Red Blotches on YT

[DLHDesign]

I added a chiller into my system the other night, which required that I pump in some new water. It looks like the new water was a bit high in salinity (the upwards-spike on the right was the chiller add):

I also - it appears - had a downward swing the previous day.

While feeding the tank this morning, I noticed that my YT had some red blotches on it:

This fish has been in the tank for some time, yet I think the most likely cause is "Acclimation Stress":
http://chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net/disease.html
If that is indeed the case, then trying to remove this fish (who is quite skittish) into a QT could do more harm than good. If, however, it's something that needs treatment, I'll need to find a way to do so...

The fish ate well during the feeding and is showing no abnormal signs.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[Wiz]

Never seen red blotches on a Tang before. My blue tang gets white blotches when he gets stung by a certain Coral. Following along

 

[ngoodermuth]

None of the other fish appear affected from the swings? Usually, red blotches mean infection

Bacterial Infections

https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/Bacterial-Infections.191511/

That looks pretty bad, if it was me I think I'd want to pull and treat. It could be that the salinity shifts caused his immune system to weaken a bit, allowing a bacteria already present to take hold...or it could have been an underlying issue (internal parasites, flukes,etc) that just started to overwhelm him.

I'm going to page the experts here for better advice
@Humblefish @melypr1985 @4FordFamily @Brew12

 

[Brew12]

I added a chiller into my system the other night, which required that I pump in some new water. It looks like the new water was a bit high in salinity (the upwards-spike on the right was the chiller add):

I also - it appears - had a downward swing the previous day.

While feeding the tank this morning, I noticed that my YT had some red blotches on it:

This fish has been in the tank for some time, yet I think the most likely cause is "Acclimation Stress":
http://chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net/disease.html
If that is indeed the case, then trying to remove this fish (who is quite skittish) into a QT could do more harm than good. If, however, it's something that needs treatment, I'll need to find a way to do so...

The fish ate well during the feeding and is showing no abnormal signs.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Are you sure that the increase in conductivity is due to a change in salinity? Could there have been a chemical used to clean the chiller that could have caused the increase? I don't feel that was a big enough change to cause significant stress.

 

[Humblefish]

If the SG suddenly increased, capillary congestion can occur leading to rupture of the capillaries (redness) through sudden exposure to higher salinity levels. He will either recover from this or he won't, no treatment is required.

 

[DLHDesign]

Are you sure that the increase in conductivity is due to a change in salinity? Could there have been a chemical used to clean the chiller that could have caused the increase? I don't feel that was a big enough change to cause significant stress.

No - not sure. I did not test with anything else to confirm.
I ran 5gal through the chiller and into the drain before plumbing it into the tank. That may or may not have been enough to clean it out - I don't know.

Thanks for the replies, everyone! The fish is eating well and behaving normally, so I think I'm going to just observe for now.

 

[4FordFamily]

If the SG suddenly increased, capillary congestion can occur leading to rupture of the capillaries (redness) through sudden exposure to higher salinity levels. He will either recover from this or he won't, no treatment is required.

X2 this was my thinking exactly. Very common in YT. Good luck!

 

[DLHDesign]

Any idea what a reasonable time frame would be if this is a capillary issue? E.g.; how long should I wait before trying something more drastic?

 

[4FordFamily]

Any idea what a reasonable time frame would be if this is a capillary issue? E.g.; how long should I wait before trying something more drastic?

There isn't anything you can do anyway, no matter what it's a waiting game. You'll know in a few days the prognosis if it doesn't worsen. Good luck!

 

[melypr1985]

Any idea what a reasonable time frame would be if this is a capillary issue? E.g.; how long should I wait before trying something more drastic?

I wouldn't try anything drastic period here, but I would expect there to be positive changes within a week or so if there are going to be positive changes.

 

[ngoodermuth]

^^ And that's why I called for a second opinion [emoji12]

Good luck! I'm hoping for the best

 

[4FordFamily]

^^ And that's why I called for a second opinion [emoji12]

Good luck! I'm hoping for the best

It's a strange thing very common in yellow tangs in this uncommon scenario. It's all good, friend!

 

[DLHDesign]

Thanks all! The blotches seem to be shrinking, though not significantly. Breathing seems a bit more labored compared to other fish in the tank, but I don't think it's dangerously so. The YT( "Lemmon" - named after one of our daughter's friends) has always been more skittish than most.

As always, I'm soaking the frozen food in VitaChem before adding it to the tank, so hopefully that will give the fish a boost.

 

[DLHDesign]

Still not out of the woods, but there looks to be improvement:

 

[ngoodermuth]

Good to see improvements, keep us posted!

 

[DLHDesign]

No pics this time (sorry - I've been sick myself), but improvement continues. The redness is now limited to the base of the fins - where it has always been heaviest. I ran out of VitaChem two days ago, so I hope that nothing in the tank suffers...