White patches on Sailfin. QT time?

[mike22cha]

Ok well my sailfin has always had a little white patch around it's eyes and now it's getting bigger. And there is a little by the tail. It's not the white dots of ick, but still probably not good. So I'm thinking of moving it to my 20g for a month to QT it. I'll wipe the tank off good, because I'm battling algae, and add some snails with the tang. Should I QT?

 

[beth]

Don't do that yet. It may be head and lateral line erosion. Can you provide more details, or a picture?

 

[mike22cha]

Oh hold on a sec. I'll try to get a pic. Umm I bought a cleaner shrimp, that once is used to the tank may do a little cleaning for me. I hope.

 

[lil' tanker]

poor fishy!

JK I hope it's ok but I don't know good luck!

 

[mike22cha]

Thanks I guess, Lil Tanker LOL.
Here are some pics. I circled concerend areas. It's not a spike that they fight with, that I know. And it's not ick, I know that too.

 

[beth]

Any way to get a real close up shot of that?

 

[mike22cha]

ummm I guess I'll try LOL.

 

[beth]

Can you get a macro shot? That should help a lot.

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by MIKE22cha
ummm I guess I'll try LOL.

Right!

 

[mike22cha]

What's a macro shot? I got some good close ups. I made the shot darker through the camera by making the shudder speed faster which brings out the white patches a little better. My tank is not that dark and the sailfin doesn't look as bad in person. Here ya go!

 

[beth]

The eye area a definite head and lateral line erosion problem. The back area, still hard to see that, so keep trying the pictures. Is that back area protruding or pumpy?
There is info on head and lateral line erosion in the FAQ.

 

[mike22cha]

Ok thanks. I'm not sure on what you mean by protruding or pumpy. I'll take a look in the FAQ section!

Thanks again.

 

[mike22cha]

Ok so it is from not enough nutrition. I'm not sure on what I should do. Also on one side of my purple tang, there is a scar running along his side. It has the same thing but it is no where else on him. Is it just a scar? Another HLLE example? Am I that bad of an aquarist?!

I thought I was doing good.
ok I feed them TetraMarine Pellet and Flakes as well as Nori strips and live algae. What else should I feed them?

 

[mike22cha]

Just read that purple tang story in the FAQ and my purple has HLLE too.
Got lots of q's so Beth, if you would be so kind, can you please quide me through this?
1.I don't got a ground probe, but why would that cause HLLE?
2.I haven't been feeding any meaty foods becuase I thought the tangs were herbivores, not omnivores. What kind of food should I feed them?
3.Do I need to QT then?
What should I do?! I feel like a faliure.

 

[beth]

The line across the body is also HLLE. The disease can spread to any part of the body, but it usually starts around the head, and the lateral line of the fish.
Most tangs are omnivores, with a 40% need for meaty nutrition and a 60% need for quality vegetable matter. What are your water readings? How often are you feeding?
As for the area in the back, is it like the HLLE, or is it protruding from the body, like a bump?

 

[mike22cha]

Nope it's HLLE. Both sides are different sizes and they are not sticking out like Tang's knife thingys.
What kind of meaty food should I add?
How does stray elecricity cause it?
Oh and my purple tang hasn't been eating that often lately.
The purple has always had it on his lateral line, I thought it was a scratch, and the sailfin has always had it around his face.

 

[beth]

What are your water readings in the tank, and size of tank? You can go for quality frozen foods (not brine) or try making your own food. Start using zoecon on your meaty foods.

 

[mike22cha]

Ok so I'm going to buy some frozen foods and order some of that stuff. My tank is 125g and I haven't checked my parameters for a while becuase I didn't know enough to realize my tangs had a diese so I went by the rule: if nothing is dying, nothing is wrong. I'll check it tomorrow or soon and buy some frozen food and look out for that gel you mentioned.

 

[beth]

That's a lossy rule, Mike, and you should toss it out the window ASAP. Water readings should be checked frequently, including salinity as well as all the others. What are you using to measure salinity?
Do you even have test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate? What is your source water?

 

[mike22cha]

Yes I do got test kits. I'll test right away, but my salinity test kit (i think it's called a hydormeter or something) doesn't seem to be that good, I don't know. My water comes from a lfs.
And I know it's a lousy rule. I will definetly be more aware of my parameters from now on.