Blue hippo tang with white on fins

JDapper

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Just purchased this blue hippo and did not notice this on his dorsal fins! It looks like scaring to me and is only on one side of the fin. It’s not ich or velvet and was wondering if anyone knew exactly what it is! Not sure how I did not see it til I looked at him in the bag with the flashlight on my phone but
He was eating when the guy put food in there also!
ACC8FC1B-22CB-4754-ABA2-9A0246CC7FF2.jpeg 8F80189C-A9B5-440D-ACA9-6BFDB9F77945.jpeg
 
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vetteguy53081

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Just purchased this blue hippo and did not notice this on his dorsal fins! It looks like scaring to me and is only on one side of the fin. It’s not ich or velvet and was wondering if anyone knew exactly what it is! Not sure how I did not see it til I looked at him in the bag with the flashlight on my phone but
He was eating when the guy put food in there also!
ACC8FC1B-22CB-4754-ABA2-9A0246CC7FF2.jpeg 8F80189C-A9B5-440D-ACA9-6BFDB9F77945.jpeg
Would love to offer help but as you can imagine, it is hard to see any fish in a bad especially with light reflection from room.
Not sure on your time zone but excahnge it since you did not yet release it or if too late, ACCLIMATE well and then ipon release take pics.
Do you quarantine ?
Because its on fins, can be damage from net or viral which would not be an issue. Make your decision and then post pics and we can take it from there. I am plumbing a tank but am checking site regularly
 
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JDapper

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Would love to offer help but as you can imagine, it is hard to see any fish in a bad especially with light reflection from room.
Not sure on your time zone but excahnge it since you did not yet release it or if too late, ACCLIMATE well and then ipon release take pics.
Do you quarantine ?
Because its on fins, can be damage from net or viral which would not be an issue. Make your decision and then post pics and we can take it from there. I am plumbing a tank but am checking site regularly
Would love to offer help but as you can imagine, it is hard to see any fish in a bad especially with light reflection from room.
Not sure on your time zone but excahnge it since you did not yet release it or if too late, ACCLIMATE well and then ipon release take pics.
Do you quarantine ?
Because its on fins, can be damage from net or viral which would not be an issue. Make your decision and then post pics and we can take it from there. I am plumbing a tank but am checking site regularly
Yeah it’s too late to return cause they closed 20 min after I purchased the fish and I live 30 min from the store! I’m about to start acclimating him now and can get a better picture for you! It does look like it’s kinda on his head but so close to the fin I’m not sure if it’s actually on his head or right on the ending of the fin towards the head if that makes sense.
I do not have a tank setup for quarantine due to little space!
Do you think I should treat my tank with marine melafix after putting him in just to be sure?
 

Jay Hemdal

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Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Can you get pics of the fish in the tank?
My guess is that anything that shows up in a new fish like this would be related to capture damage when they caught it up for you.
Jay
 
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Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Can you get pics of the fish in the tank?
My guess is that anything that shows up in a new fish like this would be related to capture damage when they caught it up for you.
Jay
The lights are off in my tank now but I’m going to try and get a better picture here in a second! I think it was there before he netted it for me but he did say they just got him in like 2 days ago.
 

Jay Hemdal

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The lights are off in my tank now but I’m going to try and get a better picture here in a second! I think it was there before he netted it for me but he did say they just got him in like 2 days ago.
Ok, I’m going offline for the night, but one of the other fish medics can weigh in until I get back on in the morning.
Jay
 

vetteguy53081

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Ok, I’m going offline for the night, but one of the other fish medics can weigh in until I get back on in the morning.
Jay
Oh no - Its Friday= you get to stay up with the Big Boys !!!
Im plumbing a tank but on for a few hours- Maybe
 

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Does the damage appear on both sides of his dorsal fin? Difficult to tell much from the photos. Could be damage from netting as suggested, or something else. Perhaps will be easier to see after the fish relaxes and gets more comfortable with his new home.

Melafix is an herbal remedy that has very limited beneficial value, so I would not add it or any other med until a diagnosis can be determined.

I highly recommend a QT tank be used to isolate the fish for observation as well as treatment if a diagnosis is forthcoming, or for our standard QT protocol in case the tang has been exposed to ich or velvet. The link below discusses our standard protocol.
 
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Does the damage appear on both sides of his dorsal fin? Difficult to tell much from the photos. Could be damage from netting as suggested, or something else. Perhaps will be easier to see after the fish relaxes and gets more comfortable with his new home.

Melafix is an herbal remedy that has very limited beneficial value, so I would not add it or any other med until a diagnosis can be determined.

I highly recommend a QT tank be used to isolate the fish for observation as well as treatment if a diagnosis is forthcoming, or for our standard QT protocol in case the tang has been exposed to ich or velvet. The link below discusses our standard protocol.
I do not have the ability to have a quarantine tank due to space being a problem but no it’s only on that one side and his body looks perfect other than that!
 

threebuoys

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I understand the space issue and I hope you won't need it. What other fish do you have in the tank and have any needed previous treatments? Unfortunately, tangs seem at times to be ich magnets.
 
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I understand the space issue and I hope you won't need it. What other fish do you have in the tank and have any needed previous treatments? Unfortunately, tangs seem at times to be ich magnets.
I have 2 clowns, lawnmower blenny, and arc eye hawk fish. I have not had to treat any of my fish at all and they have all been thriving since purchasing them. I’m familiar with ich and this doesn’t look like ich at all so that’s why I posted to make sure it wasn’t something else I’m not aware of but it does look like net damage or scaring!
He has been acclimating for about 45 min now and worried to add him to the tank if it’s contagious
 

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I have 2 clowns, lawnmower blenny, and arc eye hawk fish. I have not had to treat any of my fish at all and they have all been thriving since purchasing them. I’m familiar with ich and this doesn’t look like ich at all so that’s why I posted to make sure it wasn’t something else I’m not aware of but it does look like net damage or scaring!
I agree it's not ich and is most likely netting damage and hopefully not permanent scaring. But do keep a look out for ich since the tang is new and has experienced normal stress due to netting, etc which could make the fish more vulnerable.
 
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I agree it's not ich and is most likely netting damage and hopefully not permanent scaring. But do keep a look out for ich since the tang is new and has experienced normal stress due to netting, etc which could make the fish more vulnerable.
Ok so you think I’m good to go ahead and put him in the tank then observe him and check tomorrow to see what it looks like and maybe get a better picture? If ich does pop up what is a good medication to use since I have corals also?
 

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Just purchased this blue hippo and did not notice this on his dorsal fins! It looks like scaring to me and is only on one side of the fin. It’s not ich or velvet and was wondering if anyone knew exactly what it is! Not sure how I did not see it til I looked at him in the bag with the flashlight on my phone but
He was eating when the guy put food in there also!
ACC8FC1B-22CB-4754-ABA2-9A0246CC7FF2.jpeg 8F80189C-A9B5-440D-ACA9-6BFDB9F77945.jpeg
I had a yellow bellied hippo tang what had some scars towards its nose. I had QT him and treated for ICH and he was healthy so I know it wasn’t that but the scars never seemed to fade they were always there. I’m not a pro but it might just be scars from when he was netted or some injury before you got him. I’ve heard about some bucket transfer method that might be useful if you don’t have space for QT. It’s not like QT but better than nothing.
 

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Ok so you think I’m good to go ahead and put him in the tank then observe him and check tomorrow to see what it looks like and maybe get a better picture? If ich does pop up what is a good medication to use since I have corals also?
That's the reason I suggested QT. If ich should appear in the future, there is no practical method to treat it in a tank with either corals or invertebrates.
 

vetteguy53081

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Here are a couple more pics! Let me know if you need better ones

A844F3D6-B5EB-42F0-B8AE-F637F93C8026.jpeg E8BD2C18-9B68-4CAB-93B0-B318EE517CD6.jpeg FA5F0C81-217A-405D-8449-71EE5552E10A.jpeg 8FD2164F-13AD-41E7-A83D-909B433A9F11.jpeg 5099406F-9338-4A41-B57E-38A53DC0F92C.jpeg
In honesty- I cant work with these pics. When in the tank whether display or quarantine- Please take pics under white lighting. Yu said you saw it eat which is a good sign. Jay will likely beat me to it if its in the early morning but you will get an assessment. This fish shows nothing to lose sleep over.
I personally Do Not recommend treatment until a Proper assessment has been Made
 

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Agree, don't rush into things without a firmer diagnosis - and that will require better photos. They are tough to get, I know, but without them, we are flying blind. Sometimes a short video helps.

Jay
 
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Update: he doesn’t seem stressed at all and came right out from under a rock this morning as soon as the lights turned on and is already swimming around with the clowns and eating!
 

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Update: he doesn’t seem stressed at all and came right out from under a rock this morning as soon as the lights turned on and is already swimming around with the clowns and eating!
Yea it might just be some scars, I’m happy he’s doing well.
 
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