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02/26/2012, 03:01 PM | #1 |
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Sailfin Tang Problems
Hello,
I'm new to Reef Central and thought this to be the best place to post a question regarding my Sailfin Tang. I've had a Flame Angel, Sailfin Tang, and a pair of Black Perculas in Quarantine for about 2 months now. The Flame Angel was fat and in perfect condition when I purchased him, but came down with Ich so bad within a few days, that treatment was too late. He died within 3 days or so. The clownfish show no signs of anything, so I think they are about ready to move into the big system, however, the Tang has hit a road block. This tang has never shown any sign of infection or disease, and is a BIG eater. I noticed a single white spot on a fin about a month ago and I kept watching him. A week ago, I began lowering the salinity level for hyposalinity treatment. I have also been using a product my LFS swears by called Herbtana. I was very scepticle about the product, knowing that Ich is tough and generally only cured with copper or hyposalinity. The Tang has shown no sign of stress and is fed live macroalgae, nori, fortified flakes and romaine. He is fat and healthy, or so I thought. Last night, I made the last drop in S.G. to 1.009. I noticed his one eye was cloudy and fins looked milky (not transparent). This morning, he was hovering in one spot at the back of the tank, obviously in stress. His slime coat appears to be sloughing off and appears to be covered in spots, but this may just be the slime coat. I also noticed areas of large dark brown spots or patches on the lighter colored stripes on his sides. He is also not interested in any kind of food, which is rare. Since he was in so much stress, I assumed it was the hyposalinity, and raised the salinity a couple of points, which seems to have helped him a bit. The only thing I know to do now is slowly bring back the salinity levels to normal over the course of a week or so and wait until he is strong enough for a copper treatment. This guy is obviously not going to tolerate a hyposalinity treatment for any period long enough for proper treatment. BTW, the rock in his 50gal QT tank isn't live....just cycled base rock that has been filtering one of my 300gal brackish systems (S.G. 1.010). There is no trace of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, or phosphate and all water used is RO/DI. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? I'm wondering if all of this stress has opened him up to an internal bacterial infection in addition to any parasitic infection he may have. |
02/26/2012, 03:05 PM | #2 |
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Can you post a photo?
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02/26/2012, 03:06 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Pottstown, PA
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If I can figure out how to post a few pics I will do so.
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02/26/2012, 03:14 PM | #4 |
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Location: Pottstown, PA
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Here are some photos:
Sailfin Tang 005.jpg Sailfin Tang 006.jpg Sailfin Tang 011.jpg Sailfin Tang 015.jpg Sailfin Tang 001.jpg |
02/26/2012, 03:27 PM | #5 |
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The other fish have ich as well even if not visible. Please read the stickies in the fish disease forum about treating ich. However, it sounds more like Brook to me.
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02/26/2012, 03:40 PM | #6 |
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I never QT multiple fish in the same tank or system. They are all in seperate tanks, so as to avoid the chances of spreading anything whether I can see it or not. I know most fish have one thing or another, whether we see the signs or not, but QT [U]sometimes[U] allows us to see a possible immediate or future problem. I also use a very long QT process to allow the fish to decompress (de-stress) and settle in and begin a healthy feeding regimen.
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02/26/2012, 06:08 PM | #7 |
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I have to agree that the clowns will have ick also.. If one fish shows the signs then all fish have the possibility of having it. I don't think the lowering of the salinity will be the cause of your fishes recent sluggishness.. Fish can handle the lower salinity drop pretty quick, that's why in the stickys it says you can drop down to 1.009 pretty quick.. Like in 2 days.. It's the coming back up that is the slow progression...
Now as far as what your fish has that can be a little harder to figure out.. Like stated above it may be brook, If he is scraping it may be flukes... Or it may be some other type of infection... Keep us posted And let us know how it goes..
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02/26/2012, 07:15 PM | #8 |
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Thanks Guys. In 25+ years in reef keeping I have never had to treat anything for Brooklynella. What do you think is the best method?
Just to clear anything up, none of the fish in quarantine have ever shared the same water or system. The clowns are a pair and came together, but all other fish are from different sources as well. My Quarantine system consists of (2) 50gal tanks, (4) 10gal tanks, & (2) 20gal tanks in a large rack system. Each tank has its own seperate filtration and the 4 largest tanks have their own 9w. UV on each tank. I do agree that most fish either have Ich in some form (as do most wild fish) or have been exposed to it. Brooklynella seems to be more common in clowns, though. I just want to get this under control before anything goes into the main system. |
Tags |
hyposalinity, quarantine treatment |
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