white patches on tang

[navila06]

my kole tang the past few days has developed these white patches, wierd thing though it happens later in the afternoon for example when I get home at 3 pm he looks fine but a few hours later these start to show, is it just stressed?
I have had him for about 8 months now. sorry about the blurry picture he is tough to photograph.

55 gallon tank 1.5 years old
parameters are:
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate undetectable (api)
phosphate undetectable (api)
calcium 480
magnesium 1275
ph 8.1
alk 11°
salinity 1.024 (refractometer)
temp 78°

any help would be appreciated

 

[navila06]

bump, hoping to get some help

 

[Reefing Madness]

In general Tangs can alter their coloring when stressed out. Make sure your water params are in good order (which yours are) and that you are feeding him well. You should see him settle down soon.

 

[Soehl]

My Naso gets spots like this, especially at night. I don't think his is due to stress, he loves the tank and even eats out of my hand... Tangs, and most fish for that matter, can alter their color to camo themselves at night and other times. Could just be that. Do you notice it more at night and morning?

 

[Soehl]

My Mandarin turns almost white at night.

 

[navila06]

ok thank you, I have been feeding him a little extra since he's started looking like this.

In general Tangs can alter their coloring when stressed out. Make sure your water params are in good order (which yours are) and that you are feeding him well. You should see him settle down soon.

 

[navila06]

mainly at night about 2-3 hours before the lights go out.

My Naso gets spots like this, especially at night. I don't think his is due to stress, he loves the tank and even eats out of my hand... Tangs, and most fish for that matter, can alter their color to camo themselves at night and other times. Could just be that. Do you notice it more at night and morning?

 

[mike007]

Could be a bacterial infection. Don't overfeed and cause other problems in your tank.

 

[navila06]

would a bacterial infection come and go like it does?

Could be a bacterial infection. Don't overfeed and cause other problems in your tank.

 

[46gReef]

No it wouldn't but you may just notice when his color changes....is he eating well? Acting "normal" otherwise?

 

[Mike&Terry]

Kole Tangs change color depending on their mood, but I've never seen splotches like that. They normally either pale out to a light reddish brown or darken to almost black. How is his behavior? Is he flashing against rocks or the sand bed? Have you added anything new to the tank in the past month or so?

It may be nothing, but if it were me, I would use a magnifying glass (or macro lens) and flashlight and check for either anchor worms or body flukes.

 

[navila06]

beside the occasional flash against the glass fighting his reflection, he has been behaving as normal. i did add a heniochus 2 weeks back, but removed the heniochus after about a week cause he nipped at corals. I have not seen him scratch against the sand or rocks.

I will try the magnifying glass when i get home from work, first i will google what i should be looking for, it will definetly be an adventure trying to look at my most active fish under a scope.

Kole Tangs change color depending on their mood, but I've never seen splotches like that. They normally either pale out to a light reddish brown or darken to almost black. How is his behavior? Is he flashing against rocks or the sand bed? Have you added anything new to the tank in the past month or so?

It may be nothing, but if it were me, I would use a magnifying glass (or macro lens) and flashlight and check for either anchor worms or body flukes.

 

[navila06]

thanks all for the help, these has seemed to clear up (knock on wood)