Interresting symptons on my purple tang.

[king_neptune]

Not sure what disease it is...if any.
Hes the king of the tank so no reason to suspect hes picked on.
Had him 2 years no worries. Eats like a champ, healthy and happy.
Loves to come out and show off for anyone who comes into the room.
But I noticed him missing the other day and after about 45 min of snooping found him cowering behind some rocks. I coaxed him out and he had one of his fins a little torn up. Also the flesh right where it attaches to the body is pale. One eye is healthy but on the opposite side(of his fin that was injured) the eye is beginning to slightly fog up. Its been a few days since I noticed and he's been out and about as usual now. But I am concerned about the sudden appearance of an injury and slight disscoloration of the eye and fin.
I know a picture is the best chance at an ID, but I cant take one. And I havent seen any online that really match what I am seeing.
I am wondering if maybe he fell victom to a powerhead. This has never been an issue before, but it really is one of the first things I thought of since this problem happened so suddenly. Litterally went to bed he was fine, woke up and he was hiding.
As a precaution I ordered some vitamins and amino acids as well as cyclopeeze. It should arrive next week and I will begin giving him a delux nutrient/vitamin/mineral rich diet till he is all better. I also tossed out all the homemade food I had in the freezer. It was about 6 months old anyways so it was time to make a new batch.
Thoughts? Ideas?

 

[beth]

How are your water readings? See if you notice any other discoloration or problem by looking at him regularly with a magnifying glass. There may be some aggression going on even if he is the king of the tank. If he is exerting his territorial rights, then someone in the tank may not be so submissive. Fish behavior is not so cut and dry as many thing.

 

[king_neptune]

Water checks out. I keep my nitrates a little higher than is commonly accepted. I have better success with coals at around 15, it may drop to 10 on a WC and creep to 20 if I let the WC go an extra week or 2, but it really does hover around the 15 mark for the majority of the time. But that should be plenty ok for the tang. He has been in it 2 years no problems.
The discoloration seems like it may be receeding, but its hard to tell with him moving around so much. He gets super excited when I come into the room and often races around like an excited puppy. He knows when hes about to get fed ^_^ Of course this could just be wishful thinking, but at the very least its deffinetly not grown since I first noticed this a few days ago. He does seem to be back to normal as far as activity is concerned.
Your probably right about a territorial spat. There is a Flame-hawkfish and a Strawberry-pseudo that come to mind. Ive personally never seen a spat amogst the three...but who knows what goes on at night. If I were to guess: the Hawkfish would be the more likely of the two since he is pretty bold, albeit one who sticks to rocks near the bottom. You would think with 235 gallons I could have kids who dont get territorial. Not like my tank is over crowded...not by a long shot.

 

[beth]

Just keep an eye out, especially for an eye infection since you mentioned cloudy eye. Do a few water changes every other day 2-3 times.

 

[king_neptune]

Just checked on him right before lights out. Eye gloss is gone(was it stress possibly?). Fin already noticably healed...its amazing how fast they grow back! And the discoloration of the "Armpit" or whatever you would call it is also receding significantly. He was out and about like nothing was wrong. Im begining to really cling to the territorial spat theory more and more. Whatever it is, it seems to have corrected itself and is on the road to recovery.
Just the same, all my homemade fish food was tossed and I will be making a fresh batch next week when the cyclopeeze arrives. TIll then pellets. I hate using dry foods. But it will do for the next few days.

 

[beth]

I agree, it seemed like an aggression event to me.