Blue Tang with white face

[lotafish]

My blue tang in the last couple weeks had developed this white patch on his face. He acts normal and it doesn't look like lateral line. He seems to itch his face on the live rock since he's developed this. Any ideas as to what this could be?

[tbittner]

What are you feeding it and how often? I give mine a piece of SeaVeggies soaked with garlic, selcon, and zoe every morning. Then they get fed a variety of things in the evening. All of them look great! Maybe a bit on the thick side.

Try soaking the nori or seaveggies in the garlic, selcon, and zoe and feed that to them. In a week or two, I bet it clears up.

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEF SANCTUARY!

Mal nutrition is one such source of a 'skin' problem amongst Tangs, but this can lead to bacterial infections. Make sure you are feeding the fish properly:
Feeding Marine Fish and Marine Fish Nutrition

Move the fish to a hospital tank and treat with an antibiotic. I recommend Maracyn Two for Saltwater fishes.

Skin bacteria can quickly kill a marine fish if not arrested. In the case of Tangs that have little mucous coating to begin with, the captive fish can be overcome by bacteria very quickly.

Next, find out where excess bacteria may be coming from. Are you keeping up with maintenance? Is your tank free of detritus? Do you have and use a skimmer? Are you keeping the skimmer clean and operating properly? Is the skimmer sized properly? Are you using carbon? Eliminate excess organics and waste build up.

While doing the above, review the foods and, like Terry mentioned, start the fish on proper foods with vitamin and fat supplements.

After the fish returns to normal, return it to the display.

[Varga]

I second garlic. My fish have had all sorts of issues but garlic seems to take care of it. I did not QT but I was told there is desease and parasites in every tank, question is are your fish strong enough to fight it.

[lcstorc]

What garlic does (or is supposed to do) is strengthen their immune system similar to the way it is said to boost the human immune system. It also for some reason appeals to the fish so people use it a lot with fish that are not eating. I have only seen one study that even tries to verify the immune system boost and it wasn't very professionally done,.
I would also argue with the disease or parasites in all systems. If you are careful and QT absolutely everything for the appropriate amount of time you can reduce if not entirely eliminate parasites and disease in your system. The problem is most people don't qt or don't qt everything. I am guilty I admit but it can be done.
Watch Woodstocks tank. She has just gone through and extensive QT with everything in her tank and is now following the proper procedure for all additions. Her tank has always been great but I fully expect for it to get even better now.
I would be interrested to see what Leebeca says on the issue of garlic in particular. I know how she feels about QT.

[leebca]

I’ve pretty much outlined my position in more than a few posts. Just search my name and “garlic” and there will be many hits.

I’ve sent every recent article to academics that are experts in ornamental fish husbandry. They are not experts by my say so; they are experts. Names such as Dr. Ed Noga, Dr. Michael Stoskopf, Dr. Greg Lewbart, and Dr. Mike Davidson. These are licensed DVMs that specialize in fish health management. With the exception of Dr. Greg Lewbart, they have each written books that are used as course textbooks in universities, colleges and continued education course on ornamental and fishery fish health management. I take most of my advice from these professionals on issues I don’t have the background for. I have studied under these people to gain textbook, lab, and practical information to complete my own 4 decades of marine fish husbandry, degreed in Microbiology and Chemistry from OSU (Ohio).

In addition I worked under grants to study the effects of garlic and garlic components on fish health.

I don’t write the above to impress anyone. Just some background to what I have to share with regards to garlic:

Components of garlic juice has some positive effect on what is called innate fish immunity. I don’t want this post to be a lesson in immunology, so I’ll stop there.

Garlic juice seems to agitate fishes. This ‘agitation’ has led some people to believe that the fish eating frenzy is an increase in appetite caused by the garlic juice, but is in fact just agitated fish that are eating. As many positive results as there are negative results show that garlic juice may have no affect on fish appetite.

Persons who have written their opinions of the effects of garlic juice use research in this area as a foundation to add their opinion. Their opinion is just that – an opinion. Sometimes there is some anecdotal experience which is assumed to be the result of garlic juice. However, I can establish the same anecdotal results using a placebo juice (which has no active ingredient – like saltwater labeled “medicine”). People will stand behind and swear my “medicine” made their fish healthy. But what is often the case is that the fish has developed an immunity or never had a disease to begin with, is eating better and nutritionally sound foods, and properly cared for because of all the attention given to them during the use of the “medicine.”

There is still room for further investigation, however one of the most important components of garlic juice attributed with it being a weak anti-microbial agent is short lived. It has a short shelf life.

If you will study the garlic plant and understand the ‘garlic juice’ function, it becomes enlightening. The garlic plant, healthy and growing wild is sometimes attacked by beetles, grubs, or worms at the base of the plant. Not too many of Nature’s animals can enjoy a bite of garlic, but some do. At the wound, the garlic plant releases its juices. The juices are not in the plant – they are actually created at the site of the injury by the crushing of plant fibers. The plant is actually creating the juice as a result of the crushing, chomping, biting effects of the grub, worm, etc. The crushing releases chemicals that react to form the active ingredients in garlic juice -- these chemicals are not in the plant circulatory system.

This juice has a function to the plant and that is to retard microbial invasion. It is a very good anti-microbial liquid containing many different components. All of these components have not been scientifically studied, so far. But what has been found is that the best results to helping sick fish is by injecting the fish with fresh garlic juice. When the proteins go through the fish digestive track, the proteins are denatured and what little advantage they had is neutralized by digestive juices. The next most advantageous introduction of garlic juice into the fish is through the mouth, lips, throat area before the juice gets into the area of the digestive track that denatures it. Absorbtion.

I have not seen any studies that fish bathed in garlic juice are healthier. There is some indication that too much garlic juice in the water can in fact have a negative impact on some marine life.

There is a vast supply of anecdotal information available, but I don’t make decisions based upon this. As many people who have used and claimed success seem to be the same number of people who have used and claimed no success. This is not a reliable treatment process nor something to depend upon.

Anecdotal? It is obvious that the earth has an edge, since if you watch a ship sail off, it eventually will disappear. Clearly the earth is flat and the ship has fallen off the planet.

No academic recommendation to fisheries or aquaculture or ornamental fish owners have been made with regards to garlic juice. Manufacturers of this product make no or few claims on the product labeling.

We are still learning about things like garlic juice and frankly, the health of ornamental fishes is not a high priority in the scientific community. In small quantities, it does no harm and if fresh has anti-microbial properties. That is after all how Nature has made use of it for the injured garlic plant. However in veterinarian medicine garlic juice and any of its main components is not used to cure nor to prevent any condition, disease, or parasite. Although the aquaculture/fishery industry has tried a variety of garlic applications, none can replace the known medications with reproducible results. Antibiotics and other more potent anti-microbial agents are used with definitive and reproducible positive results.

I have kept my marine fishes in disease-free systems for decades. I have used garlic juice religiously in some systems and not a drop in others. I can find no difference to the health of the fish, nor to those fish I studied with the above mentioned grants. If disease obligate parasites are not allowed in, fish don’t contract those diseases. If fish are nourished properly they fend off the common badies (bacteria) Nature intended them to. In captive care, the quality of the maintenance and care is what has the greatest impact on the longevity and health of our ornamental fishes. I place my support in these things, not garlic juice.

Others have their opinions, I will stand with the academic community on this topic, with hopes that more may come to light and that there is definitive value to the use of store-bought garlic juice in fish health management.