Midas blenny disease identification - help needed

[ChristineInMaryland]

I’m not sure what is wrong with my Midas blenny. He, two ocellaris clowns, and a purple firefish have been in the tank since May 18. I bought all four fish from a store that quarantines and prophylactically treats with copper and prazipro. On June 17, I added two cleaner shrimp and a handful of snails, also from my LFS that quarantines all livestock (obviously the inverts are not treated the same as the fish). On June 27, I added some more snails, an emerald crab, three peppermint shrimp, and a couple conch from ReefCleaners.

My parameters as of this weekend were (Red Sea test kit):
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: a little over 5
pH: 8.2

This Midas blenny has been very active the entire time I’ve had him. As of this morning, he was still just as active and looked beautiful. No visible signs of disease at that time. When I went up to the tank to feed dinner, I couldn’t find him which was very unusual. Once I added food, he came out of hiding and he’s covered in white gunk.

Any help identifying will be much appreciated. I don’t currently have a hospital tank, but I’ll get one tomorrow.

 

[ChristineInMaryland]

Adding some pictures in case the video doesn’t load properly.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Adding some pictures in case the video doesn’t load properly.

Thank you for clear pics. This fish has what appears to be mucus cones from a skin irritation or possible protozoan issue. Has it been scratching at all?
Is it breathing normal or rapid?
Fish may need to be isolated in a separate quarantine tank and treated with Api General cure which will address this issue . Ruby Rally pro may be another option but will take longer to act.

 

[ChristineInMaryland]

Thanks for replying so quickly. I haven’t noticed any scratching behavior, but I spent the entire day in the garden so I spent less time observing the tank than a normal day.

His breathing looks a little rapid to me when he’s resting on the rocks in his hiding spot, but not when he’s out swimming. He seems more afraid of me than normal.

In case the video wasn’t viewable, I grabbed a screenshot. The video was taken forty minutes before the pictures. Whatever is going on looked very different at the two time points.

 

[ChristineInMaryland]

Update: there isn’t a single spot on him this morning. I’m still planning to run to Petco to get everything I need for a hospital/quarantine setup, but should I plan to pull him and treat or would that be unnecessary stress since he looks so good today?

Now, if by “protozoan issue” you mean ich, I’m going to need to pull all four fish to treat, let the display run fallow for two months, and call Dr. Reef to cancel an order I was hoping to receive in a couple weeks.

 

[Boreas_SA]

Does he sometimes sleep close to corals or dive into corals from time to time? Mine had the same at one stage and also went away, suspected it got stung by either a coral or one of my bubble tip anemones.

 

[ChristineInMaryland]

I don’t have any coral in the tank. When I first saw him come out of the rocks yesterday, I thought he had been injured. He’s the biggest fish in the tanks so far, but he and the firefish have been doing a little dance where they each try to get close to the other one but as soon as the other one sees them they dart away. Maybe he scraped his side on the rocks darting away one time?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I don’t have any coral in the tank. When I first saw him come out of the rocks yesterday, I thought he had been injured. He’s the biggest fish in the tanks so far, but he and the firefish have been doing a little dance where they each try to get close to the other one but as soon as the other one sees them they dart away. Maybe he scraped his side on the rocks darting away one time?

My first thought was also that it got stung by some invertebrate - the certainly does look like mucus from some sort of irritation. As @vetteguy53081 alluded to, that irritation could be from a protozoan disease. It could also be from a sting (but not in this case?) or a scrape. I wouldn't treat it unless the spots/mucus returns.

Jay

 

[ChristineInMaryland]

Thanks to all three of you for your advice!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Update: there isn’t a single spot on him this morning. I’m still planning to run to Petco to get everything I need for a hospital/quarantine setup, but should I plan to pull him and treat or would that be unnecessary stress since he looks so good today?

Now, if by “protozoan issue” you mean ich, I’m going to need to pull all four fish to treat, let the display run fallow for two months, and call Dr. Reef to cancel an order I was hoping to receive in a couple weeks.

With your reply, just dawned on me, they at times pick up sand and which may have been the case. Its rare they get ich but it is good to observe and react in case its something undesirable.