wounded coral beauty

[pistilli]

Hi, I have a coral beauty that I think has a scrape or some kind of wound on his side, is it possible that this could be a parasite or something more serious though? He's a new addition and has been active and feeding since day 1. Recently though he has been sidling up to my peppermint shrimp in what appears to be a very blatant request for cleaning, and always on the side with the scrape, but they don't seem interested. They do clean my hand when it's in the tank and used to be interested in other fish, but haven't been lately (and from what I know peppermint shrimp aren't very good cleaners anyway...). I know something is wrong with him but that cleaner shrimp clean parasites as well as simple damaged scales. Anyway, the picture here isn't very good and the scrape (?) actually appears a little more raised than it looks in the picture. If I did add a Lysmata amboinensis, do you think it would be willing to start work immediately? And would it get along fine with everyone? And would it make a difference for my angel anyway?

The tank is a 46 gallon with a 10 gallon refugium, and currently has the coral beauty, the two peppermints, three chromis, and two ocellaris clowns. I've had slightly high nitrates which I'm working down and are at about 20ppm right now, but everything else is fine (0 ammonia, nitrites, phosphates, 8.3 pH, 1.024 salinity, temp 78F).

[LisaD]

For now, I'd try adding a cleaner shrimp. I think they are compatible with peppermints.

I'd watch the fish closely. If it appears sick (listless, loss of appetite, unusual respiration, etc.) I'd move to a hospital tank and treat. It is hard to tell from the pic what this is.

Another option is to try a dip (FW, formalin or meth blue).

[rlcline76]

Hmmm
If you QTed (and sometimes even if you didn't) it might not be much to worry about. Do you have any other fish in the tank? Notice any aggression? For right now, I would just keep an eye on it.