trigger with white blotches

[mikester311]

My trigger has been itching a lot and has these very pale white blotches on it's body. It almost looks like sun spots (fungus) on a person. You can really see them better when the fish hits a certain angle in the light. I think it may be a fungus of some kind, but I really don't know? What meds work the best for this? Will Hypo cure it? The fish is eating and acting fine other than it's itching.

 

[beth]

Are the spots a "fading" of the existing skin, or does it look like something growing on the surface of the skin?
Give some info on the history of trigger, as well as tank and tankmate info.

 

[mikester311]

Beth,
The spots are like a fading of the skin. It doesn't look like anything is growing on the surface. Just some relatively large pale whitish spots on it's body. Originally I posted some questions about this trigger and Terry B. Told me to use some meds (which I couldn't find at the lfs) for external parasites. I gave the fish a fresh water bath (advice of the lfs) and the parasites or whatever they were fell off and never came back. I don't believe the fish has parasites now, although I could be wrong? The whitish spots were there before and after the fresh water bath, but they didn't appear until about 2 months after I bought the fish. All the other tank mates seem to be healthy and doing good. I finally converted my 29gal into a saltwater tank and freed up my 10gal so I can use it as a hospital tank. Now all I need to find out is what meds I need for the hospital tank so I don't screw things up from the beginning.
72gal bowfront
wet/dry
protein skimmer
all levels at 0 except nitrates at 5
Niger trigger tank mates:
huma huma trigger
stripped puffer
dragon wrasse
banded moray
two damsels

 

[mikester311]

^bump^

 

[beth]

I think you posted a pic before. Can you post a current pic? Also, what is the diet of this fish? How is he eating and behavior otherwise??

 

[mikester311]

These are the best pics I could get. It's kind of hard to see, but there are white blotches all over it's body and stomach area. I have noticed that it's color isn't as vivid as before. Also in the last day or so it has developed the white film stuff over both of it's eyes again.
It's dies consists over mysis shrimp, trigger formula, krill, and silversides. It has a very healthy appetite and never seems to shy away from food. It's behavior is normal except for it's itching.
Thanks for the help,
Mike

 

[beth]

Can you move the fish to a hospital tank? At this point I would recommend a course of antibiotics. Maracyn2 for SW fish, double dose for 5 days.

 

[mikester311]

That's what I needed to hear. I'll give it a shot.
Thanks!!
Mike

 

[mikester311]

Beth,
I took your advise and bought some Maracyn2 to put with the niger in my hospital tank. You said use double dose for 5 days.. My hospital tank is only 10gal so I used two tablets the first day (last night) and the tank water has turned yellow and the fish seems to be breathing pretty heavy. It also doesn't seem to have much of an appetite. It has eaten a little, but not what it usually does. Is this a problem? Should I contine using double dose of Maracyn2 every day for 4 more days? How long should I keep the fish in the hospital tank after the 5 days? How do I get the Maracyn2 out of the water? I have a small valentini puffer that's in the hospital tank with the trigger right now because the other tank I have set up is not fully cycled. I didn't want to put it in my main tank because it just got over having ick and I didn't want to take the chance of spreading ick to my display tank. Would it hurt anything to keep the little puffer in the hospital tank while the trigger is in there?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[beth]

When using Maracyn a lot of water circulation is necessary to maintain good gas exchange. A 10 gal is a pretty small QT for a trigger and a puffer. After each dose, do a water change or, if you have carbon filtration use it for a couple of hrs before redosing.
I believe the dose for Maracyn is 1 tab per 20 gal? In that case, you will just be using 1 tab in your 10 gal.
What filters do you have on the QT??
The yellow is the vit B supplement in the medication.
Be sure to do the water change before each dose, and improve water circulation in tank if necessary.

 

[mikester311]

Beth,
I know a 10gal is small for a the fish, but it's all I had that was up and running. Plus the fish are both pretty small. The trigger is about 3 inches and the puffer is maybe 2 inches.
Right now I have a Aquaclear 150 running as a filter. I'm sure it's not providing too much cirsulation. I may have to stick a powerhead of some kind in there. I'll do a water change before my next doses. Thanks for the help!
Mike

 

[beth]

Yes, add as much circualtion that is comfortable for the fish. Do a water change AND some carbon filtration if you can before each redose.
Are these fish eating? If so, what are they eating??

 

[mikester311]

Beth,
The fish are eating a combination of krill, Mysid shrimp, Trigger formula, and silversides.
Terry,
So far the two fish have been doing pretty good with each other and I haven't seen them mess with each other at all. The puffer is a Blue Dot Toby.
I'm not sure that the trigger had a bacterial infection ether, I just wanted to get it out of my main tank and treat it with something before the matter got worse. The Maracyn seemed to be pretty well rounded medication and it was available at my lfs.
When you say do a large water change, what do you mean by large? I have a 72gal tank. I did a 16gal water change the other day. Is that enough you think?
I do soak the food in Kyolic garlic sometimes, but not in vitamins or selcon. Maybe I should start doing that. In my main tank I have a hum huma trigger and dragon wrasse taht I have seen do a few dive bombs on the sand like they were itching, but I don't see any signs of anything on them. I hope I got the Niger didn't spread anything..
thanks for the help!
Mike

 

[mikester311]

Ok, it's been a week so I took the trigger out of the hospital tank and put it back in the main tank. The next morning the trigger looked the same if not worse than it did before I treated him with the Maracyn-Two. It's starting to develop the stuff back on it's eyes and the white blotches on it's body seem to be spreading? What now? Since the other fish in the tank don't seem to be showing visible signs of infection except for a little scratching here or there I want to take the Niger back of the tank to prevent further spread of whatever it has. My question is what do I do with it now? What else can I try to treat it with and why does it always seem to get worst when I put it back in my main tank? All levels are good and I just did a 16gal water change. (72gal tank)

 

[beth]

Did the trigger improve in the hospital tank? Tell us what happened while the fish was under treatment.
Is your nitrates at 5 or .05??

 

[mikester311]

I don't think putting it in the hospital tank did anything for the fish except make it more skittish. Now everything I walk up to the tank the fish flies across the tank and hides under a rock. The fish still had the same whitish blotches on it after I took it out of the hospital tank and it developed those white things on it's eyes overnight when I put it back in the main tank.
My nitrates are somewhere between 3 and 5. It's hard to tell looking at the color chart.
Should I do another big water change. Does algae have anything to do with the nitrates? I've started feeding the tank less food hoping there would be less waste and slow the growth of the fish a little. I'm defiantly not starving them, just feeding them a little less.