Something stuck to tomini tang eye?!?!

OutColdCRNA · Nov 13, 2023

Been treating my tank with Ruby rally pro for what appeared to be a bacterial issue on my tomini tang. Has been looking better and better each day. Today I noticed something stuck to the eye nearest the infection. Any ideas would be greatly appreciate!! It’s doesn’t cover the eye but is loose and attached at one point it flows in the water. Will try and get a picture under whites it is very thin and transparent could he have torn a piece of his lens of the eye?

Jay Hemdal · Nov 13, 2023

While it could be an eye injury, the shape and description you gave points to it possibly being Neobenedenia flukes. These are normally clear and just cause a slight cloudiness to a fish's eye/body - however, when they are dying, they turn opaque and tend to sort of wave in the water currents after one of their suckers lets go of the fish, but the other is still attached. Just guessing here - but Rally Pro may not be strong enough to kill them outright, but is enough to partially dislodge them and that is what you are seeing.

If you could catch the tang easily, without harming it, you could give it a 5 minute freshwater dip. Check the dip water afterwards to see if more flukes fall off - they look like little gray ovals.

Here is a post I made about FW dips:

Freshwater Dips

“Freshwater dips” (FW Dips) are commonly used to dislodge certain parasites from the skin of marine fishes. This is more of a diagnostic tool, and less of a permanent cure. Dips can be used to lower the parasite load temporarily, while waiting for another treatment to begin. Looking at the...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

OutColdCRNA · Nov 13, 2023

Thanks jay!! I actually immediately thought of flukes. I would wonder if I would see other flukes on the body floating the same way due to the reef rally. But there is nothing on its body as of now.

OutColdCRNA · Nov 13, 2023

the tang is acting totally normal even with the UEO ( unidentified eye object) haha. Tank has had three doses of RR pro. May continue a few more days. I doubt I can catch the tang without injury. I have read that prazi is reef safe. But, I have no experience with it. I’m your experience jay is it reef safe? Mixed reef with lots of acros.
In the second picture you can see the skin discoloration that I was taking for a bacterial infection. That, has gotten better since the RR pro has been dosed.

OutColdCRNA · Nov 13, 2023

And of course whatever the thing attached to the eye is gone. If I hadn’t seen it earlier I would not think anything was any different with the tang.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 13, 2023

OutColdCRNA said:
the tang is acting totally normal even with the UEO ( unidentified eye object) haha. Tank has had three doses of RR pro. May continue a few more days. I doubt I can catch the tang without injury. I have read that prazi is reef safe. But, I have no experience with it. I’m your experience jay is it reef safe? Mixed reef with lots of acros.
In the second picture you can see the skin discoloration that I was taking for a bacterial infection. That, has gotten better since the RR pro has been dosed.

Prazipro or Praziquantel is "reef safe with caution" - you need to increase the aeration, turn off any UV and run your skimmer with no skimmate collection. Sometimes, corals will retract a bit, and you may see a bump in nutrients.

Jay

OutColdCRNA · Nov 26, 2023

Jay, after the round of ruby reef I haven’t seen anything else on my tangs eye. But the discoloration on one half of its body appeared to get better now has gotten worse. I’m going to treat the tank with Prazipro. Can flukes cause the discoloration? I think you can see it in the first pictures I posted. But now seems to be spreading.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 26, 2023

OutColdCRNA said:
Jay, after the round of ruby reef I haven’t seen anything else on my tangs eye. But the discoloration on one half of its body appeared to get better now has gotten worse. I’m going to treat the tank with Prazipro. Can flukes cause the discoloration? I think you can see it in the first pictures I posted. But now seems to be spreading.

Flukes typically do not cause lesions on just one side of a fish - they tend to be dispersed more or less equally on the fish's body.

Can you get a fresh picture?
Do you have a hospital tank in case you need to dose it with antibiotics?

Jay

OutColdCRNA · Nov 26, 2023

I do have a fallow tank that has been my coral QT but currently there isn’t anything in it. I’ll try to get a newer picture and see what your thoughts are.

OutColdCRNA · Nov 26, 2023

Best I could get. Seems like nothing bothers him. Eats like crazy but I can’t figure this skin problem out.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 27, 2023

OutColdCRNA said:
Best I could get. Seems like nothing bothers him. Eats like crazy but I can’t figure this skin problem out.

Well, I can't rule out a bacterial infection here. Since it is getting worse, your best bet would be to move the tang to a treatment tank and dose it with a good antibiotic - Neoplex or Kanaplex.

Jay

OutColdCRNA · Nov 27, 2023

Thanks jay! Ordered kanaplex. Will try and trap the tang to move to hospital tank. Couple questions. The tank I have running for hospital has rock and sand. Should I remove that? No chemical filtration just filter sponges. Dosing kana 1 scoop/ 5 gal? Should I get an exact measure of water in tank without rock and sand or is approximate dosing close enough?

Any other suggestions?

Jay Hemdal · Nov 27, 2023

OutColdCRNA said:
Thanks jay! Ordered kanaplex. Will try and trap the tang to move to hospital tank. Couple questions. The tank I have running for hospital has rock and sand. Should I remove that? No chemical filtration just filter sponges. Dosing kana 1 scoop/ 5 gal? Should I get an exact measure of water in tank without rock and sand or is approximate dosing close enough?

Any other suggestions?

Dont remove the rocks and sand, they can add extra bio filtration. Dose it to the label instructions for the net volume of the tank. If you dont know that exactly, dose at 85% of the tank’s gross volume.

Jay

OutColdCRNA · Nov 27, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Dont remove the rocks and sand, they can add extra bio filtration. Dose it to the label instructions for the net volume of the tank. If you dont know that exactly, dose at 85% of the tank’s gross volume.

Jay

Thanks so much for your help Jay!! I truly appreciate it!

OutColdCRNA · Nov 27, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Dont remove the rocks and sand, they can add extra bio filtration. Dose it to the label instructions for the net volume of the tank. If you dont know that exactly, dose at 85% of the tank’s gross volume.

Jay

Thanks so much for your help Jay!! I truly appreciate it!

OutColdCRNA · Nov 28, 2023

Last question for you jay, I promise. I’m debating on treating potential bacterial infection vs flukes first. I’m thinking bacterial to try and bolster immune system and then reevaluate for flukes and then treat. I can’t run Prazipro and kanaplex simultaneously I would assume. Now the fun part of trying to trap the tang. Every fish in the tank has checked out the trap in the last two days but the tang!

Jay Hemdal · Nov 28, 2023

OutColdCRNA said:
Last question for you jay, I promise. I’m debating on treating potential bacterial infection vs flukes first. I’m thinking bacterial to try and bolster immune system and then reevaluate for flukes and then treat. I can’t run Prazipro and kanaplex simultaneously I would assume. Now the fun part of trying to trap the tang. Every fish in the tank has checked out the trap in the last two days but the tang!

You can treat for flukes in your display, in fact you really would need to, as other fish have been exposed. Prazipro can be used, with good aeration, dosed twice 8 days apart. Turn off any UV and run the skimmer, but don’t collect the skimmate.

That said - I don’t really see how this could be flukes. Larval flukes attach to the fish’s body as they reach it. If there are dozens/hundreds of flukes, what are the odds they all landed on the right side of the fish?

Catching fish to treat it with antibiotics is tough - people have really caused more harm to the fish trying to catch them. You might get lucky and get it in a net at night. I’ve not had much luck with fish traps and tangs, but maybe I’m not patient enough.

Jay