"Black ich" on a Yellow Tang

tman23 · 09/28/2011, 02:21 PM

Well, I have recently introduced a yellow tang into my tank.
Not long after I introduced him, I started noticing tiny black spots on his body.
After some research I found that this appears to be something commonly called "black ich" that affects yellow tangs.

From my previous experience/research with ich, I have come to the conclusion that rather than doing anything drastic to treat ich (catching and quarantining all fish, etc), that keeping good water conditions, stress at a minimum, and running a uv part of the day on a low flow rate is a decent remedy/preventative measure in a well established reef tank (except perhaps for bad cases).

I supposed that with keeping the fish healthy and having stress minimized many times the fish will be able to fight the parasites before things get out of hand, and later recover.

However, I have not had much experience with this so called "black ich."
I would like to hear from individuals who have had experience with this particular pathogen.
I am not so much interested in getting "best guess" advice, but I want to hear from individuals who have personally dealt with black ich.
If you wouldn't mind, please explain what you did to treat (or what you decided not to do) and how things turned out. Feel free to include as many details as you would like.

I am hoping that by keeping stress levels low, running a 25 watt UV sterilizer a bit more often than usual with a low flow rate, and trying to keep the fish well fed that he/she will be able to fight this parasite and fully recover.
If possible, I would like to refrain from attempting to catch the little guy (likely without much success) and stressing him more in the process.

I look forward to your thoughts!

b0bab0ey · 09/28/2011, 03:27 PM

This thread might interest you:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1996184

b0bab0ey · 09/28/2011, 03:33 PM

This thread might interest you:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1996184

MrTuskfish · 09/28/2011, 04:24 PM

I have cured a couple of cases of black ich, but never in a reef tank. BI is a worm, far different than the protozoan parasite that causes ich. The name ''ich" is the only thing they have in common. It sounds like you only want info that doesn't involve a QT so I'll just pass on what I know. 1.) UV will not (and cannot) cure any parasite infestation; neither ich or "black ich". In fact, IMO & IME, it can often give hobbyists a false sense of security and just make matters worse. 2.) I did cure one case of BI using only praziquantel (PraziPro). This is not usually the 1st choice treatment, but may be your only option if you don't use a QT. Praziquantel is generally safe in DTs , as long as there are no feather dusters. 3.) IMO, the "stress" of moving a fish to a QT is very over-rated. Any stress is certainly less than the stress induced by a bad case of any parasite. If you decide that the fish needs to be put in a QT, then there are other, more effective options.

Neurovet · 11/27/2011, 06:30 PM

Did the prazipro work?

lhm nole · 11/27/2011, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neurovet

Did the prazipro work?

I have had it and with one treatment of prazi pro black ich was gone

Neurovet · 11/29/2011, 08:33 AM

How long did it take for the spotting itself to resolve?

09/28/2011, 02:21 PM	#1
tman23 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 21	"Black ich" on a Yellow Tang Well, I have recently introduced a yellow tang into my tank. Not long after I introduced him, I started noticing tiny black spots on his body. After some research I found that this appears to be something commonly called "black ich" that affects yellow tangs. From my previous experience/research with ich, I have come to the conclusion that rather than doing anything drastic to treat ich (catching and quarantining all fish, etc), that keeping good water conditions, stress at a minimum, and running a uv part of the day on a low flow rate is a decent remedy/preventative measure in a well established reef tank (except perhaps for bad cases). I supposed that with keeping the fish healthy and having stress minimized many times the fish will be able to fight the parasites before things get out of hand, and later recover. However, I have not had much experience with this so called "black ich." I would like to hear from individuals who have had experience with this particular pathogen. I am not so much interested in getting "best guess" advice, but I want to hear from individuals who have personally dealt with black ich. If you wouldn't mind, please explain what you did to treat (or what you decided not to do) and how things turned out. Feel free to include as many details as you would like. I am hoping that by keeping stress levels low, running a 25 watt UV sterilizer a bit more often than usual with a low flow rate, and trying to keep the fish well fed that he/she will be able to fight this parasite and fully recover. If possible, I would like to refrain from attempting to catch the little guy (likely without much success) and stressing him more in the process. I look forward to your thoughts!

09/28/2011, 04:24 PM	#4
MrTuskfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Wild Blue Yonder Posts: 8,887	I have cured a couple of cases of black ich, but never in a reef tank. BI is a worm, far different than the protozoan parasite that causes ich. The name ''ich" is the only thing they have in common. It sounds like you only want info that doesn't involve a QT so I'll just pass on what I know. 1.) UV will not (and cannot) cure any parasite infestation; neither ich or "black ich". In fact, IMO & IME, it can often give hobbyists a false sense of security and just make matters worse. 2.) I did cure one case of BI using only praziquantel (PraziPro). This is not usually the 1st choice treatment, but may be your only option if you don't use a QT. Praziquantel is generally safe in DTs , as long as there are no feather dusters. 3.) IMO, the "stress" of moving a fish to a QT is very over-rated. Any stress is certainly less than the stress induced by a bad case of any parasite. If you decide that the fish needs to be put in a QT, then there are other, more effective options. __________________ If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. Steve Current Tank Info: 180, 2-240 FOWLRs, 240 reef

09/28/2011, 03:27 PM	#2
b0bab0ey Moved On Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 2,564	This thread might interest you: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1996184

09/28/2011, 03:33 PM	#3
b0bab0ey Moved On Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 2,564	This thread might interest you: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1996184

11/27/2011, 06:30 PM	#5
Neurovet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 130	Did the prazipro work?

11/29/2011, 08:33 AM	#7
Neurovet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 130	How long did it take for the spotting itself to resolve?