Sailfin was fine yesterday…

[College_Reefer]

Hey everyone, I’m worried this may be the start of HLLE but I’m looking for advice. My Sailfin has been nothing short of fat and happy. I woke up this morning to him having dots around his eyes. He’s swimming great, not breathing heavily, flashing, scraping or anything. I feed mysis and pellets daily with seaweed every other day

Water parameters are:
Temp: 78.6
Salinity: 1.026
Nitrates: 10ppm
Alk: 8.5
Calcium: 460
Magnesium: 1350
Phos: 0.02

 

[threebuoys]

Please provide more background information.

How long have you had the sailfin?

Did you quarantine your fish before placing in your Display Tank?

Are you using activated charcoal in your filtration?

Have any of your fish ever had ich or other ailments?

Did the markings just appear today?

 

[College_Reefer]

Please provide more background information.

How long have you had the sailfin?

Did you quarantine your fish before placing in your Display Tank?

Are you using activated charcoal in your filtration?

Have any of your fish ever had ich or other ailments?

Did the markings just appear today?

Sorry for not providing more!

I’ve had him two months now, he was transferred from a very healthy tank that was disease free its entire duration. For that reason, as it was a tank transfer I didn’t quarantine as he was previously quarantined.

I run no charcoal in my tank.

All of my fish have been together and healthy their entire lives, absolutely 0 disease or issues ever (so far).

They appeared overnight. There was no lead up or any sort of sign even last night before lights went out

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey everyone, I’m worried this may be the start of HLLE but I’m looking for advice. My Sailfin has been nothing short of fat and happy. I woke up this morning to him having dots around his eyes. He’s swimming great, not breathing heavily, flashing, scraping or anything. I feed mysis and pellets daily with seaweed every other day

Water parameters are:
Temp: 78.6
Salinity: 1.026
Nitrates: 10ppm
Alk: 8.5
Calcium: 460
Magnesium: 1350
Phos: 0.02

Images are fuzzy and don’t see dots but are often associated with flukes or velvet
Is fish breathing normal or labored?
Any scratching or sudden darting across tank?

 

[College_Reefer]

Images are fuzzy and don’t see dots but are often associated with flukes or velvet
Is fish breathing normal or labored?
Any scratching or sudden darting across tank?

Managed to get a better pic. It looks like this on both sides. No darting or scratching that I’ve noticed. Breathing seems normal and he’s picking at the rocks and begging for food like normal.

 

[threebuoys]

Sorry for not providing more!

I’ve had him two months now, he was transferred from a very healthy tank that was disease free its entire duration. For that reason, as it was a tank transfer I didn’t quarantine as he was previously quarantined.

I run no charcoal in my tank.

All of my fish have been together and healthy their entire lives, absolutely 0 disease or issues ever (so far).

They appeared overnight. There was no lead up or any sort of sign even last night before lights went out

If I zoom in closely, I can see some spots around the left eye in the first photo.

As the name suggests, HLLE usually appears as tissue erosion rather than sores, mucus plugs or parasitic spots. I cannot determine from the photo. However, generally HLLE occurs very gradually at first rather than suddenly. Also, some analyses suggest that the use of lower grade activated charcoal may be a leading cause of HLLE.

For those reasons, I tend to believe this is not HLLE. Better close up photos may help. You may need to observe for a day or two to determine if the spots increase and appear on other fish. If so, ich may be indicated.

 

[College_Reefer]

If I zoom in closely, I can see some spots around the left eye in the first photo.

As the name suggests, HLLE usually appears as tissue erosion rather than sores, mucus plugs or parasitic spots. I cannot determine from the photo. However, generally HLLE occurs very gradually at first rather than suddenly. Also, some analyses suggest that the use of lower grade activated charcoal may be a leading cause of HLLE.

For those reasons, I tend to believe this is not HLLE. Better close up photos may help. You may need to observe for a day or two to determine if the spots increase and appear on other fish. If so, ich may be indicated.

I just replied above with a closer up photo. Glad to know you don’t think it’s HLLE though!

 

[threebuoys]

I just noticed the new pic, can you use white light for that. The blue is just too dark to discern. ON the blue picture, the marks around the eye do look more like erosion, but I would have expected them to have been there earlier than just this morning.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Managed to get a better pic. It looks like this on both sides. No darting or scratching that I’ve noticed. Breathing seems normal and he’s picking at the rocks and begging for food like normal.

Pic is quite dark- please repost under bright white light intensity

 

[College_Reefer]

Pic is quite dark- please repost under bright white light intensity

Im trying for ya fellas! How’re these? If I turn just the cool whites on it freaks them all out haha

 

[vetteguy53081]

Im trying for ya fellas! How’re these? If I turn just the cool whites on it freaks them all out haha

Because of how they’re congregated in one location, appears to be bacterial tufts or even skin irritation
This along with HLLE could have stemmed from poor water quality and not necessarily yours but that from where fish was acquired
Treatment suggestion for this stuff above eyes is broad spectrum treatment such as seachem kanaplex in a separate treatment tank focusing on water quality and added aeration with airstone
What foods are you feeding the tang?

 

[College_Reefer]

Because of how they’re congregated in one location, appears to be bacterial tufts or even skin irritation
This along with HLLE could have stemmed from poor water quality and not necessarily yours but that from where fish was acquired
Treatment suggestion for this stuff above eyes is broad spectrum treatment such as seachem kanaplex in a separate treatment tank focusing on water quality and added aeration with airstone
What foods are you feeding the tang?

It gets fed TDO pellets, Hikari Mysis, roe with the other fish and picks at algae all day. Plus I feed the tangs nori on algae clips every day / every other day

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Im trying for ya fellas! How’re these? If I turn just the cool whites on it freaks them all out haha

What I see is minor HLLE, but with longitudinal scrapes further back.

 

[MnFish1]

Would you do a favor - to @College_Reefer - please take one of the pictures that shows what you're concerned about - and place an arrow or circle around it - and repost?. MOST of the spots I see look like natural coloration - but there are some that IMHO look like early HLLE. But I'd like to make sure that what I'm concerned about is what you're concerned about. When I first looked at many of the pictures - I did not see anything concerning. Nice looking fish either way

 

[MnFish1]

Would you do a favor - to @College_Reefer - please take one of the pictures that shows what you're concerned about - and place an arrow or circle around it - and repost?. MOST of the spots I see look like natural coloration - but there are some that IMHO look like early HLLE. But I'd like to make sure that what I'm concerned about is what you're concerned about. When I first looked at many of the pictures - I did not see anything concerning. Nice looking fish either way

PS - do you think its possible that this has been slowly coming on - or is it definite that its 'overnight'

 

[College_Reefer]

PS - do you think its possible that this has been slowly coming on - or is it definite that its 'overnight'

Sure! I’ve included the spots that I think could be concerning. The area around the mouth certainly just looks like natural coloration to me too (provided that’s what you’re referring to). As for it being overnight, as I’m sure you and everyone else do, I stare at this tank a looot and I can with lots of certainty say that it wasn’t like this yesterday. Now granted I could’ve just missed it but I go over everything daily to make sure if anything is amiss I can nip it quick.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

are there other tangs in the tank? might be from them fighting, those barbs are pretty sharp when they do fight

 

[College_Reefer]

are there other tangs in the tank? might be from them fighting, those barbs are pretty sharp when they do fight

Only other tang is a super docile Tomini. He gets scared of his own shadow lol

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Only other tang is a super docile Tomini. He gets scared of his own shadow lol

hmmm sorry I'm no help lol I tried

 

[College_Reefer]

hmmm sorry I'm no help lol I tried

I appreciate it!! Any idea is helpful. Ya never know I could be the one that solves it