I have a sick Imperial Angel!

[Fegenbush]

My Imperial Angel has a spot on it's right pectoral fin that started out small but now is the size of a pencil eraser! I will post pics to see if any one can tell me what it is and how to treat it. I just bought a ten gallon tank set for hospital.
My main tank is 75 gallons with live rock, Grouper, very large Lion Fish, and a 24 inch Snowflake Eel
My Ph is just right, my salinity is perfect, my ammonia is 0, my nitrites are 0, my nitrates are a little high. The Angel is eating great no problem there. I did start a new type of bio-enzyme water treatment system called "Aquabella" it is 100% organic and adds naturally occurring non-pathogenic micro-organisms that optimize the decomposition of waste water pollutants. Your not supposed to have to change the water for a year guaranteed, If any of you are familiar with this stuff let me know. I don't think that it has anything to do with this fish. the others seem to be getting along just fine. I also have a choclate chip star and two pencil urchins. they seem to be doing fine also the star has a great appetite.
Please Help!!!!!DSC00155.jpgDSC00157.jpgDSC00159.jpg

[allan]

Looks like ich... Confined to one spot like that, I've never seen that though.

If it is ich I'd leave the fish in there and let it ride. I certainly wouldn't move the fish which would stress it and cause it to get worse.

[alton]

He could of damaged it in shipping, moving? Try soaking foods in Zoe or some other vitamin. Try to get Nitrates down by maybe adding a hang on fuge? You have a lot of waste making fish and you just added one more. Not sure what your lighting is or if you have any corals? Maybe try adding GSP, Mushrooms, or Xenia, all love pollution and do not require a lot of light. Welcome to MAAST.

[Fegenbush]

thanks guys, no I don't have any corals this is a fish only preditor tank. when I got the angel I didn't visibly see any marks on his pecs I have had him for a couple of weeks I guess. I also put some different types of grass or sea weeds in with them do I need to remove them to somewhere else? I don't have a fuge and the guys with Aquabella told me to turn off my skimmer for a couple of weeks while the bio-enzymes established. I'm not supposed to turn it on till the 27th. The medicines you mention are all new to me this is my first Saltwater tank and so far so good but I have been changing a little less than half the water once a week till I saw this Aquabella stuff. My coraline alge looks like it is growing pretty good on the sides and rock. It came with an emporer 400 hang on the back filter, I replaced it with a wet dry sump underneath. the tank has bio-balls on one side and a pump on the other an eshopp's brand. I put the bio wheels and charcol pads in the sump for a couple weeks and then took them out and just put a plastic tub of charcol in there on the pump side. Thanks again and keep me posted. I just don't want that $150.00 fish to kick the bucket...lol she's pretty!

[StevenSeas]

It actually looks like lymphocytis to me not ich. Esepecially if you are stating that the one spot has gotten as large as a pencil eraser than that indeed wouldnt be ich. There is no true treatment for lymphocytis it is a viral infection that comes and goes on fish much like herpes/cold sores in humans. It gets a foothold and is able to manifest itself once the specimen in question gets stress and/or a stressor on the immune system itself (ie widely fluctuating temps, ph, or high nitrogenous waste levels) Overall the best "treatment" I have found to help get rid of this is keep the environment as stable as possible with as good water quality as possible. Also soaking the fish food in Brightwells MaxAmino and VitaMarin help. The amino acid composition of the MaxAmino includes all 20 amino acids, both the 10 despensible and the 10 indespensible. The VitaMarin has a large vitamin supplement (like a human multivitamin) it has vitamin B's vitamin C and others that I dont remember off hand. Utilize these according to the directions and maintain good water quality and hopefully the lymphocytis will start to recede/go away on its own.

Also I wouldnt ever recommend water changes over 25% unless there was something severly wrong with the system.... Especially in a new fragile system this can usually cause more harm than good which could have led to a stressed out fishie. So good job doing weekly maintance but just cut down a little on how much your taking out, I would try more like 10%.... Unless the Aquabella stuff works as advertized, just keep an eye on the nitrates, even with the miracle product.

[Fegenbush]

Thanks Aggiereefer,
I thought the same thing when I got on line and looked it up. it is a little bigger than an eraser now but it hasn't effected her eating she has a great appetite. Do I get these meds off line or at a marine store? there isn't much here in Kerrville that caters to marine fish.
I called the guy at Aquabella in California and he said there would be a spike in Nitrates for a while but it would be nothing to worry about, and they would subside in a couple of weeks. He sounds pretty knowlegable on marine tanks so we'll see.
I was told about this MAAST site by the guys at Elegant Reef in San Antonio. I'm glad I joined you guys have been great and I look forward to posting some more pictures later!

[StevenSeas]

I always endorse buying it at a LFS is possible. And as long as the fish is active, has a healthy appetite, and looks overall good aside from the white growth that is good signs.

[Fegenbush]

I am not familiar with the term LFS is that "live fish store"?.....lol
An update. I have been feeding the ZOE vitamins in the dry flakes and the frozen silversides and the angel even after two days of feeding a couple of times a day looks way better and the pectoral fin is becoming transparent again. it is using the fin more to swim with too. there for a while it was getting around with just one pec fin. it was forced to be left handed...lol but I'm left handed too anyway. thanks again for all your help MAAST you guys are the greatest. I felt like that was a close call, and maybe over reacted but that was the most expensive fish I have ever bought and I sure didn't want to see it die. I learned a lesson... I bought this fish as soon as it came in the store, and took it home in the same bag it came to the store in. The owner sold it to me for twenty dollars cheaper if I bought it before he let it out of the bag. I examined the fish through the bag as best I could and when I got home and finally released it in my tank I watched it like a hawk and didn't notice any sores or anything, but from now on I will only buy fish that are out of the bag eating at the store and healthy.... Thanks again. and who ever closes these threads can close this one for now.
I have gone through other parts of this site but have not found where everybody hangs out and talks. let me know where that is!

[StevenSeas]

Glad to hear of the good results that you have been having!!!

LFS means local fish store, but live fish store is just as appropriate

Also there is the lounge forum on here where you can create a thread and post about more or less anything that you want, or there is the chatrooms for the same thing

[Fegenbush]

I am amazed at the fast recovery of my Imperial Angel after treating the food with ZOE in two days this was the difference!DSC00163.jpgDSC00161.jpgDSC00162.jpgThanks again for all your help! the scraches are on the glass I'm not sure what to do about them...