Disease thats not in the books

[silent1]

My tank has a vampire tang that has recently come down by a serious illness. This usually healthy fish was fine a few days ago but recently has refused to accept food. Today from observing the fish, the lips of the fish has turned white and the body is covered in a whiteish colour, this may sound like a usual disease but what sets it out from the rest is that lumps under the scales have appeard on both sides of the fish behing the fins. These lumps are not whitish but are the same colour as the surrounding skin. From looking at books on diseases that i own i cannot find any diseases fitting the description. If a person could identify this disease and advise on any treatment would be myuch appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

By any chance is this fish an Acanthurus olivaceus?
Without seeing a picture my guess at the moment would possibly be Lymphocystis.
Tell us about your tank?
Water parameters?
Other inhabitants?
Maintenance?
Foods?

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[silent1]

The fish is not a Acanthurus olivaceus from doing a gis its not right. The only form of identification was the name vampire tang, from a gis on that i got this name leutenant tang and a picture of that fish which seems correct. The fish is currently very shy and hides deep within the rocks so i cant get a picture. The tank is a percula 120, and has a lot of live rock and is doing completly ok in parameters. The other inhabitants are crabs, snails a yellow tang, 4 shrimp, regal tang, coral beauty, pyjama wrasse and some chromis. There is a 20% water change every two weeks and the tank has a automatic top-up. Food is simple marine mix.
The lumps on the fishes body are not white as Lymphocystis usually are, nor as large. The lumps are skin cloured and look deep inside the fishes body and are rather large, and both lumps have appeared in exactly the same place on opposite side.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok we're talking about an Acanthurus tennenti.
You do realize that these fish need copious amounts of algae to thrive not just prepared foods such as Marine Mix.
Again without a picture it could be any number of things though I'm tempted to say a healthier diet would go a long way to improving the health of your Surgeonfish.
If you have an Oriental food store nearby purhased some unseasoned Nori, soak it in a product like Selco/Selcon and let your tang graze on this during the day.
Otherwise see if your LFS carries a product like Seaweed Select (algae sheets) and let your tang do the same.
Two regular feedings a day should consist of shreds of meaty foods such as shrimp, squid, mussels, etc. also soaked in a vitamin supplement or Selco.

Regards,
David Mohr