Parasites/disease ich? Or normal

[allof fish]

Hey all within last day or so I have noticed my bristle tooth tang kind of twitching a bit more and kind of twitching at the back glass. He’s a very shy fish and only in tank for about 3 weeks or so. So I will try to get pic/ video when I can. It also kind of looks like small white spots on the top of his body. I know they have spots and they are not super noticeable but I can’t tell if it’s just him or soemthing else like ich. Got him from lfs they fwd methenyle blue and pratzi pro all fish so I know he was healthy when I got him also qt with pratzi pro for about 2 weeks. He’s breathing normally acting normal and still eating good. Am I just paranoid about it or should look out in next couple days. Got a cleaner shrimp to help since I know they eat parasites. The dots are very small hard to see unless very close but he’s very shy. All other fish were qt too. Plz help im not sure what to think or do i hope its not ich and im just paranoid. Thank you!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey all within last day or so I have noticed my bristle tooth tang kind of twitching a bit more and kind of twitching at the back glass. He’s a very shy fish and only in tank for about 3 weeks or so. So I will try to get pic/ video when I can. It also kind of looks like small white spots on the top of his body. I know they have spots and they are not super noticeable but I can’t tell if it’s just him or soemthing else like ich. Got him from lfs they fwd methenyle blue and pratzi pro all fish so I know he was healthy when I got him also qt with pratzi pro for about 2 weeks. He’s breathing normally acting normal and still eating good. Am I just paranoid about it or should look out in next couple days. Got a cleaner shrimp to help since I know they eat parasites. The dots are very small hard to see unless very close but he’s very shy. All other fish were qt too. Plz help im not sure what to think or do i hope its not ich and im just paranoid. Thank you!!

Not sure why they use methelyne as its a no go for saltwater despite what some say and prazi - For how long??
How did you apply and treat with Prazi?
The behavior you mention is in alignment with flukes but can also be intimidation and stress. If youre seeing dots that are tiny, we may be talking velvet in which some behaviors are fish will scratch body against hard objects, lethargic behavior, Loss of appetite and weight loss, Rapid, labored breathing, Fins clamped against the body, and typically stay at the surface of the water, or remain in a position where a steady flow of water is present in the aquarium.
Ich always shows spots at first. They are less visible in some species, and long term, the spots coalesce into mucus, but it is never seen in just the gills.

 

[allof fish]

I used prazti for 2 weeks doing a water change about every 3-4 days then retreating as bottle says. It is still acting normally except the scratching part here and there. The dots are only in one part along back as the whole species has those speckles not everywhere like I’ve read with ich and velvet. There are not the tiniest spots but not large either. Still Sarin’s a lot until I get close to glass and eats normally. Doesn’t appear to be breathing out of ordinary at all

 

[Uncle99]

Can you show a pic under white?
Let us see what you see…

 

[allof fish]

I can try if he ever lets me get close enough. He always swims to his cave and is very shy at times. Might have to wait if he comes out and eats. This pic is the same species so the resemblance of the white spots can be seen . If I’m more than 5 ft away I can’t see any spots and it’s just his red/blue body but he rarely lets me get up close. He still eats normally and pecks at algae clip or rocks all day long.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I can try if he ever lets me get close enough. He always swims to his cave and is very shy at times. Might have to wait if he comes out and eats. This pic is the same species so the resemblance of the white spots can be seen . If I’m more than 5 ft away I can’t see any spots and it’s just his red/blue body but he rarely lets me get up close. He still eats normally and pecks at algae clip or rocks all day long.

That pic is from LiveAquaria, right? I think I recognize those rocks (grin).

A video of the fish with it scratching is really important for us to try and gauge the severity of the issue.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I used prazti for 2 weeks doing a water change about every 3-4 days then retreating as bottle says. It is still acting normally except the scratching part here and there. The dots are only in one part along back as the whole species has those speckles not everywhere like I’ve read with ich and velvet. There are not the tiniest spots but not large either. Still Sarin’s a lot until I get close to glass and eats normally. Doesn’t appear to be breathing out of ordinary at all

Really need pics or video, not file photo to help assess. For Prazi, bottle is confusing You want to apply initial sise at 85% of recommended and apply initial dosage known as an interval for 8 days, do a water change and do one more 8 day dose interval
Use airstone with prazi as it does reduce both oxygen and appetite. If running a skimmer, leave cup off first 24 hrs as skimmer will go nuts from the glycol solution in Prazi

 

[allof fish]

This is the best I could get. Sorry it’s blue light I tried going to white light and he wouldn’t come out of cave. I have to sit kinda far away since when I come up close he gets really shy. I haven’t seen him twitch or rocks or glass as much within last couple hours but you can see that he is flaring fins up and down and gills almost for a good bit there. Maybe flukes? Would freshwater dipping be best option? I can’t really see any spots at all now not sure if it was sand or if he got them off. I have 1 qt tank and it currently has fish in it as of 2 days ago. Should I try dipping first or what it best option?

 

[allof fish]

I just fresh water dipped him. I couldn’t see any apparent white spots on him and not much if anything came off of him. He had some darker spots but could’ve just been from stress as he was in his stress colors. I will monitor him next few days to see if anything changes. He’s really stressed out now but hopefully will calm down soon

 

[MnFish1]

I just fresh water dipped him. I couldn’t see any apparent white spots on him and not much if anything came off of him. He had some darker spots but could’ve just been from stress as he was in his stress colors. I will monitor him next few days to see if anything changes. He’s really stressed out now but hopefully will calm down soon

You often will not see flukes after a freshwater dip - without a microscope - so it's hard to say anything with that. Are your other fish sick at all? I agree with monitoring - was there a reason the fish was not treated with copper?

 

[allof fish]

No all other fish appear to be healthy and fine. This only started about a day or 2 ago. I’ve never treated anything with copper and I know it can be very hard on the fish. I’m also newer to reefing and don’t have a ton of experience with qting fish. I couldn’t see any white spots resembling ich or flukes on him during dip or qt. He is still healthy and eating and swimming around just the occasional itch which was a little concerning

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The video is too dark and too blue to see much, but the tang seems to be in distress; it’s breathing fast and shaking. That is usually a sign of flukes. Gill flukes are too small to see in dip water without a microscope, but if the fish improves after a couple of days, you can pretty much determine it is flukes (the fish may actually look worse the day after a dip).
Cleaner shrimp cannot handle gill flukes on a smaller fish like this. If it is flukes, you’ll either need to run hyposalinity (with no invertebrates in the tank) or try praziquantel again, dosing 3 to 4 times, 5 days apart.

This is the best I could get. Sorry it’s blue light I tried going to white light and he wouldn’t come out of cave. I have to sit kinda far away since when I come up close he gets really shy. I haven’t seen him twitch or rocks or glass as much within last couple hours but you can see that he is flaring fins up and down and gills almost for a good bit there. Maybe flukes? Would freshwater dipping be best option? I can’t really see any spots at all now not sure if it was sand or if he got them off. I have 1 qt tank and it currently has fish in it as of 2 days ago. Should I try dipping first or what it best option?

 

[W31Olds]

I have a Bristletooth and he doesn't act like that. He's got something. What is the other fish above him? He looks distressed also. Also, if the LFS treated him with prazi, why did you decide to treat him with prazi again? I would call the LFS and find out exactly what the "prazi dip" was and let the fish medics know. If he's been acting like video indicates for 2 weeks not likely velvet. Also, did you add any other fish since the BT or shortly before and how low have your other fish been in your tank?

 

[MnFish1]

No all other fish appear to be healthy and fine. This only started about a day or 2 ago. I’ve never treated anything with copper and I know it can be very hard on the fish. I’m also newer to reefing and don’t have a ton of experience with qting fish. I couldn’t see any white spots resembling ich or flukes on him during dip or qt. He is still healthy and eating and swimming around just the occasional itch which was a little concerning

copper is not that hard on fish - and I'm not recommending it now - however - the fluke issue does need to be treated with Praziquantel - I think everyone agrees on that?

 

[MnFish1]

I have a Bristletooth and he doesn't act like that. He's got something. What is the other fish above him? He looks distressed also. Also, if the LFS treated him with prazi, why did you decide to treat him with prazi again? I would call the LFS and find out exactly what the "prazi dip" was and let the fish medics know. If he's been acting like video indicates for 2 weeks not likely velvet. Also, did you add any other fish since the BT or shortly before and how low have your other fish been in your tank?

I do not think a 'praziquantel drip' is anything that would do anything

 

[allof fish]

I have a Bristletooth and he doesn't act like that. He's got something. What is the other fish above him? He looks distressed also. Also, if the LFS treated him with prazi, why did you decide to treat him with prazi again? I would call the LFS and find out exactly what the "prazi dip" was and let the fish medics know. If he's been acting like video indicates for 2 weeks not likely velvet. Also, did you add any other fish since the BT or shortly before and how low have your other fish been in your tank?

I decided to treat again as precautionary as I have with all my other fish. Those fish are wrasses and anthias only the wrasses were added after and were also all qt. I will see how he is the next couple days. I don’t have a qt tank open right now so if it persists should I dip him again or what is best option

 

[allof fish]

In the video even though it’s hard to see I haven’t never seen him do soemthing like that since he has been in there so that for sure told me soemthing was up. I can deal with flukes but want to hope it’s not ich or velvet

 

[W31Olds]

As Jay said, need a better video to help diagnose the problem.

 

[allof fish]

It’s hard for me to get a good video as he is very skittish and with white lights won’t leave his cave. As of today he is still eating and appears to be breathing properly haven’t seen those shakes like yesterday. He stills swims and peaks at rocks a lot and eats his nori but have still seen a few flashes on the rock or glass. My best would be if he’s got flukes which I suspect the dip helped him but hasn’t eradicated the problem completely which is why I see his still doing it here and there. I don’t have a qt tank open for him but I can’t visibly see any white spots on his body. Could I try another freshwater dip? I’ve read that you can repeat the process multiple times just allowing 24 hrs to relive stress. Would that be best option. I don’t want to add my new fish in until problem is solved. As I have a couple anthias and purple tang which is not cheap compared to the bristlooth tang.

 

[allof fish]

Can you dose prazi in a reef tank with coral? Wpuld best option be to remove all fish and get another qt tank and use prazi for the dosage period? I heard of one fish has flukes 99% of others do too