Yellow tangs with bad red spot

[scott_shuppert]

School of yellow tangs are showing red bloodish looking spot (both sides) near the tail fin. The other angles are just fine. Any idea what this is and how to treat it?

[Biomanjcs72]

Try an antibiotic, sounds like a bacterial infection. (really hard to tell without pics, or direct inspection)

That being said, fish don't usually get sick unless something streses them out, you may want to check water params, make sure you do't have any stray current in the tank, etc. Sometimes, it (the infection, of whatever origin) gets systemic, and there's nothing you can do but euthanize.

HTH, JMHO

-John

[asmith]

How many tangs are in your "school?"

[scott_shuppert]

5 yellows that have the red spot. The other angles & tangs are fine. My best guess is some kind of Bacterial infection.

[asmith]

I saw in your profile that you have a 200 gallon tank. How many angels and tangs do you have in the tank, and what kinds are they? It sounds like your tank may be overstocked. That will stress the fish more and more as they grow and they will become vulnerable to disease. Please give us more information about your setup and inhabitants.

Andrew

[Biomanjcs72]

Heed the above, but also, inspect the spots, if they are lesions, or gashes, your tangs are fighting. (That little white spot on their caudal peduncle is an inverted, modified, articulating scale), they use it for defense, it can make a nasty little hole. (it hurts too)

JAT

[scott_shuppert]

Running ETS 800 skimmer, with 200+ lbs live rock and live sand (3") 2.5 watts of MH light per gal, chiller/heater ~ 200 gal tank. Skimming set to heavy. Up for ~ 1 yr.

4 med/lg yellow angles, 50 small Nassarius & 50 small Cerith snails, 5 turbo snails, 2 small Blennies, 2 Mandarins, 2 large Achilles Tang, 3 med Naso Tang, 3 med blue yellow tail tangs.

H20 readings almost ideal and stable. No these are not the tang stickers, they are not battle scars. They are not fighting as per say. Eating 4 leaves of Romaine lettuce per day. Along with OSI dry foods, and some frozen foods. Adding reef calc, etc. from Kent.

Closest thing I can tell is maybe Septicemia - bacterial infection. No idea where this might have come from.

[Biomanjcs72]

Have you given antibiotics a try yet?

[asmith]

I would say that it is definately a bacterial infection. They should be treated in a QT tank with Antibiotics. Not only should you treat the sick fish, but you must consider the reason they are sick.

If I understand correctly, you have 13 tangs, 4 Angels and 4 smaller fish in your tank. That is WAY too many fish for your tank. I have a 90 gallon reef with 1 tang, 1 percula clown, 1 Lawnmower Blenny, and two Cardinals. We consider out tank pretty much stocked.

I would not keep more than 3 tangs in a 200 gallon tank. IMO, you should return the majority of your fish to the LFS. If you don't then you will be battling stress related disease continuosly.

JMO,
Andrew