What could this be???

Doc

Doc

I don't work for anybody
OK, here is my question. Take a look at my Emperor Angel (yes, he is huge, but that is not my point, but damn, he is beautiful) anyway, on the top of his body, you can see a cluster of white discs. They are not raised, so I am confident it is not Ich. I am thinking if it could be flatworms. I know they can start on the body and end up on his face. I am trying to figure out if I should give him a nice freshwater dip.

Also, you can see his tummy has a little bulge in it and then goes skinny toward the bottom of his body. Could that be a parasite? It reminds me of that starving kid distended tummy on the travel channel. My other fish get fat all over, it my Emperor just an hourglass shape? let me know what you think.

P7220005.jpg


-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
my firefish had the same thing but feed him garlic for a month and hill probbaly be fine mines doing fine
 
its white coraline. starts growing of the fish when your tank is over ran with it haha :) seriously though i dont know either
 
seriuosly...its hard to tell just looking at the pic..here it looks like white spots on the head..some kind of parasite..ick..just guessing..is there any chance that an certified expert on fish that works on a FS or aquarium near that could take a look and give a good diagnosis?..thats a not everyday fish, so ill try to get the best expert advise so i could establish pronto treatment if is that fish is ill...good luck doc,..ill follow really close this thread..
 
It looks like it may be a fluke, its hard to see in the pics. Are his eyes cloudy at all?

If it is flukes you can easily treat him by giving him a freshwater dip.

Not sure about his belly.
 
I didn't think about flukes. His eyes are not cloudy and I have been considering giving him a dip. I am going to get into my bathing suit and give it a try. I figure it can't hurt - I have even heard that giving an 8 minute dip is relaxing to marine fish - not sure, most seem to hate it. Rigo, I agree, he is not an average fish. His story was that he was purchased three or four years ago as a tiny juvenile and was tank raised in a FOWLR and eventually was placed with SPS corals. He got too big for the tank he was put in and did get sick before he was sold to a fish store. I watched him for two months and his color improved greatly. I finally decided to purchase this magnificent specimen and have an interest to keep him healthy. So, cross your fingers and wish me luck - a-dippin' - I go...

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
well, that was interesting - I can't imagine a fish of that size being as nimble and difficult to catch, but I did get him and he is mad as hell in my water bucket taking his dip. Now then, about flukes, are they as contagious as flatworms? I am not familiar with flukes. I don't see anyone else in the tank with spots of that nature.

I am not a fish doctor, silly...I tried to ask him how he felt, told him to tell me about his mother and gave him emotional support regarding his insecurities, but he did not talk much. I guess I am not much good for this problem.....:mrgreen:

I will drop him back in the tank after about 8 minutes or so. Hope this does the trick, or it will kill him, either way, problem solved.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
well, I dipped him and he was truely pissed off. He bleached out all his colors and ran and hid like a little girl (no offense to all you little girls out there). He did come out to eat and ran back into his hiding place. I guess I will have to wait and see if the blotches go away. I will keep you posted.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
nothing that drastic. I have a HUGE python net that I use for my angels, if I have to get them out. I used my "damsel technique" illustrated in another post and it took about 3 minutes to nab him. He gave me a good bath of salt water when he came out and pouted in the freshwater dip. He is back swimming around the tank (although it is past his bedtime) and I hope that will take care of anything. He was in for about 8 minutes. Winy, do you think that was long enough?

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
not to but in or anything but i didnt know you could dip saltwater fish in freshwater. it doesnt hurt them? can you do it for to long or to short of time?
 
Yeah Doc,If ever I get a breakout of some illness,I'm going to pm you.I haven't a clue of hypo/illness treatment.I better get prepared.
 
dips are a great tool to kill off flatworms (and, maybe flukes if that is what was spotting up my Emperor). the philosophy is that the specific gravity is so low, the fish can regulate his internal pressure, but parasites cannot and they literally burst because the internal pressure inside their bodies is so much greater than outside. The oxygen levels are lower in freshwater and the fish can survive for about 8-10 minutes without having too drastic of consequences. they tend to lie down in the bucket and look pissed off at you. The trick to to make sure the temp of your tank and the temp of your freshwater dip are identical.

Basically you fill up a clean bucket or bowl with tap water ( you can add a drop of prime to get rid of contaminates if you want to, but I never have), regulate the temp, catch your fish and drop it in. The biggest risk is suffocation for your fish. If his beathing appears labored, and his color bleaches completely out, you should take him out, he is too stressed. I have done it for years.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
I would like to add that you need to make sure the PH as well as temp. is the same in the freshwater as your tank. Also all fish will not tolerate this so use caution.

Yes, Marco the dip 8 minutes is long enough. How is he doing? Flukes can be passed on, but if your other fish are real healthy they most likely won't get them, flukes like to attack the weeker (your angel being new to your system puts his immune system down, Maybe he brought them from your LFS)
 
could be that he got them from the LFS. He seems fine, the spots are not as prevalent and seem to be better. Hope that did the trick. He recovered just fine and is back to eating like a total pig. None of the other fish appear stressed and show no signs of spots, or lethargy. They all just school back and forth together, like one big happy family. The Blue angel does have a nip taken out of his fin - he got in the way of the emperor when he was going for some krill. I think he learned his lesson!!! Heck, I stay away when that things starts eating. His mouth is plenty big.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 

Similar threads

OLDONE
Haven't Been Here For A While.
Replies
0
Views
2K
OLDONE
OLDONE
M
What anemone is this?
Replies
1
Views
2K
Robert Davies
R
garydm
starting over with a 55 gallon tank..... after 6 years
Replies
6
Views
2K
ReefDudes
ReefDudes
A
Starfish crisis!
Replies
1
Views
2K
Becky
Becky
S
What to do with a 36g tank?
Replies
5
Views
2K
Oceanic Wrath
Oceanic Wrath
Back
Top