Rescue Hippo Tang with spots

[haleyf1024]

Hey everyone, hoping some disease expert here can help ID this! I rescued a hippo tang 5 months ago, she had been in a 29 gallon for 8+ years. We had to rehab her through our system of tanks as she learned to swim, eat food other than brine, and handle current. She’s made it up to our 180 gal FOWLER, but has developed worm like growths on her body. She has been through 2 rounds of Prazipro, which made it look just a tad better but didn’t cure it. No other fish have any worms, and this isn’t ick. Any potential IDs (other than ick lol) are greatly appreciated! I will include a comparison pic to when we took her in back in September so you can see her improvement!

 

[haleyf1024]

hopefully everyone can see the video

 

[fishguy242]

great job ,no expert ,they will come happy reefing

 

[Bryan68]

I have nothing to offer, as I know very little about fish disease, sorry. But i just had comment and commend you for the work you have done thus far. This guy was in horrible shape.

 

[fishguy242]

@ reefsquad @ vetteguy53081

 

[Gareth elliott]

Photos a bit blurry kind of resembles brook. In a fowlr could try metro.
@HotRocks @4FordFamily @Big G
Before you attempt that though.

 

[haleyf1024]

Can everyone view the video?

 

[AcroNem]

First off, good on you for taking it on to try to help it. That's a lot of work. Second thing though is I would not Keep it in a display with other fish until you have it clean. Prazi helps with some things but will not take care of other parasites or infections. If you have a decent sized quarantine I would get it back into treatment asap. It very well could have Cryptocaryon (what people call Ich) if it hasn't had any other treatment, or if your other fish haven't. That's what I thought of first. Your display has a lot of fish and I think I see 3 blue tangs in there. There's aggression between them in the video there's got to be a lot of stress and it could definitely spread quickly to your other fish. I think CP if you can get it or even copper if it can handle it. You could try a freshwater dip to see what comes off and get a better look at what you're dealing with. But I don't really see what looks like worms in the video.

 

[haleyf1024]

First off, good on you for taking it on to try to help it. That's a lot of work. Second thing though is I would not Keep it in a display with other fish until you have it clean. Prazi helps with some things but will not take care of other parasites or infections. If you have a decent sized quarantine I would get it back into treatment asap. It very well could have Cryptocaryon (what people call Ich) if it hasn't had any other treatment, or if your other fish haven't. That's what I thought of first. Your display has a lot of fish and I think I see 3 blue tangs in there. There's aggression between them in the video there's got to be a lot of stress and it could definitely spread quickly to your other fish. I think CP if you can get it or even copper if it can handle it. You could try a freshwater dip to see what comes off and get a better look at what you're dealing with. But I don't really see what looks like worms in the video.

We were forced to take our personal QT down (live at home with parents since we’re young) so we no longer have one. The tank does have ich, but it only pops up maybe once every couple of years. There isn’t much aggression in the tank at all, it was actually very out of character that she went after the other in the video. The spots are large and raised off of her body, with a small white filament on the tip of each. We can definitely do metro, but not copper as the tank has inverts and I try not to copper injured fish. May have to do a fw dip to see if anything pops off. We own a service business and manage an lfs, so I have most meds on hand. Might try medicated food with the seachem line to see if it helps her at all. We rescue a ton of fish, tangs in particular, but she was definitely the worst case we’ve seen so far.

 

[4FordFamily]

I see severe HLLE and possibly other things going on. When you say you saw worms, were they on the body of the fish? Eyes? In stool?

@Humblefish

 

[Humblefish]

Do the "worm like growths" look kinda like what you see below? Might be thinner and have more of a hook at the end...

 

[haleyf1024]

Do the "worm like growths" look kinda like what you see below? Might be thinner and have more of a hook at the end...

That is definitely The closest I have seen. There are white filament type tapers on the tops of the bumps

 

[haleyf1024]

I see severe HLLE and possibly other things going on. When you say you saw worms, were they on the body of the fish? Eyes? In stool?

@Humblefish

Yep, if you look at the pic the one in the orange bucket is when I picked her up from the previous owner, she was in horrible shape. The worms are white bumps on the body with a white filament type tapering tip. Eyes are crystal clear, waste is normal

 

[Humblefish]

That is definitely The closest I have seen. There are white filament type tapers on the tops of the bumps

So, this is common on Hippo Tangs. Many mistake it for Ich/velvet and the fish will even scratch due to these bumps. I've scraped it a few times, and they always turn out to be either viral or bacterial (gram +). The skinny, wiry looking white lesions are due to a bacterial disease; the thicker white dots are caused by a virus living inside the fish's body (similar to Lymphocystis).

Used to drive me crazy because it would always show up right after the fish had gone through copper. Once I figured out it wasn't anything parasitic, I started treating with Metro + Kana (for the bacterial infection). But lately I've just been letting it run its course. Keeping the fish in clean water, and food soaking vitamins (or beta-glucan as @Big G suggests) will boost the fish's natural immune system to overcome this without resorting to medication(s).

 

[haleyf1024]

So, this is common on Hippo Tangs. Many mistake it for Ich/velvet and the fish will even scratch due to these bumps. I've scraped it a few times, and they always turn out to be either viral or bacterial (gram +). The skinny, wiry looking white lesions are due to a bacterial disease; the thicker white dots are caused by a virus living inside the fish's body (similar to Lymphocystis).

Used to drive me crazy because it would always show up right after the fish had gone through copper. Once I figured out it wasn't anything parasitic, I started treating with Metro + Kana (for the bacterial infection). But lately I've just been letting it run its course. Keeping the fish in clean water, and food soaking vitamins (or beta-glucan as @Big G suggests) will boost the fish's natural immune system to overcome this without resorting to medication(s).

Thanks! I have metro, kana, and focus on standby at all times so I may treat her food just for good measure, but that is reassuring! If anything changes I’ll update the thread @Humblefish do you know anything about airborn mold spores and if they have the ability to infect/affect our saltwater fish? Random question, but one that has been a source of controversy with one of my clients and another maintenance guy!

 

[Humblefish]

Thanks! I have metro, kana, and focus on standby at all times so I may treat her food just for good measure, but that is reassuring! If anything changes I’ll update the thread @Humblefish do you know anything about airborn mold spores and if they have the ability to infect/affect our saltwater fish? Random question, but one that has been a source of controversy with one of my clients and another maintenance guy!

Never heard anything about airborne mold spores, but fish pathogens (especially velvet) can be spread via aerosolized droplets: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aerosol-transmission.190292/

 

[haleyf1024]

Never heard anything about airborne mold spores, but fish pathogens (especially velvet) can be spread via aerosolized droplets: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aerosol-transmission.190292/

dang alright. One of our tanks started to crash from an ich outbreak and an unknown disease overnight after an employee left a garbage bag full of rotting molded food in the room where the water is stored uncovered. Was wondering if it could mess with their immune system or cause any internal issues

 

[Humblefish]

dang alright. One of our tanks started to crash from an ich outbreak and an unknown disease overnight after an employee left a garbage bag full of rotting molded food in the room where the water is stored uncovered. Was wondering if it could mess with their immune system or cause any internal issues

Mold produces gasses called microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC). I guess it's possible for these gasses to contaminate the water, the same as fumes from a scented candle could. But what effect this would have on fish, corals, etc. I cannot say.