White fungus on anthias head

[DanTheShark]

So in the picture below, it seems one of my anthias in qt developed some kind of white tufts by his eye, seems harmless as of now, no flashing or anything, any idea on what it is? I do not think its lympho but it could be, does not have any on his fins

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So in the picture below, it seems one of my anthias in qt developed some kind of white tufts by his eye, seems harmless as of now, no flashing or anything, any idea on what it is? I do not think its lympho but it could be, does not have any on his fins

External fungal diseases of marine fish are very rare. It may have some systemic issue though. This link explains the additional background information we need in order to try and diagnose this fish:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...sease-treatment-and-diagnosis-section.775547/
Jay

 

[DanTheShark]

Quarantine tank
40 gallon tank part of a 450 gallon system with sump, established for 5 years
No losses, just that one anthias showing symptoms
0 ammonia and nitrites (ammonia may have slight reading from periodic copper dosing), nitrates are 40-80
copper is 2.5ppm using copper power, along with nitrofurazone and nightly doses of formalin (35ml per dose whole system)
Anthias had symptoms for a month now, however not showing any improvements but stable.
All the other fish are normal, no symptoms
No bullying seen, just housed with a yellow scopes hybrid and a coral beauty
Anthias has hearty appetite and very boisterous, not skittish at all

 

[vetteguy53081]

I would lower the copper to range 2.15 - 2.25. Ive seen skin reactions with these fish at higher level and also with high nitrate levels especially mixing with any medications especially nitrofurazone. Cease this and general cure ASAP.
Also consider a better test kit as I suspect you are using API tests and disregard nitrites which is Freshwater specific

 

[DanTheShark]

Sometimes I use hanna hr nitrates for testing but api is just less waiting time and doesnt shut off if i happen to walk away for a bit, but noted

I’ll move him to a tank with no copper/nitrofurazone and see if it improves, at this point I’m sure hes clean being in copper for over a month, if still persist, ill general cure

anyone know what exactly is this? i have hundreds of other fish in the system and bring fish in all the time but hes the only one who got it and its my first time seeing it

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Sometimes I use hanna hr nitrates for testing but api is just less waiting time and doesnt shut off if i happen to walk away for a bit, but noted

I’ll move him to a tank with no copper/nitrofurazone and see if it improves, at this point I’m sure hes clean being in copper for over a month, if still persist, ill general cure

anyone know what exactly is this? i have hundreds of other fish in the system and bring fish in all the time but hes the only one who got it and its my first time seeing it

The pic isn't super clear, but it could be "mucus plugs". You see these most often on tangs, but I've also seen them on anthias, clownfish and a few others. The cause of this excess mucus production isn't always known, but it usually circle back to some stressor. In this case, I'd be leery of the formalin and copper at the same time. The formalin dose is just below 25 ppm, which is the normal 24 hour dose (as it dissipates about that fast in a day) but that is not designed to be dosed long-term. I don't run that for more than five days.

The bigger issue is that formalin drops the dissolved oxygen level (another stressor).

Additionally, I have a concern that amine-chelated copper products should not be used with formalin. They have known issues with reacting with reducing agents (like an overdose of sodium thiosulfate) and formalin is a reducing agent. The problem is that if the amine-copper bond is broken, some of that copper will be released as a more toxic amount. Despite what you'll read, that does NOT equate to some rise in the copper level - the water will test the same, just that a portion of the copper will be in a more toxic form.

 

[DanTheShark]

Ok I’ll halt the formalin now, ill probably just do baths before they go in from now on, although i really wish there was a good treatment for uronema, metroplex and ruby reef rally pro doesnt seem to help despite peoples anecdotes, not even sure if formalin baths do anything, especially when i cant do formalin baths when they show severe symptoms

Anything that helps with the mucus plugs or what causes them?

 

[DanTheShark]

Also can you do metroplex, copper and nitrofurazone? or is that too much

 

[DanTheShark]

I also just read about melafix bath (20ppm) every 48 hours three times for uronema, any opinions on that?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I also just read about melafix bath (20ppm) every 48 hours three times for uronema, any opinions on that?

No - that won't work. I've never tried it, but I can tell you it won't work (grin). Melafix is a herbal tonic of limited use, and Uronema is an internal protozoan. Melafix in the water cannot reach them in the fish's muscles. The only hope in treating that is with a strong anti-protozoal drug, fed orally, before the fish shows symptoms....

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Also can you do metroplex, copper and nitrofurazone? or is that too much

I don't mix copper and metronidazole because their actions overlap, and coppersafe is a better, more effective medication. I know a lot of people use nitrofurazone during quarantine. I prefer not to use antibiotics unless I see signs of a specific bacterial infection. Virtually all of the bacteria that infect fish are naturally found in aquariums, it is only if the fish has suffered some major skin damage that you see infections from these.

 

[DanTheShark]

No - that won't work. I've never tried it, but I can tell you it won't work (grin). Melafix is a herbal tonic of limited use, and Uronema is an internal protozoan. Melafix in the water cannot reach them in the fish's muscles. The only hope in treating that is with a strong anti-protozoal drug, fed orally, before the fish shows symptoms....

What would be a strong anti protozoal drug? Im willing to try anything for uronema at this point

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

What would be a strong anti protozoal drug? Im willing to try anything for uronema at this point

Metronidazole orally doesn’t seem to be strong enough. Before I retired, I was working on chloroquine at around 15 mg/l. That works well on Uronema in the water, but not as well on the inter cellular form. I was going to experiment with an oral dose of 10 mg per kg of fish mass.

The trouble is - you need to treat internal Uronema before any symptoms show. Therefore, you can never tell - did a certain treatment work, or was that fish just not infected?

 

[DanTheShark]

Metronidazole orally doesn’t seem to be strong enough. Before I retired, I was working on chloroquine at around 15 mg/l. That works well on Uronema in the water, but not as well on the inter cellular form. I was going to experiment with an oral dose of 10 mg per kg of fish mass.

The trouble is - you need to treat internal Uronema before any symptoms show. Therefore, you can never tell - did a certain treatment work, or was that fish just not infected?

Chloroquine Phosphate orally? Maybe something I can try if that is what you mean. Although, I’m looking for treatment for when they do show symptoms, but I guess thats as null as a fish showing heavy symptoms of velvet.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Chloroquine Phosphate orally? Maybe something I can try if that is what you mean. Although, I’m looking for treatment for when they do show symptoms, but I guess thats as null as a fish showing heavy symptoms of velvet.

Yes - orally, but remember, I never started testing, that is just the lowest oral dose for humans, to use as a starting point.

 

[DanTheShark]

Well, at this point I got nothing to lose, gonna try this and report back, maybe on a new thread with pictures and show progress