Yellow Tang help

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

UPDATE: Hoping to get more help. I used the Kanaplex as instructed, it says up to 3 doses, it doesn't appear to have help at all. I also added Melafix a couple of times, but I can't stand the very strong odor! I just did a 50% water changes, ammonia is 0, everything else is also normal so far. I bought some new Erythromycin today and added the first dose. I also bought General Cure just in case I'm dealing with something else. Is there something I need to change in the filters, or remove? There's no carbon filtration.
A couple days ago I noticed how horrible this fish looks, now that he's not darting around and hiding behind live rock (in the main tank) and is now in a pretty empty quarantine tank, with a good light, I was able to get a better look at him. Aside from the normal dark line when the light come on and freaks him, which I thought was all I was seeing (bad eyesight), but looking closer with the bright light, he has significant damage on his side and tail area, looks like it's flaking off, almost like a hole on his side! I feel horrible that I didn't notice this sooner! I just don't see him out in the open, he's been mostly hidden for 4 yrs, darts around to eat and follows the Kole tang around, you can barely ever get a good look at him!

Is there a disease that causes this or could it be damage from the rock? I searched for pictures of HLLE, but I'm not seeing anything similar looking.

Can I mix General Cure with the Erythromycin just in case? Or should i wait and see how the Em. does? I'm hoping it doesn't spike the levels because it says to retreat in 24 hrs and then do a water change 24 hrs after that, that's days for the ammonia and nitrates/nitrites to build up if the em kills off the good bacteria.

Side note: I also read that Kanaplex and Erythromycin are different in that one is gram negative and the other gram positive, so which one you use has to do with what type of bacteria your dealing with...which is something I don't think most know..

Can you post new pictures?

Kanaplex treats gram negative, erythromycin is more for gram positive. Most marine bacteria are gram negative, so generally, you try that first.

Jay

 

[citymouse]

Can you post new pictures?

Kanaplex treats gram negative, erythromycin is more for gram positive. Most marine bacteria are gram negative, so generally, you try that first.

Jay

I didn't see you're reply, I didn't get any notification. Anyway, the fish looks the same as he did in previous pictures. I've since treated with Erythromycin, 4 doses as instructed. No change, waited about a week or so and just again treated this weekend, on the last dose now. Fish still looks the same. His eye still has a huge bubble over it. Water quality is good, I've been doing water changes as instructed on the medication and during the time he wasn't being medicated, because there was tiny bit of ammonia. Doing another 25% water change tomorrow, again as instructed on the meds. This ends the treatments again. So he's had 3 treatments of antibiotics since i started this post. Everything I look up leads to popeye.
I zoomed in on his eyes, so you can see the bubble, it hasn't changed since the start.

He's eating mostly, not touching the seaweed, mostly just hides but I do see him roaming too.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I didn't see you're reply, I didn't get any notification. Anyway, the fish looks the same as he did in previous pictures. I've since treated with Erythromycin, 4 doses as instructed. No change, waited about a week or so and just again treated this weekend, on the last dose now. Fish still looks the same. His eye still has a huge bubble over it. Water quality is good, I've been doing water changes as instructed on the medication and during the time he wasn't being medicated, because there was tiny bit of ammonia. Doing another 25% water change tomorrow, again as instructed on the meds. This ends the treatments again. So he's had 3 treatments of antibiotics since i started this post. Everything I look up leads to popeye.
I zoomed in on his eyes, so you can see the bubble, it hasn't changed since the start.

He's eating mostly, not touching the seaweed, mostly just hides but I do see him roaming too.

It may well be that there is not an infection associated with this issue, mechanical damage is also a common cause for this. In those cases there is no treatment - sometimes they heal over time, and other times the eye remains damaged. Here is a link to an article I wrote on fish eye diseases:

Aquarium Fish: The ‘Eyes’ Have it: A Review of Eye Health in Aquarium Fishes

Aquarists need to inspect their fish closely every day, for signs of impending health problems. It is much easier to resolve a problem when it first starts, than to attempt a drastic emergency treatment when the fish is close to dying.

reefs.com

Jay

 

[citymouse]

It may well be that there is not an infection associated with this issue, mechanical damage is also a common cause for this. In those cases there is no treatment - sometimes they heal over time, and other times the eye remains damaged. Here is a link to an article I wrote on fish eye diseases:

Aquarium Fish: The ‘Eyes’ Have it: A Review of Eye Health in Aquarium Fishes

Aquarists need to inspect their fish closely every day, for signs of impending health problems. It is much easier to resolve a problem when it first starts, than to attempt a drastic emergency treatment when the fish is close to dying.

reefs.com

Jay

Thank you, that's a great article! So, do you think I should put him back in the main tank? Or just keep him in the QT tank for a while? He doesn't really swim around in here, mostly he's just sitting in a pot, he ventures out a little and i think he's eating because I'm not finding food sitting at the bottom during water changes...although I don't see him coming out to eat when I put the food in and I sit away from the tank and watch. I'm a little concerned that when he does return to the main tank, that the other fish will attack him . The QT is a 40g breeder, there's a terra cotta pot in there and couple of plants, to give a stressed fish a place to hide, but I can see him just fine. Currently as I type this, he's over there swimming around. lol

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you, that's a great article! So, do you think I should put him back in the main tank? Or just keep him in the QT tank for a while? He doesn't really swim around in here, mostly he's just sitting in a pot, he ventures out a little and i think he's eating because I'm not finding food sitting at the bottom during water changes...although I don't see him coming out to eat when I put the food in and I sit away from the tank and watch. I'm a little concerned that when he does return to the main tank, that the other fish will attack him . The QT is a 40g breeder, there's a terra cotta pot in there and couple of plants, to give a stressed fish a place to hide, but I can see him just fine. Currently as I type this, he's over there swimming around. lol

Sorry, I can't really hazard a guess as to if it can go back to the DT or not. If its sight is damaged, it may not find food or interact well with other fish. The HLLE is a chronic issue, it won't cause the fish to out right die, but it does leave it open to secondary infections. I don't think is has any issues that would transmit to your other fish though.

Jay

 

[citymouse]

Sorry, I can't really hazard a guess as to if it can go back to the DT or not. If its sight is damaged, it may not find food or interact well with other fish. The HLLE is a chronic issue, it won't cause the fish to out right die, but it does leave it open to secondary infections. I don't think is has any issues that would transmit to your other fish though.

Jay

Other than the recent eye issue, he's always looked like crap. He has always mostly hid, but he does hang out with the Kole tang, follows him back and forth and for some odd reason, they both want to be in the clown fish territory...and as mean as my clowns are to any passing snails, they seem to tolerate the tangs now. maybe because they're bigger.