Surgeonfishes: Tangs for  Marine Aquariums Diversity, Selection & Care New eBook on Amazon: Available here New Print Book on Create Space: Available here by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Sick Tang 7/4/08 Hi Bob. I have emailed you guys before with no response so hopefully my luck will be better this time. I have a Vlamingi tang in my 150g and she has developed some sort of parasite or is getting HLLE. Honestly it's hard for me to tell. My tank parameters are in the ok range ammonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate- about 10ppm PH- a little low at 8.1 salinity- a little high at 1.027. <This is fine> Here is when it started. You can see she has some ich and also the two small bumps under her eye. Here you can see that the ich has cleared up, but the bumps are spreading and becoming worse. About one to two weeks later is has progressed into this. All the way around her eye and in the pic you can even see something small and pink coming out of one of the bumps. She has a good all around diet which consists of algae sheets, frozen Mysis, frozen brine w/Spirulina, all soaked in garlic. She is still eating frequently. The only thing I can think of is to try a freshwater dip, but I wanted an experts opinion. Thank you for your time. -Chad <Likely this Acanthurus had/has some protozoan parasite fauna from the wild... I'd try bolstering its immune system via the foods. See WWM re. Bob Fenner>

The death of my Naso My silver Naso was so happy and I cut his romaine back to once a week because he was neglecting the algae that was his normal dinner. I came home one night to find my wife in tears and my little boy dead in a bowl dead. He gave me no signs that he was sick and it was 4 days prior that I went into my 85 gallon reef tank <Too small> and cleaned all of the glass with a blade and I even cleaned my rocks and my wet dry pumps. The tang had small white worm like parasites coming from his gills I saw 2 when he was in the bowl. I was too upset to cut him up to see the extent of the parasites. Have you seen this before? <Mmm, yes, but rarely...> My coral are healthy and happy and my mean black damsel is fine. Please advise me so I can know what to do when I get another. I never knew I could become so attached to a fish. Thank you for your time Jerry Fogle <... There are a few worm phyla parasitic groups that this could be... and generally they present no problems as you experienced... they can be virtually eliminated in going through your quarantine procedure with new fishes with the use of Praziquantel or similar... (PraziPro...). The fishes of this genus need at least a six foot long tank to adjust well, live generally in captivity. Bob Fenner>

Naso Tangs Hello Bob, <Hello Sanjay> I'm unsure if you remember, but approx 3 months ago I wrote to you regarding Naso tangs and intestinal worms. My plan was to investigate intestinal worms in Naso tangs as a reason for their decline in captivity. <Interesting possibility> I purchased a healthy six inch Naso and introduced it to my QT system.  It settled in well and after a week or so I began my experiment.   To half a cube of frozen food I added approx 20mg of an anti-thelmic preparation called Mebendazole.  I obtained the liquid form which sticks to frozen food. I fed this twice a day for two days without any ill effects to the Naso.  However I did not see any worms. <Have you taken a look to and through the scientific literature on issues involving such worms and Surgeonfishes?> On the third day, hey presto, hundreds of tiny round worms (confirmed by the local vet) about 1 cm in length.  Nasty looking organisms might I add. <Have any pix?> The QT tank had a little live rock, which proved to be a great mistake.  Many worms sought refuge in this rock.  At the same time the anti-thelmic agent seemed to dislodge the worms, but did not kill them.  I tried to remove as many as I could.   The tang re-ingested the worms and began to decline in the same manner as my previous Naso did in my main system. The Naso became increasingly thin over a few days. Eventually the tang died from what I suspect to be an over load of worms. I decided to discard the live rock, but as I was about to do so, I spotted a very large round worm about half an inch thick and six inches in length. My conclusion from the above may provide a reason for why Naso tangs decline for no apparent reason in captivity. <One hypothesis... how will or might you go about devising experiments to prove, disprove it?> I am not repeating this exercise as I do not want to be responsible for another Naso death. However I believe that importers of these beautiful creatures may find my studies interesting and take on the responsibility of de-worming these fish before they are passed on to retailers, (in an  Ideal world). <... better to have a larger sample size... and more "cures" folks can attempt> I also conclude that those who read this post and decide to de-worm a fish in QT,  must do so with either a more effective anti-thelmic drug or a greater concentration of Mebendazole.  Ensuring the tank is devoid of live rock is also essential. <Okay> Hope this has been of interest to you, thanks in advance for taking an interest. Regards Sanjay Patel <And thank you for writing. Bob Fenner>

Re: confused-urgent ich problem Dear Bob, When we put the little Naso back in his home tank, he continued to look better and the next morning his dark spots were barely there. He still looks good. We called all over town and found a few cleaner shrimps. I wanted them anyway and I hope they can avoid becoming an expensive lunch for the hermits.  <Yes, they should be able to co-exist... unless you have "mean" species of Hermits... and/or both are hungry...> I love that little Naso (not so little). He's amazingly intelligent. I hand fed him Sunday as much as he would not spit out while he was in the copper tank. Now he eats out of my hand reliably. After yesterday, though, he turns distress colors when he sees the net. I hope I can win his trust back. <You will> Thanks for all the replies. People tell us getting a UV filter will prevent this.  <No... a myth> Now I'm just hoping the shrimp and fish "bond". By the way, your web site is an excellent source of info. (I would expect nothing less given that your book was so wonderful). <Ahh, thank you> I can't help it. I love this fish. Thanks again, Allyson <Be chatting my friend. Bob Fenner>

Ich Life Cycle,,, adventures of Naso Hey Bob, I read about the Ich cycle a bit more and came across some info about the Cyst encased in gelatin stage.... <Yes> I believe I saw one a long time ago.... <Not visible to the "naked eye"> I thought that it was just mucus released by one of the corals.... So could this have been a Cyst at the bottom of my tank? It is/was about 1/2 an inch in diameter max. Is it safe to suck it out during a water change every time I see one? I have seen one on 2 separate occasions.... about 2 weeks ago and say 5 weeks ago....Knowledge.... there is no substitute..... Again your guidance is very appreciated, Robert PS. Do the cleaner shrimp eat ich in the Tomite stage or cyst stage? <They consume the encysted stages (and necrotic tissue, mucus...) on the fish hosts only. Bob Fenner>
Re: adventures of Naso DOH!!! <No more Simpson's for you> I am getting used to the type of contradictions.... I hate that I had to learn the hard way like most people. <Not necessary, as you know> Found this... they say not good for reefs.... I am still in your camp... they gave no reasons WHY!!! Hyposalinity- This treatment cannot be done in a reef tank with invertebrates, live sand or live rock. Hyposalinity is at 16ppt, is highly effective at eliminating ich and surprisingly low stress. . This may be the best therapy as it is not a dip but rather a long-term bath that should last a minimum of three weeks. The treatment is more effective (although copper can be very effective) and less stressful than copper treatments. The only two disadvantages to using hyposalinity verses copper is an accurate hydrometer is need (or refractometer is even better) and you need to check the pH and alkalinity daily and add buffer as needed. Most hydrometers are inaccurate. You need one calibrated for reef temps and some large glass types are O.K. Stay away from plastic swing arm hydrometers they are not often accurate. Hyposalinity will NOT disrupt the biological filtration as long as the salinity is not lowered too abruptly. If you lower the salinity using two water changes a day for two days the bio-filter will be fine. The bacteria that perform biological filtration are the same in FW or SW all you have to do is acclimate them to the change When you are ready to introduce your fish raised the salinity back up to normal over the course of a few days to keep the fish from stressing from a quick change in salinity. <Some factual, other fictional material... Bob Fenner>

Ich cure??? or not?? What do you think about this product? I never heard of it.... found it by Google of course.... It would be a dream if it worked.... http://user.aol.com/pattiric/aquarium/fishvet3.htm  <My opinions about this and other ich remedies are posted on our site. Bob Fenner>

Surgeonfishes: Tangs for  Marine Aquariums Diversity, Selection & Care New eBook on Amazon: Available here New Print Book on Create Space: Available here by Robert (Bob) Fenner