Sailfin tang help!

[robd77]

Hi all! I'm a reef novice, but I've had good luck and never had any disease in my tank. But now I have a sailfin tang with white spots around his eye. Can someone please help me ID it and tell me how to treat it? Thank you so much!

-rob

 

[Melosu58]

Hard for me tell but does it look fungal to you. I dont think it`s ick.

 

[winyfrog]

HLLE head and lateral line erosion

this is a desease that is normally brought on by bad diet and/or water quality.

Start by feeding him a diet with lots of vitamins. A very good product for HLLE is Aminomega by brightwell aquatics. It will help to repair the damaged tissues.

 

[Bifferwine]

I agree -- it's HLLE, which is really common in tangs, and really common to see around the eyes.

Do you feed your tang vegetable matter? It is an herbivorous fish, and the majority of its diet should be foods like dried seaweed sheets and plant-based frozen foods like Emerald Entree. Meat-based foods are fine, and tangs will eat them happily, but it cannot survive on meat-based foods alone.

Stray voltage has also been implicated in causing HLLE. You may want to read this and test for it:

Identifying, Locating and Curing Stray Voltage in a Saltwater Aquarium

Also, some people believe that running carbon filter media can lead to HLLE, so if you are using carbon, you may want to reconsider.

 

[Bifferwine]

Also, here's a recent thread about another tang with HLLE:

https://www.livingreefs.com/hlle-update-advice-t22030.html

 

[dcantucson]

Good luck with it robd77

 

[robd77]

I agree -- it's HLLE, which is really common in tangs, and really common to see around the eyes.

Do you feed your tang vegetable matter? It is an herbivorous fish, and the majority of its diet should be foods like dried seaweed sheets and plant-based frozen foods like Emerald Entree. Meat-based foods are fine, and tangs will eat them happily, but it cannot survive on meat-based foods alone.

Stray voltage has also been implicated in causing HLLE. You may want to read this and test for it:

Identifying, Locating and Curing Stray Voltage in a Saltwater Aquarium

Also, some people believe that running carbon filter media can lead to HLLE, so if you are using carbon, you may want to reconsider.

Thanks everyone! I'll try all of these. The sailfin gets broccoli every day (as per the guy at the shop) and spirulina brine shrimp one or two times a week. It really seems to like the broccoli, as does my yellow tang, who has been living off of it for two years now and is doing just fine. I'll try some of the other foods y'all have suggested. And I did just change the carbon in my filter. That was the first time since I purchased the sailfin. I'll try taking it out. Anything else I should try?

 

[Bifferwine]

How long ago did you get the sailfin? If it was recent, he was probably developing this condition before you got him.

You should try buying some dried seaweed sheets. My fish LOVE the Julian Sprung brand (in the green color). You can find them at Petco or Petsmart.