Black spots????

[mousehunter22]

Ive just been havin a good look in my tank and noticed that my orange shoulder tang has black spots all over his body,now he isnt acting deseased and is eating like a pig as usual but these black spots look quite bad!!!

I cant get a pic of him never mind the spots,other wise id try and show you,has anyone seen this befor????

[mfcfan]

how big are the spots lee? are we talking tiny

steve :)

[mousehunter22]

how big are the spots lee? are we talking tiny

steve :)

yeah very similar to white ones maybe a little bigger but it would be close

[mfcfan]

well lets hope its not black oodinum any signs of the eyes being cloudy

steve :)

[mousehunter22]

well lets hope its not black oodinum any signs of the eyes being cloudy

steve :)

not that i can see but i cant rule it out yet ive only noticed today the spots so i supose there is time yet for it to develop

[moorish]

very similar to whitespot,just treat the same as long as fish is feeding well they will normally go away in about 7-10 days.derek

[Macca]

copied and pasted

Typically a "disease" that is most commonly associated with Tangs and Surgeonfishes, but one that can be contracted by other species as well, what is referred to as Black Spot Disease, Tang Disease or Black Ich is actually caused by an infestation of tiny Genus Paravortex member turbellarian flatworms.

Although parasitic organisms that are much less dangerous and life-threatening, as well as rather easy to get rid of compared to other ich diseases such as Oodinium, Cryptocaryon, and Brooklynella, nonetheless it is a problem that needs to be treated upon recognition to eradicate infected fishes of these parasites.

The Life Cycle of These Worms


Living in the substrate until mature, an adult worm seeks out a host fish.

After feeding for about six days, it falls off into the substrate.

About five days later the worm's body ruptures and releases a new population of young worms, and the cycle starts again, but in larger numbers.
Symptoms to Look For

Once these worms start feeding on a host fish they acquire pigmentation, which causes the appearance of black spots about the size of a grain of salt on the body and fin membranes (view photo).

Worms that freely move about on fish, the spots do not always remain stationary. On light colored fish they are easy to see, whereas on dark colored ones they may go unnoticed at first. Fish will scratch up against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and if allowed to progress the fish become lethargic, loss of appetite and colors occur, rapid respiration develops, and secondary bacterial infections can invade damaged tissue sites.
Treatment Recommendation

Give all infected fish a freshwater dip, followed by a formalin bath and continue treatment in a QT.

Preventing Reinfestation

Reinfection will occur no matter how effectively the fish have been treated if these parasitic tubellarian worms are not eradicated from the main aquarium. Unfortunately because they can survive for several months without a host, this is often not an easy thing to do, but here are some suggestions.


Leave the main aquarium devoid of all fish for several months.

Young worms live in the substrate and feed on detritus and organic debris until such time they mature and go in search of a fish host. By siphoning up excess organic matter that can build up on the bottom of the aquarium can help to control their numbers.

For fish-only tanks that have no freshwater sensitive invertebrates present, hyposalinity can be applied

[mousehunter22]

cheers james!!!! Now im brickin it going by that it sounds like im gunna lose the lot again!!! Gutted again!!!! think il bin this hobby:(

[Macca]

Speak to Zeus, We are only guessing on what you have said, send some pice to Zeus. If you follow what Campbell suggests I dont think you will lose any fish m8. At least you have spotted this while the fish are still active and feeding and not show any worry signs. I have only copied and pasted have no knowledge on how servere balck spot can get although I did have a customer who got rid with fresh water dipping. The parasites soon jumped off.

James

[Zeus]

Hi,

Just caught up with this. Good article James, I have seen this one before but I believe that Paravortex isn't so common in the hobby.

It could also be Cryptocotyle, which, AFAIK, is much more common, especially on wild caught fish. If it is then there's really nothing to worry about as Cryptocotyle requires molluscs and then birds, as an intermediate host.

Try these pics
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/atherina.htm

Crucial to positive ID is if the spots change position. If you can observe this movement then it's Paravortex.

HTH
Campbell