Help: Kole Tang issue

ccLansman · 08/24/2010, 07:57 AM

Here goes.... About a month ago the wife and I purchased a Kole Tang and a Potter Angel from a LFS. Within a day both were dead, they had white splotch marks all over their bodies. The guys at the store could not figure out what it was. We assumed the worst and have stopped shopping for fish at this particular shop. A few weeks went by and so we decided to get a new Kole from another LFS that seemed to be more on top of their tanks and the fish in their store looked much healthier then the other. We get the fish and its ok for about 15 or so days. Eating, swimming around, having a good time.. Then a day ago some white splotches turned up again. I did feed with Focus and Aquamenazole a few times when we got the fish to make sure it was healthy. Any how... came in this morning and its dead as well. I did some reaserch and it looks like some sort of fungus or internal parasite or something can cause the white splotches. I really don't want to drop another $40 and keep killing fish

makes the wife sad... How long should i wait/what can i do to clean out the tank so down the road i can get a kole and keep it?

Here is some info about the tank:
55gals + 20 gal sump
ASM G1+ skimmer
250w MH
Mainly SPS dominant,
1.025 salinity
9.2 dKH
420 Cacl
1350 mag

other inhabitants:
2 x cleaner shrimp
1x six line wrasse
2x black clowns
2x firefish gobies

Everyone else in the tank is doing fine, no signs of any issues.

DustinB · 08/24/2010, 08:09 AM

If it looked like salt crystals all over the fish then it was likely ich. If it was the first fish infected your whole tank. You will need to get all the fish out of the tank and treat them with either cupramine or hyposalinity for 4-6 weeks. You will need to leave the tank fish free for 6-8 weeks to ensure the parasite dies without a host.

Search the new to hobby and fish disease treatment sections of this forum, there are many threads on this issue.

nanchil · 08/24/2010, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DustinB

If it looked like salt crystals all over the fish then it was likely ich. If it was the first fish infected your whole tank. You will need to get all the fish out of the tank and treat them with either cupramine or hyposalinity for 4-6 weeks. You will need to leave the tank fish free for 6-8 weeks to ensure the parasite dies without a host.

Search the new to hobby and fish disease treatment sections of this forum, there are many threads on this issue.

+1

Looks like ich and please always QT your new additions before you add it to your DT.

ccLansman · 08/24/2010, 08:18 AM

yeah looks like i learned this one the hard way. Since the other fish are healthy and don't have a single spot on them is it really necessary to take them all out and treat? Also why are most people at LFS saying Ich is normally something that everyone gets and is easily solved with a little food added medication and good feeding? Others on the forum and local friends with tanks say their tangs get it from time to time and they have never lost a single one..

The issues almost sounds like this one.
Ichthyophonus fungus
# Symptoms

These fungi goes to the internal organs, infecting the kidney, heart, spleen and liver.

Signs include emaciation, spinal curvature, darkening or paling of the skin, roughening of the skin, fin erosion, and skin ulcers. Erratic swimming behavior can be a symptom too.

Chris27 · 08/24/2010, 08:24 AM

What are your acclimation practices? How do you measure your salinity? Where did the other fish come from?

ccLansman · 08/24/2010, 08:33 AM

I float the bag for 20+ mins, i place it in the sump and forget about it for a while so the water temp evens out. Then i start a slow drip with a airline and a plastic needle valve, let that run till the bag is 80% full. Slowly drain the bag until just enough water for the fish to swim and then submerge the bag in the tank so the fish can swim out.

Salinity is checked via a refracto meter. The tank has tons of SPS that is doing just fine so the parameters are in check. The fish came from a local fish store.

DustinB · 08/24/2010, 08:58 AM

Ich is a parasite. If the fish is healthy and in good conditions it can fight it off itself. However, the parasite is still living on the gills in low numbers. One stressed fish and the outbreak happens again. Ich never leaves your tank if you don't treat the fish with either copper or hyposalinity and leave the main tank fishless for 6-8 weeks.

There's a lot of misinformation on ich floating around all over. These are facts from studies.

ccLansman · 08/28/2010, 10:17 AM

***UPDATE*** we had two new black clowns go in one week, they didn't show a single sign of ich the entire time. However when we found them they did have white splotches all over, the splotches looked internal. The heck is going on in my tank?

L8ndeb · 08/28/2010, 11:08 AM

+1 for ick. I agree about removing ALL fish from the tank. Set up a hospital tank and treat them with cupramine (or some other chealeted (sp?) copper) or hyposalinity. Keep them in the tank for at least 6 - 8 weeks. Leave the display tank fishfree for the same period. IMO, if you do not do this, you will be on the ick merry-go-round. (clears then appears, clears then appears, etc.)
After you accomplish this, QUARANTINE all new fish for 6 - 8 weeks minimum in a quarantine tank before adding to your display.

mrbill24 · 08/28/2010, 03:17 PM

There are many opinions about how to rid a tank of ich. I had an ich outbreak that first showed on a purple tang. All the fish started showing symptoms within ~2 days. All fish (maybe 5) were removed, so the tank could go fallow for 6 weeks. It was a giant pain in the butt with water changes etc. Some people will recommend treating food with garlic and other things. Dissasembling your rockwork and netting out your fish is traumatic in itself (to the fish and the reefkeeper). My opinion is the fallow/copper in a QT tank is the way to go.

08/24/2010, 07:57 AM	#1
ccLansman Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vista, Ca Posts: 146	Help: Kole Tang issue Here goes.... About a month ago the wife and I purchased a Kole Tang and a Potter Angel from a LFS. Within a day both were dead, they had white splotch marks all over their bodies. The guys at the store could not figure out what it was. We assumed the worst and have stopped shopping for fish at this particular shop. A few weeks went by and so we decided to get a new Kole from another LFS that seemed to be more on top of their tanks and the fish in their store looked much healthier then the other. We get the fish and its ok for about 15 or so days. Eating, swimming around, having a good time.. Then a day ago some white splotches turned up again. I did feed with Focus and Aquamenazole a few times when we got the fish to make sure it was healthy. Any how... came in this morning and its dead as well. I did some reaserch and it looks like some sort of fungus or internal parasite or something can cause the white splotches. I really don't want to drop another $40 and keep killing fish makes the wife sad... How long should i wait/what can i do to clean out the tank so down the road i can get a kole and keep it? Here is some info about the tank: 55gals + 20 gal sump ASM G1+ skimmer 250w MH Mainly SPS dominant, 1.025 salinity 9.2 dKH 420 Cacl 1350 mag other inhabitants: 2 x cleaner shrimp 1x six line wrasse 2x black clowns 2x firefish gobies Everyone else in the tank is doing fine, no signs of any issues.

08/28/2010, 11:08 AM	#9
L8ndeb Registered Reef Keeper Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 1,443	+1 for ick. I agree about removing ALL fish from the tank. Set up a hospital tank and treat them with cupramine (or some other chealeted (sp?) copper) or hyposalinity. Keep them in the tank for at least 6 - 8 weeks. Leave the display tank fishfree for the same period. IMO, if you do not do this, you will be on the ick merry-go-round. (clears then appears, clears then appears, etc.) After you accomplish this, QUARANTINE all new fish for 6 - 8 weeks minimum in a quarantine tank before adding to your display. __________________ Leyton at Reno Current Tank Info: Custom 200 gal reef cube with a 20 gal sump, 2 AI SOL LED Fixtures, Super Reef Octopus skimmer, custom made calcium reactor, Apex Lite controller with various modules.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
What size tank would be good for a kole tang,blonde naso tang, and sohal tang	psilentchild	New to the Hobby	23	12/07/2008 11:11 PM
Need Help: Mouth Fungus, Kole Tang?	Aquasalt	Fish Disease Treatment	1	04/05/2008 10:30 PM
HELP: Achilles tang VS Unicorn tang	chaffey	Southern California Reefers	6	05/24/2007 01:06 AM
Can I keep a kole tang and a yellow tang together?	R33f3r	Reef Fishes	6	05/01/2006 07:30 PM
Yellow tang or kole tang?	Angel 1	Reef FAQ's	1	12/28/1999 07:55 PM

08/24/2010, 08:09 AM	#2
DustinB Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,532	If it looked like salt crystals all over the fish then it was likely ich. If it was the first fish infected your whole tank. You will need to get all the fish out of the tank and treat them with either cupramine or hyposalinity for 4-6 weeks. You will need to leave the tank fish free for 6-8 weeks to ensure the parasite dies without a host. Search the new to hobby and fish disease treatment sections of this forum, there are many threads on this issue.

08/24/2010, 08:18 AM	#4
ccLansman Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vista, Ca Posts: 146	yeah looks like i learned this one the hard way. Since the other fish are healthy and don't have a single spot on them is it really necessary to take them all out and treat? Also why are most people at LFS saying Ich is normally something that everyone gets and is easily solved with a little food added medication and good feeding? Others on the forum and local friends with tanks say their tangs get it from time to time and they have never lost a single one.. The issues almost sounds like this one. Ichthyophonus fungus # Symptoms These fungi goes to the internal organs, infecting the kidney, heart, spleen and liver. Signs include emaciation, spinal curvature, darkening or paling of the skin, roughening of the skin, fin erosion, and skin ulcers. Erratic swimming behavior can be a symptom too.

08/24/2010, 08:24 AM	#5
Chris27 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 4,452	What are your acclimation practices? How do you measure your salinity? Where did the other fish come from?

08/24/2010, 08:33 AM	#6
ccLansman Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vista, Ca Posts: 146	I float the bag for 20+ mins, i place it in the sump and forget about it for a while so the water temp evens out. Then i start a slow drip with a airline and a plastic needle valve, let that run till the bag is 80% full. Slowly drain the bag until just enough water for the fish to swim and then submerge the bag in the tank so the fish can swim out. Salinity is checked via a refracto meter. The tank has tons of SPS that is doing just fine so the parameters are in check. The fish came from a local fish store.

08/24/2010, 08:58 AM	#7
DustinB Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,532	Ich is a parasite. If the fish is healthy and in good conditions it can fight it off itself. However, the parasite is still living on the gills in low numbers. One stressed fish and the outbreak happens again. Ich never leaves your tank if you don't treat the fish with either copper or hyposalinity and leave the main tank fishless for 6-8 weeks. There's a lot of misinformation on ich floating around all over. These are facts from studies.

08/28/2010, 10:17 AM	#8
ccLansman Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vista, Ca Posts: 146	*UPDATE* we had two new black clowns go in one week, they didn't show a single sign of ich the entire time. However when we found them they did have white splotches all over, the splotches looked internal. The heck is going on in my tank?

08/28/2010, 03:17 PM	#10
mrbill24 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 73	There are many opinions about how to rid a tank of ich. I had an ich outbreak that first showed on a purple tang. All the fish started showing symptoms within ~2 days. All fish (maybe 5) were removed, so the tank could go fallow for 6 weeks. It was a giant pain in the butt with water changes etc. Some people will recommend treating food with garlic and other things. Dissasembling your rockwork and netting out your fish is traumatic in itself (to the fish and the reefkeeper). My opinion is the fallow/copper in a QT tank is the way to go.