sick fish?? Help!!

[annie p]

Sat. I noticed my tang had skin missing above his eye. About as large as his eye. I did a 1/3 WC and dosed the whole tank with melafix. Should I keep it up? I can't run the skimmers with this stuff. How long is that safe? Of course immediately I'm thinking HITH but yesterday it seemed to be healing, so maybe just a scratch?

[labnjab]

It could be a scratch. Do you have a picture? How is it acting? What are your parameters?

[annie p]

Actually he was eating and acting fine till I dosed then his colors really came out. = ammonia 0, nitrates 0, nitrates were 20 before W/C now 10. PH 7.2. He does harass my newer flame angel chsing thru the rocks. Do they get scratches? Hopefully I'm overeacting.

[labnjab]

They do get scratches, but marine velvet or HLLE can also appear as a scratch. 10 nitrates is still on the high side, are you running any mechanical filtration?

[annie p]

Well I was. I had an emporer 400 on it till this weekend. I removed the biowheels, however maybe too late. Now all I have is a bakpak 60 and a seaclone 100.

[labnjab]

Removing the mechanical filtration is a good move. Their a nitrate factory in Saltwater.

I'm no expert on diseases, but a picture would help Id it. Hopefully its just a scratch. If its HILLE its usually treated by clean water and a change in diet (from what I've read, no one knows the real cause of HILLE, but some suspect its a nutrient deficiency) Here's an article on it [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I had a clown who got marine velvet, which appeared to be a scratch at first. It was eating normal, but one day it stopped eating and the next it was dead. It is a fast killer and contagious, but can be treated if caught early. Copper meds and hypo salinity are the usual cures, but these need to be done in a QT tank

These are just my thoughts, but I would wait on someones else's opinion before taking any action