Yellow Tang with Lymphocystis virus?

[bwomble]

About a week ago I noticed what looked like fungus across the tail of my yellow tang. It was just a bit in front of the tail fin. The fish had also assumed a kind of head up/tail down position when swimming and swimming seemed to be labored to some extent. I treated with Pimafix and the white cottony stuff seemed to go away (perhaps by coincidence) leaving behind a reddish pink wound that was somewhat linear. I thought the fish would quickly recover and I treated it with combination of Pimafix and Melafix to prevent any other infection. However, the fish's condition did not improve.

Two days ago I noticed whitish spots on the fins so I suspected that parasites had attacked the fish because of its weakened condition (Cryptocaryon irritans perhaps.) However, none of my other fish exhibit any problem and the white spots have gotten bigger rather than increasing in number and there are more of the red/pink spots. I found a photo of a Heniochus butterfly on wetwebmedia which is identified as having Lymphocyctis (or Lymphocystis; spelling vary) virus. The second and third pictures on this wetwebmedia page look very similar to the fins on my tang.

ViralDisLymph

However, many other photos of Lymphocyctis infected fish do not bear much resemblance to my fish. I'm hoping to find help in confirming my diagnosis and also the prognosis for the fish.

I apologize for the length of this question and thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[ZAPCOnj]

I could be wrong but it was my understanding that there isn't a "cure" for lymphocystis. it's kind of like fish Herpes. you can provide better water quality for the fish to help them along the recovery process but there was no medication to "cure" them of the virus. again.. i could be wrong. i have only read a little bit on lymphocystis so far. I'll be following along to learn a little myself.

i guess it would help some if you posted pics of your fish and if you could get shots of the areas you're referencing in your post for the other more experienced members to comment on.

GL in the fight!

 

[bwomble]

I could be wrong but it was my understanding that there isn't a "cure" for lymphocystis.

You are correct about their being no cure for lymphocystis but I'm not confident I've diagnosed it correctly since I've never seen it before. Is lymphocyctis fatal?

 

[ZAPCOnj]

I to can be if it gets really bad. from what i have read online, the best thing is to provide a stress free environment with good water quality for the fish to live in. adding garlic to the food your fish eat can also help with the immune system of the fish and help it be a little healthier. everything I've read so far says that you have to give the fish time to recover. a QT tank is recommended for the duration. as for how long you will have to QT the fish.. well that depends on how fast it heals. could be a few weeks could be a few months.

I have not yet found if it can be transmitted to other fish in your tank and if it can, how.

if you find anything be sure to post up your findings!!

 

[leebca]

You are correct in your assumption that Lymph is easy to mis-diagnose.

Describing it to me will not get you much help. You'll need to find a way to take several, close up, clear photos, where at least the entire fish fills the picture 'frame.'

You've seen photos of fishes with this condition, so it is hard for you not to be in a better position for an optimal diagnosis.

Adding a lot of chemicals to the water will not improve Lymph, since as indicated in other posts, this disease is not curable in the medicated sense. However, adding more chemicals to the water can exacerbate the condition.

With reference to parasites -- the tank is not parasite free (obviously) because only one fish displays the parasite. (I know you weren't saying this). Similarly, just because a fish does not display being infected in an infected tank, by a parasite, doesn't mean it isn't infected. (You were suggesting this). Avoid leaping to these kinds of incorrect assumptions. You'll want to read up on Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) and especially this post: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/23132-marine-ich-myths-facts.html

Until I have a good set of photos, that is about all I can say at this point.