Chocolate tang is scratching its eye with its fin

[big man]

I have a 3.5 ich chocolate tang and he is scratching himself with his fin around its eye. But his eye is clear and doesn't look cloudy at all. But I did see like one spot of ich on his face. So I'm pretty sure he has ich which I don't know how he got it because I've had copper in the tank for a month and a half. But I just want to know if the scratching is just because of ich or is in another disease. Also he is still eating very good
My parameters are good

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have a 3.5 ich chocolate tang and he is scratching himself with his fin around its eye. But his eye is clear and doesn't look cloudy at all. But I did see like one spot of ich on his face. So I'm pretty sure he has ich which I don't know how he got it because I've had copper in the tank for a month and a half. But I just want to know if the scratching is just because of ich or is in another disease. Also he is still eating very good
My parameters are good

Hi,

How long has the tang been scratching?
How long did it have the spot?

Scratching is more often a symptom of flukes than of ich. Flukes are not always visible, only one species, Neobenedenia, causes cloudy eyes. Scratching is the first symptom, and then, the fish may start breathing faster, and develop a sort of "tattered" look.

Depending on how long the fish has been scratching, you may want to wait to see what develops 9more ich spots or more signs of flukes) as they have two different treatments....copper for ich and prazipro for flukes.

Jay

 

[big man]

Hi,

How long has the tang been scratching?
How long did it have the spot?

Scratching is more often a symptom of flukes than of ich. Flukes are not always visible, only one species, Neobenedenia, causes cloudy eyes. Scratching is the first symptom, and then, the fish may start breathing faster, and develop a sort of "tattered" look.

Depending on how long the fish has been scratching, you may want to wait to see what develops 9more ich spots or more signs of flukes) as they have two different treatments....copper for ich and prazipro for flukes.

Jay

He just started scratching today and the spot also appeared today

 

[Jay Hemdal]

He just started scratching today and the spot also appeared today

I would definitely give it some more time then. Flukes take quite some time (weeks) to be fatal and ich, well, that will show new spots before it gets serious. I just don't want to suggest a treatment that isn't needed, or goes in the wrong direction. You will of course need to keep a close eye on the fish.

You can be proactive now and decide what you'll do if it is ich (treatment tank, hyposalinity, TTM, etc.) and you might consider getting some Prazipro, or at least figure out where you can buy some.

jay

 

[big man]

I would definitely give it some more time then. Flukes take quite some time (weeks) to be fatal and ich, well, that will show new spots before it gets serious. I just don't want to suggest a treatment that isn't needed, or goes in the wrong direction. You will of course need to keep a close eye on the fish.

You can be proactive now and decide what you'll do if it is ich (treatment tank, hyposalinity, TTM, etc.) and you might consider getting some Prazipro, or at least figure out where you can buy some.

jay

The thing is I'm not really sure if it is ich because I just treated my tank for a month and a week with coppersafe.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The thing is I'm not really sure if it is ich because I just treated my tank for a month and a week with coppersafe.

Unlikely to be ich, unless there was some break in your biosecurity - moving a new fish or invertebrate into the tank, something like that.

jay

 

[big man]

Unlikely to be ich, unless there was some break in your biosecurity - moving a new fish or invertebrate into the tank, something like that.

jay

Well I did get a new fish yesterday but it was acting normal and as soon as i put it in it started to eat and it did not show any signs of ich or other diseases

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Well I did get a new fish yesterday but it was acting normal and as soon as i put it in it started to eat and it did not show any signs of ich or other diseases

While adding a new fish without quarantine is risky, it won’t give your fish ich that quickly, there is more of a lag time for that.
Jay

 

[big man]

While adding a new fish without quarantine is risky, it won’t give your fish ich that quickly, there is more of a lag time for that.
Jay

I've been keeping a close eye on him and he is not scratching anymore but the spot is still on his face. And no more have popped up on him

 

[big man]

While adding a new fish without quarantine is risky, it won’t give your fish ich that quickly, there is more of a lag time for that.
Jay

I think he does have flukes or something because his upper lip is white

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I think he does have flukes or something because his upper lip is white

Do you mean the teeth? The "lips" are that dark gray area above and below the mouth. The white line just below the upper lip are its teeth. Those normally don't stand out like that, could it have scraped its teeth on a net or something?

Jay

 

[big man]

Do you mean the teeth? The "lips" are that dark gray area above and below the mouth. The white line just below the upper lip are its teeth. Those normally don't stand out like that, could it have scraped its teeth on a net or something?

Jay

I think he did but he never bumps into to anything. He doesn't graze on the rocks either but he does eat pellets nori and shrimp. The only other thing he does is if my other tang gets way to close he nips them once but not hard enough to cause damage and the other tang doesn't fight back

 

[big man]

Do you mean the teeth? The "lips" are that dark gray area above and below the mouth. The white line just below the upper lip are its teeth. Those normally don't stand out like that, could it have scraped its teeth on a net or something?

Jay

He was doing fine today but now he just died out of nowhere but before I throw the fish away I'm gonna put in if freshwater to see if his was flukes that killed him. There was nothing in the freshwater so I'm just gonna keep very close eye on my other fish and if I notice any twitching or anything out of the ordinary I'm gonna put medicine for them

 

[Jay Hemdal]

He was doing fine today but now he just died out of nowhere but before I throw the fish away I'm gonna put in if freshwater to see if his was flukes that killed him. There was nothing in the freshwater so I'm just gonna keep very close eye on my other fish and if I notice any twitching or anything out of the ordinary I'm gonna put medicine for them

Sorry to hear. Yes - we do that with our unknown losses also. However, not all flukes are visible to the naked eye. If you don't have a microscope, try a magnifying glass at least.

Jay

 

[big man]

Sorry to hear. Yes - we do that with our unknown losses also. However, not all flukes are visible to the naked eye. If you don't have a microscope, try a magnifying glass at least.

Jay

One more thing I want to ask is what type of bacteria for parasite is this on my lavender tang so I can start treating it with the right medicine this tang is my most active fish

 

[Jay Hemdal]

One more thing I want to ask is what type of bacteria for parasite is this on my lavender tang so I can start treating it with the right medicine this tang is my most active fish

Is the lesion just on the tang's right side, or is there a similar mark on its left side as well?

Jay

 

[big man]

Just on the right side

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Just on the right side

Ahh, then that rules out head and lateral line erosion.

A secondary bacterial infection from an injury would be the next diagnosis.
How long has this been there, and is it growing larger over time?
Do you have a treatment tank available?

Jay

 

[big man]

Is the lesion just on the tang's right side, or is there a similar mark on its left side as well?

It was smaller yesterday so it got bigger and it had been there for about 3 days I think. I do still have my old 10 gallon tank that is still running but I dont use it for anything

 

[big man]

Ahh, then that rules out head and lateral line erosion.

A secondary bacterial infection from an injury would be the next diagnosis.
How long has this been there, and is it growing larger over time?
Do you have a treatment tank available?

Jay

Is it a disease or infection