Help needed please

[emz88]

HI , I bought a tank which is 3 half years mature about 6 weeks ago and had to transport the tank and every thing included approx 20 minutes to my home , i put every thing back within 1 hour 30 , i have a 190 litre jewel with an external pump , skimmer, 50 k live rock , 4 inch sand bed, and verious soft corals, 1 lemon tang, 1 regal tang, 1 gold rush tang, 2 clown fish , 1 blue cheek goby, boxer shrimp , blue lobster , snails and crabs, i did have 3 damsels in there but they where attacking my fish so i had to take all the rock out again to catch them as i sold them on ebay .when i received the tank the nitrates where high around the 40 ppt , but all over levels where normal, i then found the problem which was , the last owners were nt into cleaning their home never mind the tank and i dont think that the old water in the external filter had ever been tipped out , when filters were changes , which left the water full of 3 half years of crap, which was steaming nitrates and pumped back into the tank, after cleaning the filter , skimmer , my nitrates have fallen to 12 ppt , and all over levels are spot on, about 2 weeks ago my lemon tang has come out in large dark spots in his dorsal thin and two small ones in his rear fins, looks like a fag burn which can be seen on both sides of his fins, i went to my local store and i tried to explained what it was and he said it prob damage from me doing water changes and him darting into the rocks , but now my regal tang has come out with the same thing but only 1 in the centre of his dorsal fin , its hard to see but it deffo the same thing ,he also has about 2 very small white spots on him which are very hard to see and u can only notice it in the blue light at night ,they seem to be something attatched to him like little water droplets .
they are all feeding fine and dont do any scratching and just show to be normal fish behaviour and are just pocking around the tank looking for food, i dont want to do a fresh water dip , as i dont want to stress them any more than i already have, and have heard of feeding them garlic ,i have supplied a photo you can make out the large dark spot on top of the fin but there is a smaller one next to it and 2 more smaller ones on its tail fin , if any 1 can help it would be appreciated, ps sorry about the long story

[Leetch]

I couldn't tell much from the pic but some things you said reminded me of a problem a friend had. During transportation, toxic levels of ammonia can build up and "burn" your fish. This happens mostly in shipped fish but can occur in transported tanks, especially if the water was not quality to begin with. Usually there are other symtpoms though like red streaks, cloudy eyes, etc.

Maybe someone else with more experience can comment (I'm a noob but things you said just sounded familiar). Check the ammonia levels to be sure they aren't high. Sounds like you will still need to QT the fish and keep them under observation at a minimum.

Also, to help because you will be asked by the pros here, define what you mean by the water parameters are "normal" (be specific on the parameters) as what you may think is normal may not be.

I could be way off base here so please just take it for what it's worth and hopefully someone with a ton more experience can help you.

[Leetch]

Uggh - didn't mean to finish my reply yet. It could also be black spot disease which is more common in Tangs but can effect other fishies.

[emz88]

hi thanks for your reply, my amonia level is 0 , nitrates 12 ppt, nitite 0 ppm ,ph 8.2 , i beleive that black spot, is small black spots, as this is dark brown in colour and larger in size, but the tank as been moved about alot from the time i first had it and when i had to get the 3 damsels out so this could have put lots of stress on them, so dont want to rush in and do a dip at the moment and i have been observing them for the past 2 weeks , they are generaly happy at the moment and are always hungry and looking for food, if i could get help early though , i could stop any potential health risk to me fish... thanks

[Ninong]

Hi emz88,



I'm going to move your thread to the forum that deals with marine fish diseases, but before I do, I just want to mention that the previous owner made a big mistake when he put three tangs in a 190-liter (50-gallon) aquarium.

Hopefully Lee can offer you some helpful advice.

[leebca]

Believe it or not, emz the fish have become used to 'bad' water. The shift in water quality is very stressful on them.

Although you have said that the chemistries are 'spot on' I wonder about that and would prefer to see actual numbers. Beside ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, there are also alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium which in effect control the pH and stability of the water (through buffering). Please read this post: What is Water Quality. I do not see that you have a chemical filter. Please also read the above linked post for info on chemical filters.

You meant well by taking steps to improve the water quality, but when it has gone so far 'off' it can't be fixed quickly, but must be done very slowly.

It is also true, as Ninong has pointed out, the fish grouping isn't proper for that sized aquarium. Maybe the fish were much smaller when originally put into that system, but they do grow and thus outgrow that size tank very fast.

The symptoms you now observe are often the cause of poor water quality. Although you have taken steps to fix it, I'm not sure that for the short term, things have gotten worse from the fish's perspective. The steps to take immediately is do perform a huge water change every day for three days straight. I'm talking about an 80%+ water change. Since this is so large of a water change, you need to follow the advice given here: How to Make a Successful Water Change

The symptom you see is most likely a sign of the onset of a systemic poisoning. It can lead to a bacterial infection which can be handled by the use of antibiotics, but if the water is not brought under immediate control AND stabilized, the fish will die very quickly -- if not due to the poisoning, then due to the infection that follows.

Ideally you'd have a quarantine/hospital tank available to transfer the fish to for antibiotic treatment and water quality control. Getting the fish away from the corals may be essential to their recovery, since corals can and do release chemicals into the water, adding to the possible list of poisons there. Usually a chemical filter will handle this group of 'poisons.'

If you have a QT ready, then transfer all fish there; perform the above daily water changes noted above and do more water changes daily if you detect ammonia and/or nitrites. Treat the fish with an antibiotic for marine fishes. You want an antibiotic that fights Gram Negative bacteria systemically. I use Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes, here in the US.

Hope the above helps some.

[emz88]

thanx lee your post was very helpful and i realised thet on my first water change about 5 weeks ago i added water with out setting the temp and the temp in the tank dropped 2 degrees but my ph as always been stable and has never dropped or raised from 8.2 , please note though that these dark patches are not easy to see and u can only see them by looking close and it took a long time to get the picture from that angle, the picture does look worse than the real thing, i noticed this about two weeks ago and it has not got any worse, do u think i should give it a bit of time before i take out all the coral and live rock so i can capture the fish and place them i QT or should i take immediate action thanks for you time m8

[leebca]

I would recommend you setup and get the QT going. Also, obtain the medications you'll need now. But, don't move or treat the fish.

Do the water changes recommended -- daily for 3 times -- and watch closely for any worsening of the spot.