Blue Tang unknown illness

[ferg]

Hi All,

First post here. Hoping someone can better identify what my blue tang is suffering with currently. She's been in my main tank for around 7 months, few weeks ago she started developing white blotches only on her face. Behavior hasn't changed much, she sleeps a majority of the day in my live rock, she has been eating fine. I have another sailfin tang that is also developing white blotches only on the face but nowhere near as bad. The other fish, 2 clowns and a dottyback are perfectly fine.

I just placed both tangs into a 10g quarantine tank and dosed primafix and melafix.

Anyone have any suggestions on what this is or how to treat it?


The main tanks water parameters should be fine. Ammonia and nitrites are near zero. Nitrates were around 35-40 before a water change. Salinity fluctuates between 1.024 and 1.028

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

That is a chronic non fatal condition, either head and lateral line erosion or the related epithelial thinning. You’ll hear dozens of “cures” for this but most don’t work. Avoid using carbon, feed a good varied diet and maintain excellent water quality….but even then it probably won’t get better, but you may stop the progression.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I too am suspecting HLLE and a high vitamin defiency. It is often caused by poor water quality, high use of carbon, poor water quality (elevated nitrate and ammonia) and inadequate/poor diet. It is not life threating in any way but offers secondary infection in some cases.
Maintaining GOOD water quality and diet are often the fixes and with severe cases, some healing.
Some foods to feed tang are :
LRS herbivore diet
Formula 2 flake and frozen
TDO Pellets
small plankton
Hikari Marine cuisine
Ocean nutrition veggie diet
spirulina brine shrimp
mysis shrimp
Prime reef
Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract

Add selcon vitamins to foods occasionally