Tang issues

[sandry75]

Hello all,

I have yellow tang that has suddenly developed what apears to be marine ick. He is currently in my small reef tank that contains several inverts and a couple of small corals (just starting to add corals).

Is there any treatment I can use in this tank without harming the other inhabitants or do I have to remove him and treat with copper?

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

[kau_cinta_ku]

the 2 only know ways to rid ich is hypo and copper and both have to be done in a hospital tank. there are products that say they are reef safe and remove ich but they have never been proven to work. but some ppl have had luck

also if he is in your 29 gal. that is prob. one reason he got is was because he was stressed in that size tank.

what type of tang?

[menzies2901]

reduce the salinaty to 1.016 and raise the temp to 28 deg c - but be aware that doing this your corals wont like it.......can you get the tang out an QT. I had a bit of an issue with Ick and bought myself a UV steriliser and haven't had a case of it since

[Shagsbeard]

There are treatments that claim to work and be reef safe. KickIck and NoSickFish are two that have been discussed here. Some are all excited about them, but others claim that the stuff is worthless. If you are dead set about treating this guy in the reef tank instead of a hospital tank (which could just be a food storage container for $7.95 at homedepot), you could try one of these. I'd get it out of that tank, and into it's own aquarium and treat it with hypo and copper.

[sandry75]

Thanks for the advice!!!

The tang is in my 36gal (26gal is a typo on the profile). It was to be temporary until my new 80gal is up and running - he has been in the small tank for about two months with no issues. I did adjust the temp down from 76 to 74 for the corals as advised by my LFS. He is the only fish currently in the tank - cleanup crew, starfish, long-spinded black urchin and sally lightfoot are the only other tank mates.

I'll have to dig my old 20gal out of the shed and set it up as a hosp. tank - should have done it awhile ago I guess??


As for treatments - I have heard of hypo-salinity / freshwater dip / copper treatments and elevating temperatures to increase the ick lifecycle, but never reducing salinity?? I was told to keep the salinity up to 1.022-1.023 as it is preferred by the corals and well tolerated by most fish.

As for the UV - is this a worth while investment? I've been told it was just another un-necessary LFS recommendation - comments???

Sandry75

[kau_cinta_ku]

raise the temp. that temp is cold. most reefs are around 79-80 degrees as for sg i keep mine at 1.025 witch is about the same as the ocean. as for the UV some ppl swear by them and others say it is just not nessesary but if you do use one it removes the bad and the good bacteria and it only kills what is suspended in the water to allow it to pass through the light. IMO not worth it.

water parmeters

[Shagsbeard]

A hospital tank doesn't need to be cycled for months before you get it going. It's going to be bare bottom with some pvc tubes in it for giving the fish places to hide. You can run a filter (HOB power filter or what ever you have) and will need a heater. A power head for flow is a nice touch too. All in all it should cost less than the fish you are hospitalizing.

Use water from your main tank for initially filling it, and for frequent 10% water changes. Use a filter pad or sock from somewhere in your main tank for biofilter... just don't put it back in the main until it's been sanitized. I'd throw it out and get new filter pads.

Feed the fish in hospital as much as he'll eat, and dose him with vitamins. Syphon up uneaten food after five minutes or so.

Leave the display free of fish (all fish... inverts and coral ok) for six weeks and the ick parasite will have it's life cycle broken.

It's not as hard as people make it out to be... the hardest part is catching the fish. Some people run hospital tanks at low SG as part of their regular acclimation process. If I had say a 2000 gal with all sorts of stuff in it, I'd treat any fish I planned on putting in the tank for Ick before he ever got in even if he had no signs of the disease. I guess I should treat my 75 gal with as much respect, but it's a risk vs reward thing.

[sandry75]

Thanks again guys!

Appriciate the help !!!

[bureau13]

Careful on the whole cycling issue in QT. I did the seeded sponge filter thing in my 29 gal and lost some fish when my ammonia spiked. Get some BioSpira to assiste with seeding before putting any fish in, get one of those Ammonia Alert things to put in the tank, and try and make sure its cycled with straight ammonia, or even fish food, before putting fish in it.

jds

[tkeracer619]

Originally posted by bureau13
Careful on the whole cycling issue in QT. I did the seeded sponge filter thing in my 29 gal and lost some fish when my ammonia spiked. Get some BioSpira to assiste with seeding before putting any fish in, get one of those Ammonia Alert things to put in the tank, and try and make sure its cycled with straight ammonia, or even fish food, before putting fish in it.

jds

I agree. When I set up my qt it was a 55 I had a hard time keeping up with water changes to dilute ammonia.

Since then I have not taken it down. I am on my 3rd group of fish. The last 2 groups have been larger.

My qt this round around is holding a huge bio load. No spikes!!

I added about 10 fish at once in a 55. I had 100gallons of water made up ready for water changes but........ The containers are still full.

[Tightrope]

I don't know if this works in saltwater, but in freshwater, in an emergency, you can use the water conditioner Prime to help control the ammonia in your water. It binds to it and makes it the safe form, but doesn't get rid of it (so it's no excuse for poor husbandry or lack of water changes, just a good emergency measure). Be careful, though, as it can significantly drop the oxygen available in the water for your fish!

Freshwater ich is so much easier to deal with. Crank your tank up over 86 degrees for a bit, and it'll kill the stuff off. Marine ich sounds much nastier.

[kau_cinta_ku]

Originally posted by Tightrope
I don't know if this works in saltwater, but in freshwater, in an emergency, you can use the water conditioner Prime to help control the ammonia in your water. It binds to it and makes it the safe form, but doesn't get rid of it (so it's no excuse for poor husbandry or lack of water changes, just a good emergency measure). Be careful, though, as it can significantly drop the oxygen available in the water for your fish!

Freshwater ich is so much easier to deal with. Crank your tank up over 86 degrees for a bit, and it'll kill the stuff off. Marine ich sounds much nastier.

yes, either prime or amaquel are both great to have in emergancy's of ammonia and nitrite spikes

you don't want to crank up the temp to 86 degrees in a sw tank for long as it will start killing off your LR and even some inverts can't handle that temp.