Powder Blue tang Ill-- help

[Jude]

Hi everyone,
I recently acquired a Powder Blue Tang from a LFS; when I first gotten it, it had some white growths on its one side of its head... I QTed the Tang in a 10gal tank w/o medication and put a few cleaner shrimps in there ( in case it was ick ), LR w/ algae (to try to stimulate natural grazing) and some caullerpa...

However, while the growths have receded slightly, the fish has begun to pant heavily, stopped eating and has some diminished color and slight reddening of the area. Tonight, I removed a few pieces of rock, the caullerpa (sp.) and cleaner shrimps so, I could medicate the QT tank.

dosage:
1tsp. MelaFix
1/2 tsp. PraziPro

I've also attached two of the best pictures I could get; any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading.

[Spracklcat]

Wow.

Does it look like an open sore? (hard to tell from the pic.). Is it smooth, bubbly, bloody, red, raised/growth or ulcerated?

This could be a bacterial infection, HLLE, or HLLE with a secondary bacterial infection. Take a look at this article about HLLE and the accompanying pictures and see if it looks similar:
.http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/sp/index.php

In any case, what you are treating with is likely not helping much. Prazipro is a dewormer, mostly for internal parasites, and MelaFix is not an antibiotic--it is tea tree oil, which may ( stress the may) promote wound healing but is not antibacterial. You may want to get some actual antibiotics on board.

Not having a better idea of what this is from the pics, and seeing as the fish is getting into some distress, a broad spectrum antibiotic like Furan-2 will cover any potential bacterial infection. If it is solely HLLE, then medications won't help. Do read the article carefully for guidance--it is well written and very thorough.

[Jude]

The ailment seemed to be in 2-part...
When I first purchased the fish (about 4 days ago), it had only seemed to be a collection of white growths/bumps. I'd seen this before one another tang and it had cleared up within a few days... so, naively, I thought if I'd cared for it in much the same manner as I'd done for the other tang- it would clear up.

However, while the white raised lumps started to disappear after a few days, another issue has revealed itself. In the same area, the is slightly swollen, red... it almost has the onset appearance of ulcerated skin. The color directly around that area has faded (when the tang exhibits its natural color).

It has not accepted any food since I've gotten it and you can see signs of that in the pic. I'd thought that perhaps the size of the tank (10gal) contributed to the stress and considered moving it to my main system... however, re-thought that after the second stage had presented itself.

[Percula9]

I would treat with Furan2 or Maracyn2 for 7-10 days in a quarantine tank.

[Anthony Calfo]

I agree with Percula/Sprackle... this fish needs antibiotics and without a vet source, the best hobby option is a cocktail of furazolidone and nitrafurazone ("furan" type products)

This fish is not suffering from extreme vitamin deficiency or stray voltage or any other commonly ascribed "cause" of HLLE... for starters, the lateral line is not infected(!). And the ulceration of the cheek is so far advanced without infection of the olefactory pores or ther lateral line that the cheek ulceration is simply an infection IMO.

[Jude]

Thanks for the advice everyone.
Tonight, the Tang seemed to re-gain some of its color around the area, but its cheek was still as visibly irritated as the night before. So, I'd taken the fish out of the 10 gallon QT, emptying the water and cleaning the tank (since I'd used other medication). Also, it did seem to not be panting as heavily as the evening before.

I decided to use an empty salt bucket (which I cleaned with R/O water), filled it with display tank water and put a small pump in there with the fish. I then dosed it with Furan-2... using about half of the packet (since each packet is used to treat 10 gallons and my pale is about 4.6gallons. Also, the directions stated to do this a minimum of 4x at 24 hour intervals (doing a 25% water change before each new dose).

Do I need anything else in the bucket other than the power-head with the Tang or simply follow the dosage instructions as detailed above?

Thanks for reading.

[Jude]

Also, do you have any advice as to what I should be trying to feed him with?
Thanks

[Jude]

Unfortunately, the fish passed away late this evening; I thought I'd share an image of the affected area...

[Spracklcat]

So sorry Jude. You put a good effort up.