish1. So should I wait a few days before doing anything? I don't want the fish to go over the stress of me chasing it and moving to a QT, which could make his immune system even worse, if this is something he can fight himself.

Maybe I am blind - or not sure what I'm supposed to be looking at. I don't see 'blotches' - what I saw is what looks like red streaking in the pectoral fins. I agree if the fish looks good, etc, eating, etc. You could elect to watch it. But - thats why I asked Jay to look in at the picture - he is the 'disease expert'

 

[PanchoG]

Following along.

 

[MnFish1]

PS - this is from another forum here:

"Often confused with an internal bacterial disease which appears very similar, the improper acclimation of marine fish can cause capillary congestion leading to the rupture of the capillaries through sudden exposure to higher salinity levels. This is most often seen with newly purchased fish that have not been acclimated very slowly, as in days long periods to higher salinity or when replacement water is above the aquarium's salinity when performing a large water change. As long as the fish is eating properly and it develops no other problems, it should heal in due time and recover. If the fish develops such red markings in the absence of salinity changes then I would suspect a bacterial infection due to poor water quality and the fish should be removed and treated by feeding it an anti-bacterial laced food while taking steps to get the organic levels of the aquarium under control."

 

[SPS2020]

Thanks SPS2020 and MnFish1. So should I wait a few days before doing anything? I don't want the fish to go over the stress of me chasing it and moving to a QT, which could make his immune system even worse, if this is something he can fight himself.

Like you, I didn't want to stress him out (or any other fish) by attempting to catch. I'd probably watch him closely over the next day and see what others have to say. There is at least one other thread like this I've seen in the last week. You may want to do a search.

 

[normal]

PS - this is from another forum here:

"Often confused with an internal bacterial disease which appears very similar, the improper acclimation of marine fish can cause capillary congestion leading to the rupture of the capillaries through sudden exposure to higher salinity levels. This is most often seen with newly purchased fish that have not been acclimated very slowly, as in days long periods to higher salinity or when replacement water is above the aquarium's salinity when performing a large water change. As long as the fish is eating properly and it develops no other problems, it should heal in due time and recover. If the fish develops such red markings in the absence of salinity changes then I would suspect a bacterial infection due to poor water quality and the fish should be removed and treated by feeding it an anti-bacterial laced food while taking steps to get the organic levels of the aquarium under control."

I've saw that reply and that's what confuses me. He is in the tank for more than 1 month, and when he was moved he came from a reef tank (so roughly the same salinity) and nitrates and phosphates are in an acceptable range (2 and 0.07 tested with Nyos for Nitrates and Hanna for Phosphates). Having this in mind does it still make sense consider any of the 2 issues described on that post?

Regarding the blotch, he has on on one of his sides. This picture might be clearer.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I've saw that reply and that's what confuses me. He is in the tank for more than 1 month, and when he was moved he came from a reef tank (so roughly the same salinity) and nitrates and phosphates are in an acceptable range (2 and 0.07 tested with Nyos for Nitrates and Hanna for Phosphates). Having this in mind does it still make sense consider any of the 2 issues described on that post?

Regarding the blotch, he has on on one of his sides. This picture might be clearer.

This is a pretty common issue specifically with new yellow tangs. I do not think it is related to acclimation at all, because it often shows up weeks after acquisition. As one person pointed out, this can go away on its own. I think there is a bacterial infection component to this, but I am NOT positive on that. Treating it would require moving the fish to a treatment tank and that brings on a whole host of other issues. Stepping out on a limb here; your fish doesn’t have a very bad case. I’d be inclined to just watch it for worsening symptoms.
Jay

 

[MnFish1]

This is a pretty common issue specifically with new yellow tangs. I do not think it is related to acclimation at all, because it often shows up weeks after acquisition. As one person pointed out, this can go away on its own. I think there is a bacterial infection component to this, but I am NOT positive on that. Treating it would require moving the fish to a treatment tank and that brings on a whole host of other issues. Stepping out on a limb here; your fish doesn’t have a very bad case. I’d be inclined to just watch it for worsening symptoms.
Jay

Thanks - I had a butterfly (copperband) - with a similar issue - I left it alone - fed it well - and it healed

 

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Thank you all! I'll keep monitoring the situation and I'll update you guys.