Diseased Fish?

[hyrookin]

hey all, I have an eibli angel who has started to get frayed and torn fins.
I have had him for 4 years, and was always healthy.
at first I thought maybe it was my hermit crabs at night, but
within the last couple of days, he is also losing a lot of color around his face.
all the other fish are fine.
does anyone know what this could be?
any input would be appreciated.

 

[Lynden]

Hmm, what are your water parameters? I do not like the sound of the symptoms you describe...

 

[hyrookin]

just checked them and all seem good.
nitrite and ammonia at zero,
p.h. is good.
nitrates a little high, around 40,( water change due!)
other than that, all good.

maybe lateral line disease?

 

[Lynden]

Your nitrates are 40ppm and your invertebrates aren't dead? That's helpful information for me. Maybe I can get my cleanup crew now

My prime suspects for the fin-nipping are the Bicolour Angel, and the Coral-Banded Shrimp. Bicolour Angels are lovely fish really, but if it is larger than the Eibl's Angel, it could get arrogant and nippy. Also, Coral Banded Shrimps can do quite a bit of damage to anything they take a dislike to. New research is revealing these animals to be less reef-safe than originally understood.

With Lateral Line Disease, you will see gigantic, pus-filled holes in the head and body. I don't think it's Lateral Line Disease that your angel is affected with; I think it's just stress. I'm afraid you might have to think about rehoming an animal or two if I'm right.

-Lynden

 

[hyrookin]

yeah, it probably is the coral shrimp, as there is no large holes, just loss of color.
my nitrates are high, as the usual reading is 20-25 ppm.
but in my experience, 40 ppm will not kill a clean-up crew,
but obviously your nitrates should not get to that level on a regular basis.

thanks for the help!