Blenny parasite id?

[20gallonreefer000]

I've had my "floral blenny" for around 8 months and he's always been active. In the past few months he's been twitching and spinning himself, my assumption was that he had something I couldn't see. He still eats and his behavior hasn't changed much. Today I noticed he had what looked to me like a parasite behind his front fin. I know the store I got him from treats fish with formaldehyde and copper but I don't know if that would kill this or if it would last 8 months unnoticed. I haven't added any new fish and all corals I've got were dipped. I'd like to keep him in tank if possible as my tank is pretty grown in which would make him difficult to catch. Would a cleaner shrimp be able to help? Any thoughts are appreciated :)

 

[resortez]

8 months with the blenny should clear it from any infections, but in this hobby we are constantly being tested & proven wrong. It would help if you can circle the thing you are speaking about. The blennies colors make it difficult to spot what you are seeing because everything blends in with its colors. But the blenny looks great from what I can see & very well fed, has a nice tummy.

 

[20gallonreefer000]

8 months with the blenny should clear it from any infections, but in this hobby we are constantly being tested & proven wrong. It would help if you can circle the thing you are speaking about. The blennies colors make it difficult to spot what you are seeing because everything blends in with its colors. But the blenny looks great from what I can see & very well fed, has a nice tummy.

that entire "disk"

 

[resortez]

I see what you are referring to. Theres many possibilities, could also be an injury from scratching or bumping against rock while spinning. I personally would keep it in observation & see if you can catch the blenny purposely scratching itself against rock or sand & if it’s constant. That will help in getting closer to the cause of the lesion & strange behavior, deducing it to a parasitic infection or a simple injury. My other thoughts are if by chance it could have bumped against a coral that could have stung the blenny & caused the lesion, the reason why I say there could be many possibilities. On the bright side, it’s still feeding. Be very concerned if its appetite goes away.

 

[resortez]

Hopefully someone on the forum has had the exact same experience, could tell you exactly what is the problem & give you the exact solution.

 

[Fish Fan]

Let's see if any of the R2R #fishmedic team can take a look for you.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I've had my "floral blenny" for around 8 months and he's always been active. In the past few months he's been twitching and spinning himself, my assumption was that he had something I couldn't see. He still eats and his behavior hasn't changed much. Today I noticed he had what looked to me like a parasite behind his front fin. I know the store I got him from treats fish with formaldehyde and copper but I don't know if that would kill this or if it would last 8 months unnoticed. I haven't added any new fish and all corals I've got were dipped. I'd like to keep him in tank if possible as my tank is pretty grown in which would make him difficult to catch. Would a cleaner shrimp be able to help? Any thoughts are appreciated :)

The twitching and "spinning" could be symptoms of flukes. The lesion itself isn't directly from flukes, but it could be a secondary bacterial infection from the flukes.

As mentioned, the fish is well fed and otherwise looks pretty good.

You might consider trying a fluke treatment to see if that helps. Praziquantel is reef safe:

Dosing Praziquantel (PZQ)

Using Praziquantel (PZQ) to treat flukes Overview In the early 1990’s, a researcher at the New York Aquarium published a paper on using Praziquantel (PZQ) to help control flukes, a parasitic flatworm. Also known as monogenean trematodes, these fish parasites can cause significant mortality in...

www.reef2reef.com

The only downside to that treatment is the cost, and then, if the bacterial infection keeps spreading, that would require antibiotics (gram negative, broad spectrum, like Kanamycin) in a treatment tank.

 

[20gallonreefer000]

The twitching and "spinning" could be symptoms of flukes. The lesion itself isn't directly from flukes, but it could be a secondary bacterial infection from the flukes.

As mentioned, the fish is well fed and otherwise looks pretty good.

You might consider trying a fluke treatment to see if that helps. Praziquantel is reef safe:

Dosing Praziquantel (PZQ)

Using Praziquantel (PZQ) to treat flukes Overview In the early 1990’s, a researcher at the New York Aquarium published a paper on using Praziquantel (PZQ) to help control flukes, a parasitic flatworm. Also known as monogenean trematodes, these fish parasites can cause significant mortality in...

www.reef2reef.com

The only downside to that treatment is the cost, and then, if the bacterial infection keeps spreading, that would require antibiotics (gram negative, broad spectrum, like Kanamycin) in a treatment tank.

Thank you, I'll look into this :)

 

[20gallonreefer000]

The twitching and "spinning" could be symptoms of flukes. The lesion itself isn't directly from flukes, but it could be a secondary bacterial infection from the flukes.

As mentioned, the fish is well fed and otherwise looks pretty good.

You might consider trying a fluke treatment to see if that helps. Praziquantel is reef safe:

Dosing Praziquantel (PZQ)

Using Praziquantel (PZQ) to treat flukes Overview In the early 1990’s, a researcher at the New York Aquarium published a paper on using Praziquantel (PZQ) to help control flukes, a parasitic flatworm. Also known as monogenean trematodes, these fish parasites can cause significant mortality in...

www.reef2reef.com

The only downside to that treatment is the cost, and then, if the bacterial infection keeps spreading, that would require antibiotics (gram negative, broad spectrum, like Kanamycin) in a treatment tank.

I spent more time observing my fish and found flukes on my clown as well as a slight change in behavior (yawning and scratching on coral). I read through your article(very useful), found a 98.5% purity PZQ powder and plan on doing the mesh method. Should I be doing water changes or adding carbon in between doses to stop it from accumulating? Anything else I should know? Thanks in advance :)

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I spent more time observing my fish and found flukes on my clown as well as a slight change in behavior (yawning and scratching on coral). I read through your article(very useful), found a 98.5% purity PZQ powder and plan on doing the mesh method. Should I be doing water changes or adding carbon in between doses to stop it from accumulating? Anything else I should know? Thanks in advance :)

I like to do a 25% water change between doses, especially for those using Prazipro. The water change is less important with the powdered form (assuming there are no other water quality issues like high ammonia).

 

[20gallonreefer000]

I like to do a 25% water change between doses, especially for those using Prazipro. The water change is less important with the powdered form (assuming there are no other water quality issues like high ammonia).

Thanks for all the help, you are very insightful