White Spot Protruding (Not Ich)

[argcargv]

I have a Purple Tang which I've previously diagnosed to have flukes (via a 5 minute freshwater dip/bath). Post treatment with Praziquantel and Hyposalinity (14 days at 1.009 at this stage), I noticed a new single white bump forming on the side of the Purple Tangs body.

Initially, I thought that I'm possibly also dealing with a case Ich, although things didn't quite stack up the way I thought they would if that were to be true. As in, it's been 14 consecutive days at 1.009 and the Purple Tang still has the single white spot protruding on its body. If it was Ich, I'd expect any Trophonts to have already dropped off the fish, or at least either have more white spots to appear, or exhibit other known Ich symptoms.

Additionally, no other fish within the same tank is exhibiting any Ich like symptoms. I'm thinking that I'm possibly dealing with something bacterial or fungal, but I honestly don't know. I have Metroplex and Kanaplex on hand (no Focus), but I'm not sure how to best proceed.

I was thinking that it's possibly Lymphocystis, but again, I'm purely speculating here. It does appear to be like a pimple and you could say it's like a single cauliflower, but perhaps it could be also something else.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

It could be Lymphocystis, but it isn't in a typical location and looks a bit off. Tangs develop these things I call "mucus plugs" when under some stress. Usually you see a few to many of them, but just one is possible. Here is a link to an article that discusses fish mucus (click on the PDF link along the right side):

Mucus - The Slime That Binds

Mucus: The Slime that Binds Jay Hemdal C. 2020 This article examines the various causes of excess mucus coatings on fish, as well as fecal mucus issues. ------------------- The mucus produced by the fish’s epidermal cells gives them their...

www.reef2reef.com

Since you diagnosed flukes, you'll want to run hypo for at least 30 days. I go 35. Then, you'll want to take five days to slowly bring them back to full salinity.

Jay

 

[argcargv]

Right, my wife did mention that it looks like mucus and our running idea was that it could've been a direct result of where the fluke may have dislodged from, but we were't sure whether this could've been one of the possible side effects. The other running theory was that the change in environmental conditions i.e. salinity level changing could've put the fish under extra stress and something like could've formed. Based on the PDF document, it doesn't appear that there's any known cure? Perhaps once I raise the salinity over the course of several days it will disappear.

Regarding the hyposalinity approach, the 30 day timeline is the idea. Given the tank is still in its infancy (6 months) I'm taking the precaution to cover the grounds of Praziquantel resistant strains of flukes.

 

[threebuoys]

I have a convict tang with a similar pimple on it's side. It's been there for 4 months. Gotten a little bigger in that time. But no adverse symptoms. Eats well, very active, so I've just chalked it us as, well, a white head. I've never been able to get a good picture, the fish is white of course, and it won't stop swimming long enough to pose for me.

So, I'll keep monitoring, but I don't foresee any treatment.

 

[KeepSwimming12]

I have a Purple Tang which I've previously diagnosed to have flukes (via a 5 minute freshwater dip/bath). Post treatment with Praziquantel and Hyposalinity (14 days at 1.009 at this stage), I noticed a new single white bump forming on the side of the Purple Tangs body.

Initially, I thought that I'm possibly also dealing with a case Ich, although things didn't quite stack up the way I thought they would if that were to be true. As in, it's been 14 consecutive days at 1.009 and the Purple Tang still has the single white spot protruding on its body. If it was Ich, I'd expect any Trophonts to have already dropped off the fish, or at least either have more white spots to appear, or exhibit other known Ich symptoms.

Additionally, no other fish within the same tank is exhibiting any Ich like symptoms. I'm thinking that I'm possibly dealing with something bacterial or fungal, but I honestly don't know. I have Metroplex and Kanaplex on hand (no Focus), but I'm not sure how to best proceed.

I was thinking that it's possibly Lymphocystis, but again, I'm purely speculating here. It does appear to be like a pimple and you could say it's like a single cauliflower, but perhaps it could be also something else.

Thanks in advance for any input.

I’m definitely leaning toward Lymphocystis myself as Jay said. I also agree with his assertion that it isn’t in a location that is typical. I’ve seen a Moorish Idol with Lymphocystis and it’s rather localised on the fins but the bump you see looks very similar. If it is indeed Lymphocystis, you don’t have anything to worry about provided your fish is healthy. Most aquarists compare it to the common cold so not too bad. Good luck with it!

 

[argcargv]

I’m definitely leaning toward Lymphocystis myself as Jay said. I also agree with his assertion that it isn’t in a location that is typical. I’ve seen a Moorish Idol with Lymphocystis and it’s rather localised on the fins but the bump you see looks very similar. If it is indeed Lymphocystis, you don’t have anything to worry about provided your fish is healthy. Most aquarists compare it to the common cold so not too bad. Good luck with it!

Interesting. Although not in its typical location, I have read that Lymphocytis can appear on the body on rare occasions, so this might very well be one of those rare instances. I've read that there's nothing really you can do from a treatment perspective, which is also a shame because it's definitely not appealing. Apart from that though, it's behaving just like a normal tang which is positive.

 

[argcargv]

I have a convict tang with a similar pimple on it's side. It's been there for 4 months. Gotten a little bigger in that time. But no adverse symptoms. Eats well, very active, so I've just chalked it us as, well, a white head. I've never been able to get a good picture, the fish is white of course, and it won't stop swimming long enough to pose for me.

So, I'll keep monitoring, but I don't foresee any treatment.

Ah, interesting! Thanks for sharing your experience/insight. I've seen the size of this increase a little bit, but appears to have stopped growing for the time being. As you mentioned, also behaving just fine and there's no sign of irritation like you'd see from a fish when an external parasite jumps on for a ride.

 

[KeepSwimming12]

Interesting. Although not in its typical location, I have read that Lymphocytis can appear on the body on rare occasions, so this might very well be one of those rare instances. I've read that there's nothing really you can do from a treatment perspective, which is also a shame because it's definitely not appealing. Apart from that though, it's behaving just like a normal tang which is positive.

The Moorish idol I observed had these protrusions to the extent you could see them very easily. When I saw it again, they shrunk and even disappeared entirely. There is evidence that suggests Lymphocystis is carried by some fish their whole lives but as long as they’re relatively healthy it’ll come and go. You could equate it to types of rashes that people get throughout their lives.

 

[threebuoys]

Ah, interesting! Thanks for sharing your experience/insight. I've seen the size of this increase a little bit, but appears to have stopped growing for the time being. As you mentioned, also behaving just fine and there's no sign of irritation like you'd see from a fish when an external parasite jumps on for a ride.

Yesterday, the "pimple" finally fell off of my convict. It had been there 4 months. I can't even see where it was attached. Maybe you will have the same good luck.

 

[argcargv]

FWIW this white nodule that was protruding out from my Purple Tang has since disappeared. I've been soaking food in this [0] enchancement product along with binding Seachem Kanaplex to the food.

I'm still not entirely sure what this was, but the good news is that it has been clear for the last couple weeks or so.

[0] https://www.quantumaqua.com.au/product/fish-enhance/