This guy

[coastkid]

Well this poor guy has already been in QT before for ich. Now I have something else. I think I have seen this before a long time ago on a clown I had in a different tank. Killed that poor fish but the others survived.

what is it? Any good references with pics to help ID?

 

[Thaxxx]

Hard to tell in blue light. Koles normally lose color when they are sick. His color looks good. Could just be a injury. If so, Kole Tangs heal very fast from injury. I mean withing a couple days from a pretty severe gash.
How long has he had it?

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Looks like a mark from another fish or the anenome maybe.
D

 

[coastkid]

It’s only been two day since I noticed it. Best pics I can get. Dude doesn’t like getting pics taken.

 

[coastkid]

There we go

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Tough to say for sure. It could be a bacterial infection, but the way the lesion looks like it is protruding outwards, indicates that the issue may have begun internally, and then is showing up on the skin after that. One (terrible) diagnosis could be Uronema. This protozoan begins internally, and once you see it externally,. the infection has progressed too far to save the fish. Here is a link to an article about that:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

www.reef2reef.com

Hopefully, that isn't it. Do you have the ability to move the fish to a quarantine tank and dose it with antibiotics?

Jay

 

[coastkid]

I do have a QT and am going to get him in there. I thought I would give it another day to see if anything changes but maybe I should get him going now.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I do have a QT and am going to get him in there. I thought I would give it another day to see if anything changes but maybe I should get him going now.

Yes, that's a judgement call on your part - any time you move a fish to a QT, there is stress and risk. Sometimes, bacterial diseases resolve themselves. If the lesion isn't getting larger, and if the fish shows no other symptoms (lack of feeding, rapid breathing, etc.) then you *might* want to wait a bit....

Jay

 

[coastkid]

Well he doesn’t look any worse. In fact it looks slightly better. Still very active and eating well. I will just keep an eye on it.

 

[coastkid]

Is there a good way or product for catching a fish that needs to go to QT? It is stressful for everyone when trying to catch a fish in the tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Is there a good way or product for catching a fish that needs to go to QT? It is stressful for everyone when trying to catch a fish in the tank.

There are some fish traps, but tangs don't go into them all that readily. Some people try at night, after lights out. I use two nets, one holds still, and the other is used to scare the target fish into the stationary net. In the end though, it is tough to do. As you figured, it is a losing proposition to chase a fish around so hard that it and the other fish get damaged and stressed.

Jay