Help! Something on top of Butterflyfish head!

[toor.attar]

Hey everybody, I have this yellow long nose butterflyfish that I’ve had for about 3 weeks now. He’s been eating fine, is active but I’ve noticed something on his head recently. The past week his head looks a lot less black and is more greyish.

you can see the white stuff on top of his head

Usually he is a lot more active but since yesterday he’s just been hanging around the rock work more. Today he didn’t eat, and I noticed he’s breathing more rapidly. My tanks parameters are all okay, and all my other fish are acting and breathing fine. My longnose on the other hand is breathing rapidly and his gills are kinda red.

you can see his gills are red and there is not really white stuff on the right side of his head but his head is more pale than other yellow longnoses.

he’s just been hanging around at that rock all day

Please help me figure out what’s wrong with my butterflyfish. I don’t wanna pick favorites but if I were too he is one of my favorite fish in my tank and I really don’t wanna lose him.

I bought him from Dr Reefs quarantined fish, and here are some more pictures of the stuff on his head and some body pictures.
please help me!! Thank you

 

[Jay Hemdal]

You may have two issues going on here. The not eating and rapid breathing is VERY serious. The mucus on the head and the pale color may not be related, but is likely less serious.

Trouble is, the most effective treatments require moving the fish to a treatment tank, can you do that? If not, your options are pretty limited.

The rapid breathing is likely either gill flukes or velvet. Gill flukes can be treated in the tank it is in, velvet cannot. The mucus on the head is probably skin flukes, but it could just be mucus that fish produce when they are stressed, or bump their skin.

Basically; the two options are: 1)coppersafe in a treatment tank with prazipro, or 2)prazipro in the main tank by itself (and then hope it isn't velvet).

I can walk you through the treatments if you wish.......

Jay

 

[toor.attar]

You may have two issues going on here. The not eating and rapid breathing is VERY serious. The mucus on the head and the pale color may not be related, but is likely less serious.

Trouble is, the most effective treatments require moving the fish to a treatment tank, can you do that? If not, your options are pretty limited.

The rapid breathing is likely either gill flukes or velvet. Gill flukes can be treated in the tank it is in, velvet cannot. The mucus on the head is probably skin flukes, but it could just be mucus that fish produce when they are stressed, or bump their skin.

Basically; the two options are: 1)coppersafe in a treatment tank with prazipro, or 2)prazipro in the main tank by itself (and then hope it isn't velvet).

I can walk you through the treatments if you wish.......

Jay

I would’ve loved to treat him and help him. But unfortunately last night, I decided to him a freshwater bath because I assumed he had flukes. In the freshwater bath, the mucus on his head went off, his gills looked a lil less red. I added him back to the tank and decided to go workout. When I came back he was laying dead behind the rock he was hanging around all day at. He was one of my favorite fish
If you could still help me identify whatever it was, that would be great. I don’t want anything happening to the rest of my fish, fish deaths always hurt

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I would’ve loved to treat him and help him. But unfortunately last night, I decided to him a freshwater bath because I assumed he had flukes. In the freshwater bath, the mucus on his head went off, his gills looked a lil less red. I added him back to the tank and decided to go workout. When I came back he was laying dead behind the rock he was hanging around all day at. He was one of my favorite fish

Sorry to hear. It is now very important that you observe the remaining fish closely every day to ensure that they don't develop similar symptoms.

Jay