White spreading across fish face/gills

[tylerbolte]

Hello! My mimic tang has had this white stuff on his face for quite some time now. I have had him for about 3 and a half months. It does not seem to bother him, however it continues to spread very slowly and is now right underneath his eye. It started as a small white spot at the very bottom of where the white stuff is and has spread over the course of about three months to what it looks like now. I initially though it to be flukes with the single spot, then it started to spread so I thought maybe it was lymphocytosis? Now it looks like it might be lateral line Disease but really I’m just guessing at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

He developed this while in qt under prazi pro and cupramine about a week after I got him. After a month in qt I decided to place him in display despite it still being there as it did not look to be affecting him.

I had done two freshwater dips about two weeks apart a month ago and that did nothing.

 

[MnFish1]

Any more information? I suppose some kind of atypical form of HLLE could be an issue (i.e. early) ?

 

[tylerbolte]

Any more information? I suppose some kind of atypical form of HLLE could be an issue (i.e. early) ?

Appreciate the quick response!

Recently did a water test using api spin master:
Alkalinity: 8.8
PH: 8
Phosphate: 2.9
Calcium: 440
Mag: 1445
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40
Salinity: 1.025
Temperature: 76
Yesterday I got some gfo to reduce the phosphates as I believe that is contributing to some nuisance algae growth, heavily rinsed. I rinse my carbon and use chemi pure blue, feed mysis and brine mixed with garlic and selcon fairly heavily 1-2 times a day, and have an auto feeder that feeds a small amount of pellets twice a day. Also use half a nori sheet every 2-3 days. Eats great, never flashes or scratches rocks, and there is rarely any aggression between tank inhabitants. Other fish (copperband butterfly, orange storm clown, orange stripe bristletooth tang) have never had any sign of disease (other than orange storm having stringy poop when bought) and have all gone through a month of qt in prazi/cupramine. Corals have great color and I feed a mix of coral food about once every two weeks. Fuel about once a week. Mixed reef but is sps dominant. Dose reef fusion 1/2 as needed for calcium and alk and occasionally add some iodine(rarely) and mag as needed (rarely). Probably didn’t need coral info but maybe it’s useful!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello! My mimic tang has had this white stuff on his face for quite some time now. I have had him for about 3 and a half months. It does not seem to bother him, however it continues to spread very slowly and is now right underneath his eye. It started as a small white spot at the very bottom of where the white stuff is and has spread over the course of about three months to what it looks like now. I initially though it to be flukes with the single spot, then it started to spread so I thought maybe it was lymphocytosis? Now it looks like it might be lateral line Disease but really I’m just guessing at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

He developed this while in qt under prazi pro and cupramine about a week after I got him. After a month in qt I decided to place him in display despite it still being there as it did not look to be affecting him.

I had done two freshwater dips about two weeks apart a month ago and that did nothing.

It isn’t flukes or lymphocystis. Is it only on the fish’s left side? If so then it isn’t HLLE, that is almost always bilaterally symmetrical and besides, this is kind of low on the head for that.
So what is it? IDK - could be a chronic bacterial infection, but it is spreading really slowly…
Jay

 

[tylerbolte]

It isn’t flukes or lymphocystis. Is it only on the fish’s left side? If so then it isn’t HLLE, that is almost always bilaterally symmetrical and besides, this is kind of low on the head for that.
So what is it? IDK - could be a chronic bacterial infection, but it is spreading really slowly…
Jay

Yes only on left side.

 

[tylerbolte]

It isn’t flukes or lymphocystis. Is it only on the fish’s left side? If so then it isn’t HLLE, that is almost always bilaterally symmetrical and besides, this is kind of low on the head for that.
So what is it? IDK - could be a chronic bacterial infection, but it is spreading really slowly…
Jay

Should also note that the mimic tang is the only one that will occasionally show very few ich spots - no more than 3-5 at a time, and they leave within a few days and don’t return often. Maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Makes me think it is slightly affecting his immune system as none of the other fish have ever had so much as a single spot show.

 

[MnFish1]

Yes only on left side.

agree then - if only on the left side - Its not HLLE ? A sting from something - or an injury - with a bacterial or fungal infection

 

[tylerbolte]

agree then - if only on the left side - Its not HLLE ? A sting from something - or an injury - with a bacterial or fungal infection

Recommendations for treatment then? Should kanaplex+focus be good or remove and treat water column in qt? Would like to leave in dt if possible, he’s a tough one to get out

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Recommendations for treatment then? Should kanaplex+focus be good or remove and treat water column in qt? Would like to leave in dt if possible, he’s a tough one to get out

Skip the antibiotic /focus mix unless you calculate the dose (tough to do, but we have two articles on that in the sticky section above). The reality is this looks external, and oral meds don’t mobilize well for external infections. An external antibiotic bath in a treatment tank would be something you could try.
Jay