Yellow eye kole tank has brown blotches

[acan-man]

Hi all,

Two weeks ago I picked up a yellow and yellow eye kole tang and placed both in qt. The yellow tang is fine and acting normally. The kole has developed a brown blotch on the right side behind and under the pectoral fin. There also appears to be a darker blotch along the body. The fish is still eating and swimming actively, but the blotch has spread over the past three days. See picture below

Is this a bacterial infection?
How should I treat?
Do I need to stop copper to treat this problem, then restart copper?
What about the yellow tang also in qt?

Qt is a 20g long with an egg crate devider, hob with media from main display, maxi jet aimed up for surface agitation and pvc t joints for hiding.
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ph 8.0
Salinity 1.025
Copper power dosed to 2.0, ramped over 6 days. Therapeutic levels for 5 days.
10 gallon water change ever other day, predosed with CP

 

[Big G]

The tang's immune system is being suppressed by the copper. And it appears a bacterial infection is setting in. Kanaplex + Furan2 + metro or NFG powder to treat for 10-14 days. Need to treat asap. These things can go sideways really fast.

 

[acan-man]

Thanks for getting back to me. Should I pull the copper or can I treat at the same time?

 

[Big G]

That's a great question. Pulling the copper would certainly help the fish's immune system. But it would take some time to see a benefit.
You certainly can treat for bacterial infections while treating with copper. Very common to do so.

 

[acan-man]

Thanks, I'll start with the anti bacterials tomorrow when the store opens. If the fish doesn't improve. I'll remove the copper.

Is there anything I should be aware of with those treatments beyond increased O2 depletion?

 

[acan-man]

Currently on day three of metro,kana,furan-2. Yesterday morning the kole tang looked very still and wouldn't come out of his pvc cave, but by the afternoon he was swimming and eating actively again. This morning however he looks worse than he did yesterday. Rolling sideways slightly while resting on the bottom didn't move when I got the rock i'm zip tying nori to. He moved around when my hand touched him, but even that was half-hearted. I went ahead and did the 25% water change before dosing round 3 of furan-2, and round 2 of metro and kana.The yellow tang that is also in the QT has shown no difference through the process so I don't think its ammonia or O2. I did add some prime just in case of the ammonia (I can't test because of the dyed water). and I raised the power head to suck air and shoot bubbles a bit more aggressively to increase the O2 for a bit. Is there anything else I can do?

 

[Big G]

Antibiotics are very slow working on fish. Usually takes 10-14 days to see improvement. Keep in mind antibiotics don't cure anything. They help the fish by giving the immune system time to do its work.

 

[acan-man]

Thanks, I'll keep realistic expectations in mind. I'll continue to treat and hope he pulls through.

 

[acan-man]

I don't see a lot of updates after things go sideways for our sick fish. In this case I thought I'd give an update in case someone is going through something similar. I continued to treat with metro, kana and furan-2.

On day three of treatment the kole tang went basically limp. It no longer tried to fight the current and either laid on the bottom or against the wall of the PVC joint.

On day 4 I came to see the fish completely on it's side and not moving. I went to remove the fish, but it was just being very still and swam away from me. I figured if he had the energy for that I'd give him a bit more time and continued to treat.

Day 5 the fish was again completely still on it's side not moving. I would occasionally see a gill flap and new that he was still alive (if barely). The fish had not eaten since before treatment.

Day 6, there were noticeable new blotches on the left side of the fish. These appeared to be the same size and shape as the original blotch. At this point the fish has not moved more than a gill flap in 3 days, but if I tried to touch/remove the fish it would swim away. The blotches were now covering the body, the fins had started to erode. This was also contributed to the yellow tang nipping through the divider (I tried to move the kole tang away from the divider, but it kept settling there). I figured the fish is a goner if I didn't do something different. I attempted a freshwater dip, and removed a dozen or so flukes. I now assume these were the original cause of the infection, and the new spots forming. I transitioned the fish the freshwater dip to a hypo-salinity bath for 20 minutes before returning to the full salinity tank. The entire time, this fish did not move or fight me. After placing back in tank, the fish went to the bottom and did not move.

Day 7 of treatment, after removing the flukes the kole tang was still very still, but was attempting to swim upright. The fish seemed to have swim bladder issues and was listing from side to side. Any attempt to move up into the water column the fish just came to the bottom on it's side again.

Day 8 the kole tang was still very still, but was no longer listing from side to side.

Day 9, the kole tang ate some nori for the first time in over a week, and started to swim around.

Day 10 of treatment, the blotches have almost completely disappeared and while the fish is still pale, the normal purple color is starting to return.

I finished antibiotic treatment on day 10, and since the fish has continued to increase in strength, color and weight. Through out the time, the yellow tang never showed any negative symptoms of flukes or infection.

Thank you @Big G for your advice. At this point in time I am no longer worried about my fish. For anyone else going through something similar, please keep at it. I thought for 4 days there was no way this fish was going to make it. It is our duty as fish keepers to try to help them in any way we can. I spent as much on medication as I did for the fish, but I am very happy I was able to pull this fish through it.

 

[9975]

This is an outstandingly happy story now!

 

[Big G]

Great news. Gutsy move doing a freshwater dip at that point in the fish's illness. Kudos to you

 

[acan-man]

I wouldn't have if New blotches hadn't formed. But I realized what caused the inital problem was still there and making it even worse. In this very specific case I think it helped. I would only consider it as a hail Mary, not a standard treatment option.

 

[garyfri]

@acan-man awesome follow up. A couple of questions. Did the local fish store have all the medicine you needed (big box store???). Are the pics of the white things flukes and is the only way to see them is after a fresh water dip?

 

[acan-man]

Hey @garyfri, in this case my lfs did have all the required medications but it is a very well stocked store in North Dallas. I have not seen the medications used in typical big box stores (petco/smart). All the medications are available on Amazon though. The flukes are mostly transparent while alive, they turn the white color after dying. So it is very difficult to see them on the fish unless the infestation is quite severe. You can perform a freshwater dip on most saltwater species and there are some tutorials on here and YouTube. Alternatively, you can proactively treat with prazipro or similar treatment. For me, after the fight with this I added prazi treatment to all my other qt fish after copper following humblefish's method.