parisite?

[Tampa Reefer]

Hello all, I am new here but have had my tank up for about two years. My problem is that my flame hawk has what looks to be little fiberglass threads sticking out of his head. Sorry I have no camera but the threads are about half an inch long and clear or kind of white. Is this a parsite? This only happend within 2 hours while I was at dinner. Thanks

 

[LeoR]

I'll be guessing from a limited description:

White threads are usually signs of fungal infections.
They keep building up their mass until they look like cottony puffs.
What is seen above the skin is usually only the tip of the iceberg. The body of fungus grows below the skin. It may damage internal organs, and it usually releases toxic byproducts.

Possible causes are many; cleaning the substrate and reducing overfeeding might help prevent reoccurence.
Treatment depends on the severity of the infestation. At early stages, bathing the fish in 1ml/L of Methylene blue for 5 days may help.

LeoR

 

[Chucker]

If your length estimate is a bit on the high side, it's also possible that he tangled with a bristleworm, and you see said bristles that were left behind.

 

[Tampa Reefer]

If it is a bristle worm should I worry or will the spikes just come out on their own? I should have added this to my first post but all my tank paramiters are at zero except nitrates wich are at about ten. Would a fungi show up in less than 3 hours? The fish was fine when I left.Thanks for your replies this board is a great place for info

 

[monkeyboy]

If your length estimate is a bit on the high side, it's also possible that he tangled with a bristleworm, and you see said bristles that were left behind.

That's exactly what i was thinking. I've never heard of anything else that would cause what you've described. I know when i tangle with a bristleworm, my fingers sure look like that. It would probably be more stressfull to remove him from the aquarium and 'tweeze the fibers out of his head. They should either fall out or even dissolve on their own, although i have no experience w/ bristle spines that are in the tank :?

 

[Tampa Reefer]

Yes now that I have looked at him today some of the spikes have come out and the fish seems to doing fine. That's kind of funny I've never seen any bristle worms in my tank but thats got to be what it was. Thanks