white marks, not ich

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Swisswiss, Mar 4, 2013.

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  1. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    ill try and post a picture later, woke up today to a bad surprise, my blue tang has largish white blotches on his dorsal fin. i know the description is very vague but any ideas? the blotches seem to come out a little, in the sense that they are not flat on the fin

    im 100% sure its not ich
     
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  3. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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  4. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    got a closer look and i was wrong in my first description it actually looks like the fin is healthy just not colored? could loss in pigmentation after a wound be possible?
     
  5. Magnus

    Magnus Sharknado

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    Discoloration and lack of pigments in tangs is in my experience due to stress. Stress can be caused by other fish bullying or fighting him or also bad water parameters.

    Do you have test kits to check?

    I remember my hippo tang used to get whitish spots here and there when something was wrong with my chemistry.

    PS: Getting wounded would stress me out a bit... I suppose it would do the same to the fish. When can you post the picture?
     
  6. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    it appeared over night after i did 100 l water change. the pictures arent great but its hard to get a shot of him as he is always swimming around.

    i just finished testing my water and here are the results:

    temp. 25°c
    KH:12
    PH:8,0
    N02:0,025
    N03:10
    P04:0,1
    Si02:<0,1
    Ca:540
    Mg:1600
    1.026 salinity
     

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  7. Magnus

    Magnus Sharknado

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    Is your hippo tang a new addition? Does he freak out when you are in the process of changing water? Or is there any other fish that likes to chase him around or that he quarrels with?

    Water parameters look pretty good. I don't see anything that is life threatening.
     
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  9. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    yea i would say he is still not 100% use to large water changes, he does go in hiding in that very same den i took the pictures when i do large water changes. aggression among other fish has ceased a while back so i dont think this could be the problem, he isnt the most scaredy cat fish, quite the contrary. what got me on my a** was that these marks literally appeared over night.

    could it be that perhaps one of the condys tentacles brushed him? the condy has become very large and is in the middle of the tank
     
  10. Magnus

    Magnus Sharknado

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    The tentacles will scar the fish and even clowns get stung when trying to make themselves comfy between them. It is very likely that is what happened to him too.

    I know what you mean about the hippo's personality... I used to love mine, but sadly he died after I moved 2 times within 3 months. He was only shy when doing water changes, and he coped with aggressors in a very brave way.
     
  11. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    so a little update...

    *roll of the drums.....*

    its been 4 days and it seems the coloration is almost 100% back to normal, he doesnt seem to have suffered the slightest from whatever happened. he has kept his curiosity, he actively swims around and munches away like a stoner.

    but yea would still like to very much know what happened to him
     
  12. mrbanggai101

    mrbanggai101 Astrea Snail

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    Well my fish tend to get those white spots when injured. Do you have any sharp edged live rock, or maybe just rough edges in your aquarium? I've found if my fish go to the bottom of the aquarium that hermit crabs will go after them. Sometimes it's just getting tired while swimming and hitting a sharp piece of rock. The funny thing is that tangs are usually graceful swimmers. It could have been the water change setting you up so your fish would lose some agility.
    Hope I helped! N