Spot on gill cover of Starlicki Damsel

trmiv · Jul 6, 2017

I've had this fish in QT for a week now. He's eating well, but he's got this spot on his gill cover that has gotten a little bigger. Not sure what it is. He's in QT with a Tomini tang that doesn't have anything like this on him

Here is a link to some photos of it. Best I could manage
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwh81_NhNfN9aGlrM0RNbF9EWm8

aykwm · Jul 6, 2017

Do you notice any aggresion between them? It might be an injury or uronema. Also I noticed some white spots, Im assuming they are air bubbles if you can confirm that. I would do an acriflavine bath or dose metro, this might cure uronema if its indeed that, or will help prevent bacterial infection to the area.
I would wait for the experts to confirm uronema as I didn't deal with it before.

trmiv · Jul 6, 2017

Haven't really seen them fight but I'm not there all the time

Yea the spots are air bubbles, I've got a lot of air in the tank.

melypr1985 · Jul 6, 2017

Its possible that it's uronema (early stages), but it's just as likely a bacterial infection. Metroplex + kanaplex + furan2 would address both situations.

trmiv · Jul 6, 2017

Thanks for the reply. I would use all three of those at the same time? I don't have any kanaplex or furan 2 on hand but I do have metroplex. I can order the the other two

melypr1985 · Jul 6, 2017

trmiv said:
Thanks for the reply. I would use all three of those at the same time? I don't have any kanaplex or furan 2 on hand but I do have metroplex. I can order the the other two

Go ahead and start the metro now then. Yes, you would use all three at the same time. Dissolving them in some tank water first will help and be sure to add it in a high-flow area of the QT.

trmiv · Jul 6, 2017

Ok went ahead and started the metro. I'll have the other two tomorrow (thanks Amazon one day)

Btw here is a somewhat better pic I managed to snap with a better camera. Not sure if this helps

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwh81_NhNfN9VzR2Y0hHLTR2VjA

trmiv · Jul 7, 2017

I don't know if the metroplex is starting to work, or if he's just starting to fight it off but the spot looks significantly smaller to me today. This guy definitely still eats like a horse, and he takes down anything I throw in the tank so I've been making sure to keep him stuffed with a variety of foods to keep him healthy. Also picked up some Selcon today to soak it in. Him and his Tang roommate were already in nice shape when they arrived, but they are both pleasantly plump now. Hopefully this means he's starting to kick whatever this is!

trmiv · Jul 8, 2017

So the spot is almost completely gone now. 1/8 of the size it was. Supposed to give the second dose of metroplex tonight and second dose of kanaplex tomorrow (I held off on the furan 2 to see if this stuff would work first). After it's totally healed how long should I continue treatment?

Humblefish · Jul 8, 2017

I would continue with Metroplex + Kanaplex for a total of 10 days.

aykwm · Jul 9, 2017

^^ Agree, when dealing with antibiotics you always need to complete the full course (10 days), even humans prescribed antibiotics must complete their full course, this is to ensure the bacteria is completely eliminated. If you stopped short and some bacteria survived they might develop immunity and a second course might not cure work

ngoodermuth · Jul 9, 2017

Humblefish said:
I would continue with Metroplex + Kanaplex for a total of 10 days.

+2 I'm glad he's getting better.

trmiv · Jul 9, 2017

So the spot is now totally gone! I will continue with the course of antibiotics. Thanks everyone for the great advice!

trmiv · Jul 15, 2017

So this poor Starlicki has had a rough go. Yesterday He was totally fine so I was doing a water change and sucking detritus from the QT and he began darting about like crazy. I stopped and noticed one his eyes was bulged and filled with bubbles. I'm guessing in his panic about my cleaning he hit a piece of pvc or something and injured himself. It's just one eye, and the eye is still totally clear. today he's just hiding in a piece of pvc obviously stressed from the cleaning and the injury. I went and got some epsom salt and dosed 1 tbl spoon per 5 gallons. Is there anything else I should do? The antibiotics last day was yesterday. Should I just continue treating with them?

aykwm · Jul 15, 2017

Epsom salt would be enough for now, wait and observe. Since there is no bacterial infection no need for antibiotics. If you start noticing that its getting infected then run the course again, but most likely it will heal on its on. Keep it in the same tank that was already treated since most harmful bacteria got killed with antibiotics, this will reduce the chance of infection.
Best of luck.

ngoodermuth · Jul 15, 2017

aykwm said:
Epsom salt would be enough for now, wait and observe. Since there is no bacterial infection no need for antibiotics. If you start noticing that its getting infected then run the course again, but most likely it will heal on its on. Keep it in the same tank that was already treated since most harmful bacteria got killed with antibiotics, this will reduce the chance of infection.
Best of luck.

+1, keep his water clean and keep him well fed. Adding vitamins or selcon never hurts.

trmiv · Jul 16, 2017

Unfortunately I can't get this little guy to even eat. He just stays hidden in the same piece of small pvc he's been in since the incident. He went from an aggressive feeder constantly patrolling the QT tank to refusing to eat or leave his tube instantly after this happened.

trmiv · Jul 16, 2017

So this guy IS actually eating. I finally got him to munch on some spirulina brine. Not as aggressively as he was feeding before but he is still munching. He refuses to come out of hiding though.

Humblefish · Jul 17, 2017

trmiv said:
So this guy IS actually eating. I finally got him to munch on some spirulina brine. Not as aggressively as he was feeding before but he is still munching. He refuses to come out of hiding though.

That's good news!