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Hippo tang with Ich in QT
9/15/14
Blue hippo tang with ich 1/12/10
Ich 03/26/09
Acanthuridae (Finrot?) 10/20/08 hi , I have a question about my hippo tang. I have had her 3 months. within the past three months I have been battling a case if ich, black ich , and now she has a white cotton looking growth on her fin.. I had put her in some quick cure but this never went away. just curious what it is? and how to cure it? <Almost certainly a bacterial secondary infection, though a fungal infection can't be ruled out. In any case, you'll need to treat, promptly, for example with Maracyn or Maracyn 2 (I'd try the first first, and if that doesn't work, the second). Do also understand that secondary infections don't come out of nowhere, and nine times out of ten the cause is environmental, specifically water quality, though mechanical trauma (e.g., biting, poor handling) should also be considered. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/infectio.htm Cheers, Neale.> Hippo tang question, hlth., learning 8/19/08 Hi there, I purchased a juvi hippo tang last Thursday (August 14) and he settled into my tank <... no quarantine> very well (started swimming about the tank, meeting new tank mates within 5 minutes of introduction) <Good> The tang is very small, probably as big as a loonie, and smaller than a Toonie. <Mmm, summat less than a dollar coin in the U.S.: http://www.bcpassport.com/vancouver-vital-information/canadian-money-currency.aspx > He does have a nice stuffed belly, but he has not eaten anything since being introduced. He has shown maybe 3 to 4 spots of ich, which it tries to swipe off himself by dashing on the bottom or corners of the tank every so often. <Mmm... you do realize the system is now infested if this is a protozoan agent?> He is not in complete distress at all, and still is active, not breathing fast and generally looking pretty good. I am taking measures to treat the fish for the ich (trying Aquarium Munster Protomarin coral, fingers crossed) I will have no chance of catching that tiny fish in my display so I am resorting to medication. <Mmmm... "reef safe"... "effective"... Don't go together any better than licorice and pizza... and I'm a giant fan of these last two. I don't see where the manufacturer lists the ingredients: http://www.aquarium-munster.com/Eng/GB_0_Home.asp Do you know what this material really is? If so, please send along> My question is, after how many days without food should I start to worry? <Daily> I already am worried, but like I say, his belly is pretty fat. He tries to peck at floating items in the tank (thinking it's food), so I know he is trying to eat.. he just always misses out on my feedings. When I turn the pumps off, he goes running and hides the entire feed. With the few ich spots, and not eating, I am worried it's health will decline at a fast rate. I have tried feeding with pumps on, but the movement from me putting food into the tank sends my clownfish running, so everyone follows, they all get scared so easily. <A bad sign> I have also ordered some Kent Garlic Xtreme, <...> and some Selcon to start soaking the foods in, in hopes it might entice him to eat. I also ordered some seaweed algae. All these items should arrive by Friday. I forgot to mention, I am feeding my fish with NLS Pellets, and Mysis shrimp soaked in garlic extract (which is better?) <Can't say> I don't want to lose the little guy, he is the healthiest I have found a juvi hippo. Is he going to starve?? <Mmm, maybe. Are you going to read?> I really hope this guy starts noticing my pellets and Mysis soon.... with all the extra food I am pumping into the tank for him to eat, I am getting bits of algae outbreaks. Thankfully my clowns are complete pigs and usually clean up the leftovers. Thanks for reading my long post, I am terrible at summarizing. I just basically want to know how long without food should I start to worry, what foods I should focus on feeding (I hear the NLS pellets are a very good source of nutrition for marine fish?) <Yes... an excellent, very palatable source> I have been trying to feed every day, with no luck. It's not that the fish doesn't want to eat, it's just that he hides when I introduce food into the tank. I figured if all the other fish would eat, he would notice and start eating too, but no luck on that note yet. Thanks again for a great resource.. I appreciate your time and efforts. <A few "things" possibly going on here. "Just" being new/stressed, to being toxified by some homeopathic remedy... You don't mention your system components, history, or water quality tests... Please start reading here: http://wetwebmedia.com/paracfdgfaqs.htm and on to the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Blue tang itching 1/23/08 Hello Crew, I have a question about my 1 inch Blue Tang. <Small...> I have thoroughly read your pages on fish, diseases and parasites, and I am still not sure if my tang has ich, or if it may be stress. <Perhaps a bit of both...> I have had the tang in the main tank for 2 weeks. I QT him for 6 weeks before the move to the main tank. <Ah, good> He was in the main tank for 2 days, and began rubbing his belly against the rocks. He stopped rubbing his belly after three days, and had a few scratches from doing this, there was no injury, and no cysts have appeared. He seemed to be over whatever was bothering him. Three days after he stopped the belly rub, he started a head rub, and this has been happening for three days now, there are still no cysts to be seen anywhere on his body. <Paracanthurus do scratch quite a lot... naturally> He is breathing normally, eating, playing (he's hilarious), schooling with the Chromis, and generally having a good time, <Ahh!> he has also made a bed in one of the Sinularia. No other fish are showing any signs of itching, rubbing, scratching or cysts/spots. I haven't done anything to treat him yet as I wanted another opinion on whether it is ich or not. I asked the LFS, and of course they wanted to sell me a $50 bottle of liquid that is reef safe, and can be dumped into the main tank - <Mmm, I would NOT do this> they were not very happy when I told them that was one of the worst things they could recommend as a treatment. I stopped short of telling them to read WWW. <Please, don't feel, be so reserved> Should I just go ahead and QT, dip etc, or wait a few more days to see if those darn cysts appear? <I would leave all as is presently> It is going to be a challenge to catch him since he is only an inch, and I don't want to stress him if he doesn't have ich, and he just stressed. Tank stats for your info are: 50gallon tank with a Fluval 305 canister filter (bio and carbon that is changed weekly), Aqua C Remora skimmer (best purchase I ever made), powerheads to blow the water around, T5HO lights, with live rock, aragonite substrate, 2 Sinularia, 1 BTA, cluster Duncanopsammia, cluster candy cane, cluster of Blastomussa (all corals are very happy). 1 ocellaris (hosting in the BTA), 1 mandarin, 1 bicolour blenny, 4 schooling blue/green Chromis, and the tang. I know the tank is too small for the tang, he will be moved to a bigger tank. Water parameters are within the recommended limits (didn't list them as I have rambled on too much already). Thanks for the advice, very much appreciated, my tank couldn't live without you :) <Welcome! Bob Fenner>
New Regal Tang, hlth. 01/14/2008 <<Hello, Andrew here>> I work at my LFS, a few months ago our marine tanks where wrecked by some HBH balancing blocks, yet my idiot boss refuses to re-cycle the tanks, and even worse, still insists on ordering new fish (and selling them while they are entering the early stages of ich). Don't worry, one of us (me or her) will quit soon. Anyway my question rests with a 2-3 inch regal tang (which I've been wanting one for ages) who was ordered and placed in one of our wrecked tanks, it sat there for days hiding and sitting lethargically on it's side (to be expected) but it was doing it for longer than it should have taken it to settle in (it also flashed quite a lot, ich?). <<Sounds precarious..>> Against my better judgment I took it home as I knew it would die a certain death at work, it's currently sitting in my 50 litre quarantine with crushed shell and coral + one piece of (very healthy) liverock. <<Remove the sand and rock from the quarantine, just have a piece of PVC pipe in there for hiding. Sand and rock can harbour parasites which will remain, and the idea of quarantine is to keep parasite free for new arrivals. Its also easier to clean after the quarantine process is complete>> It seems to be improving (since I brought it home yesterday) but the shells + LR are probably the worst things it could possibly be flashing against. I tested the water with some tri-sulfa <<Would stop using this>> before drip acclimatizing it, although I know now that this probably won't help a lot. She eats like a machine (I've been feeding her some krill/Spirulina granules) but still scrapes and hides on it's side under the (bridge shaped) live rock most of the time. <<Best advice is to keep a close eye on the fish, is it showing any signs of Ich? It does sound like Ich, however, I would not pre-empt a treatment until you can confirm this>> The water param.s are (tested 3 days ago) : PH:8.2, Ammo: 0, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 0, SG: 1.023-5 Once she is better I plan on putting her in a 55gal with 1 royal dotty back, 2 false Perculas, one green Chromis and a coral goby (suitable tank mates?). <<Suitable tank mates, however unsuitable tank size, you ideally need 120 or more gallons to house these fish. Yes, its small now, but these do grow quite quickly in a well maintained system>> Anyway my question is, is there else anything I can be doing (or doing better) to ensure her good health and survival? <<You're taking the right approach with the fish. Keep it fed well on a good staple diet, maintain excellent water parameter and keep a very close eye out for Ich. Hope all goes well with the Tang>> Thanks, Oscar. <<Thanks for the questions, A Nixon>> Bacterial infection of blue tang? 7/19/07 Dear Crew, Any ideas what type of infection my new blue tang could have had that came on in 24 hours when just yesterday there were no signs/symptoms? <Yes... such events can be very rapid onset indeed> Tonight it had frayed dorsal and anal fins, almost swollen in appearance, no redness. It became listless and the area directly under the dorsal fin and an area near the anal fin looked bleached out. Eyes were clear, no open sores, scratches; very rapid breathing. I took it out of my QT and moved it into a isolation tank and was gone in about an hour. Now I'm worried about the two other fish in my QT. Thank you, Jeff <Mmm, and I'm curious as to what species these other fishes are... It might well be that some degree of territorial et al. aggression is at play to an extent here... Bob Fenner> Blue tang got itch
6/1/07 Hi Jason, <Hello, but no Jason here, Chris with you.>
I have had my hippo blue tang for 9 months in my Nano 24 g wt LR &
LS. <Way way way too small for this fish, doomed to an early death
if kept in this tank for much longer.> He's been doing well but
today I saw white spots on over his skin body. He tries to scratch his
body to LR, so I know for sure that is itch. I have changed 10-20%
water weekly, but recently my nitrate is raised up (25-30ppm). 1) What
cause itch for my tang? <The parasite Cryptocaryon irritans.> 2)
After I saw he is itch, I changed 5 gal. water right away, is it
helpful? <Not terribly, needs to be treated for the parasite, see
here for more http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm .> 3) Should
I use any medication such as Nox-itch? and how to treat him? Can itch
spread to the other fish? <See link above.> Pls advice Thanks in
advance Hanson <Much to read here, check out the marine disease
section for more. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mardisindex.htm .>
<Chris> Cannot Identify the Problem, Paracanthurus parasite... inside the skin bumps 4/9/07 Crew, <Darren> Thanks for the great information on your site. It is the best online source for marine aquariums I have found. I am having a problem with my Palette Tang that I have not been able to identify. I've looked on your site as well as used Google to find our what it is with no success. It has developed small white bumps that look like pimples or poison ivy. The bumps look much too large to be Ich. They are not the small salt-like bumps that I have seen or read about. It has also developed pop-eye in its one eye, which I assume he developed when scratching himself, because of the bumps. These are the only signs I have seen so far. He is eating and breathing normally, and showing no abnormal behavior. I have not found anywhere that describes these symptoms. Does Ich sometimes appear larger than salt-grains? <Rarely> I don't know what else it could be. My tanks has 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 40 ppm nitrates. I know my nitrates are high. I am currently curing live rock to replace my bio-balls in my wet-dry filter. I do a minimum 10% water changes weekly, and I clean my filters every other week. Thanks for the help. I much appreciate the time you all volunteer to help your fellow aquarists. Darren <These spots are apparently not on the outside of the specimen? That is, they appear to be bumps pushing up from under the skin? There are two common possibilities here... a protozoan and worm... Can be treated with Metronidazole/Flagyl for the first, an anthelminthic for the second (my choice, Praziquantel). Notes, details on using these are posted on WWM. http://wetwebmedia.com/mardisindex.htm Scroll down to therapeutics. Bob Fenner> Blue hippo (regal) tang changing tanks, En-Crypt-ed systems 3/11/07 Hello again, I hope you are doing well, whomever responds to this email. <Yes, thank you> I have a small Regal tang in a 29 gallon BioCube as temporary housing until it moves to my 92 gallon (when I say small I mean about 2 to 3 inches). <Needs more room, psychologically, now> It had it's bout with ich <Also stress related...> and rather than move it to treat it with copper ( I have read this is bad for the digestive system of tangs) <Yes> I decided to purchase a small UV sterilizer, which in time took care of the problem, <Mmm, no> I have not seen a spot in months. My question is, since I know I've had ich in my 92 gallon tank and did not treat for it and all the fish got over it, should I worry about doing a freshwater dip? <Mmm, I would not worry, but I would do the dip> The Regal tang has been in the BioCube for a long time, at least 4 months, it is eating like a pig and appears quite healthy. I am paranoid about doing the freshwater dip, I have seen it done and it did not turn out well ( Purple tang ). I would like to acclimate to the new system (not new a year old) and place the Regal tang in it without <Okay... will likely not make "much" difference... Depending on the resident ich/Crypt populations, there might be some synergism, or unrelated strengthening on their part...> causing it any added stress. What is your opinion on this idea? I currently have a Kole tang, Clownfish, and a Blue Flavivertex Pseudochromis in the 92 gallon tank, do you think any of these would pick on the new fish? <Hopefully not> I know you will probably say that is too many fish for a 92 gallon tank, but all are small and I will rehouse if need be. Any advice or opinions on this would be very appreciated. Thank you, Ryan. Please forgive any misspellings, I checked my spell check and all appeared well. Thanks again, Ryan. <Looks good... I would move this fish. Bob Fenner> Marine Ich, Paracanthurus 3/6/07 Crew, I need your help. My 90 gallon FOWLR finished cycling 2 weeks ago. I quarantined my Snowflake Moray and Dogface Puffer, <Will need more room> together during the cycling process, which was about 6 weeks. I purchased them together, from the same tank, at my LFS so I thought quarantining them together would be ok. After introducing them, I began a shorter quarantine for my Hippo Tang. I read in CMA that Bob doesn't necessarily think that quarantining a Hippo is necessary or even good, <Often more damage than good... better to do a pH-adjusted FW bath... along with good specimen selection of course> I thought that since I purchased the tang from a different LFS than the eel and puffer that I should QT. I compromised and QT'd for 2 weeks. Quarantine was over on Thursday and I added the Hippo. All was fine. Did a 20 gallon water change on Saturday, with well-aged RO/DI water. Tests were 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites and less then 3 Nitrate (using completely submerged open-pore cell material and sintered glass noodles really keep Nitrates down. All are 0 now! Anyway, I left the house for 2 1/2 hours yesterday and when I returned the Hippo had the worst case of Ich that I have ever seen! I probably am guilty of sharing nets between tanks. This is the only thing I could think of, based on the precautions I took. I needed to act fact and unfortunately do not have access to my quarantine/hospital tank because it is "off-site" at girlfriend because of space constraints in my apartment and of course, she is away so I though my best option was to lower the salinity. <Mmm, not likely efficacious> I am assuming that all the fish are infected which is another reason for doing the hypo-salinity route as each of my aqua-buddies have different tolerances for meds. I typically keep the tank at 1.025 by refractometer, so I am going to drop it to 1.018 as soon as the water warms up. <This is w/in a safe-range... just not useful as a treatment mode> Am i doing the right thing? i know I need to go out tomorrow and buy another QT/hospital tank. <Yes> Don't room for much more than a 20 here and hope the eel (small), puffer and Tang (if he pulls through), can coexist in a 20 for 6 weeks while the 90 gallon goes fallow. What would you guy/gals do? Thanks Roy <I would have dipped/bathed the incoming tang (on the way to the Q and the DT)... and read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/crypttangs.htm and as much of the linked files above as it takes to understand your situation and options. Bob Fenner> Ich on blue tang 2/20/07 Hi guys, <And girls, too! *grin*> thanks for providing such a great site. My name is Janet and I am just starting my marine aquarium journey. <Hi Janet. My name is JustinN. Welcome to AA -- Aquatics Anonymous ;) > I have a blue tang about 8cm which I introduced to my 4ft tank around 5 weeks ago. I did not know about quarantining then but I do now. <I will spare you the soapbox then, my friend.> There is around 30kg of live rock, 2 tomato clowns, 1 coral beauty, 1 blue wrasse and 1 reef butterfly. At the moment I don't have a skimmer but will next week. <Ok> My levels are all good, nitrites 0, ammonia 0, nitrates 20ppm <A tad high, see if you can identify the source here.>, specific grav. 1.022 <Likewise, a tad low.. should be maintained at Natural Seawater levels (1.025)> and pH 8.4. My blue tang developed white spots yesterday and also has a pop-eye (maybe from trying to scratch) and she kept going up to the wrasse for a clean I think. <Too likely to have had the ich from the get-go; this is a parasite that does not just appear on its own, must be carried in by a host. Tangs are also known as 'ich magnets' because of their proficiency in contracting major outbreaks of the parasite.> I have a 35ltr tank that I am now using as a hospital tank. I gave her a freshwater dip with Methylene blue for 4 min.s then put her into the 35ltr tank which I had pre-dosed with 5mls of Ichonex (Aquasonic). <Not an appropriate product. Not sure of its effectiveness in freshwater applications, but this product is marketed as a freshwater ich solution -- the two parasites are not the same.> The directions on the bottle say to treat half doses on day 2 and 3. My hosp. tank has a sponge filter and noodles in it, <Mmm, fish soup!> no substrate and just a few ornaments for her to hide in. What I want to know is am I on the right path and is there any extra advise you can give me? thanks heaps, Janet. <Well, Janet, you've got the right idea with quarantine now, in hindsight. Don't feel too bad about the oversight, it happens to all of us. The human condition is to learn via mistakes. However, your medication choice is simply not effective, and who knows how it may actually be affecting your fish! You need a treatment based on copper here, and likewise, you will need to quarantine all your fishes outside of your display tank for an extended period. If one fish is ich-infested, your entire display is now carrying the parasite, even if certain fish aren't showing outward signs of problems. Any of the fish can, and will, act as a host carrier for the parasite until you treat for it properly, which involves a treatment in a copper solution for all of your fishes, while leaving your display tank 'fallow' (active and running, but unoccupied) for a minimum of 6 weeks, to allow for the life cycle of the parasite to run its course, without a host to allow reproduction. After this point, you will be safe to move your aquatic charges back to their home. Have a read here for more information: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichart2mar.htm -JustinN> Too Many Tangs in a 135...Now the Health Issues Begin - 09/15/06 Hello, <<Howdy>> I recently bought two Blue Hippo tangs for my 135 gal. tank. <<Mmm...too many for this tank...barely large enough for one in my opinion. These tangs grow to about a foot in length...are beefy, active, and a bit "skittish" as tangs go. They need very large quarters with LOTS of swimming room along with convenient "bolt holes" in which to dart when they feel threatened. I feel this species of tang is particularly susceptible to developmental retardation (manifesting in health/behavioral disorders) when kept in too small an environment>> I also have 3 clownfish, a gray Naso tang, a purple Firefish, two blue-yellow tail damsels, a mandarin goby, and a cleaner shrimp. <<A Naso tang too?...(sigh)>> It's been about a month since I've had my fish now and a couple days ago I noticed white spots on my blue hippo tangs. <<And so it begins...>> I've got about 200lbs of live rock in my tank which they like to go into a lot. <<Indeed>> Their spots have not yet got away yet and was wondering if I should be worried. <<Never really ever "goes away" (crypt will be/is always present in the system), but under "optimum" conditions the symptoms of a light outbreak will often resolve themselves. The fact that this system is overstocked with three large (potentially) tangs does not bode well>> They seem to be swimming and eating fine and none of my other fish have them. <<...yet>> Anyways, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could give me some advice as of what to do and what could be causing them. <<Please read here ( http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm). You will need to remove the afflicted fish and treat in a separate hospital tank. Ideally, you will need to remove and observe (treat only if necessary) "all the fish" and allow the system to sit fallow for six weeks>> Thank you so much for you time. <<Happy to assist>> Sincerely, Mai <<Regards, EricR>> Hippo Tang with Ich (Temperature Fluctuations) - 08/13/06 Hi Crew - I've read thru your site countlessly, thank you for all your help in advance! <<Hello Linda!...I think we've "chatted" before...This is Eric in SC>> 100 gal. tank with wet/dry filter...1. My blue hippo tang started out with a few white spots, but weren't quite sure whether it was the fine micro bubbles from the Hagen powerheads that always shoot out these dreaded bubbles on spurts OR whether it was ich. <<Hmm...though true "micro-bubbles" can be problematic, I've never found the occasional "spurt" of bubbles from a powerhead to be a real problem>> 2. I've had a hard time getting the tank temp below 84 degrees, due to the weather being dreadfully hot even with air conditioning!, <<Indeed, am quite familiar with the "weather" you speak of; but 84-degrees is not "too high" in my opinion>> so decided to unplug one of my two heaters to bring down the temp some, down to 82 degrees. Trying to get it down to 80 so experimenting, unplugged the 2nd heater last night, this morning temp down to 78 degrees. <<Mmm...sounds like the heaters are set too high maybe?>> With this much temp fluctuation, my blue hippo tang has more white spots AND also some black freckles around face. <<Not surprising...>> He is NOT scratching and seems to be perfectly fine and eating well along with VitaChem soaked seaweed, which he loves. What has caused the black freckles? <<Likely a reaction to the environmental stresses you mention>> Should I try to catch him, dip him, and quarantine with copper solution? <<If you have the facilities for such, absolutely...and the sooner the better. If you have other fish present you may find you will need to treat all...and let the tank sit fallow for 5-6 weeks>> Thank every so much. Linda in GA <<A pleasure to assist. EricR>> Oh my god, Help me!!!! SW Parasite problem? A good case for Hitchhiker's Guide: Don't Panic 4/1/06 Oh my god, I can't believe I have a problem with a parasite and I can't find any info about it anywhere. Please help me. I have a 150 gallon tall tank. I have a 3" yellow tang, 2 baby hippos 1 1/2", 1 PJ cardinal, 2 black clowns, algae bunny, 2 small false percula clowns. Three days ago I noticed my smaller of the two hippo tangs to have a small black spot on her side. Not like a grain of salt. BIGGER! Looked more like a big piece of poop stuck to her side. She didn't seem to bothered with it until day 2. On the second day she began to scratch almost every few minutes. I discovered it could be a parasite so I called 8 LFS in the phonebook, nobody knew what it was. <Might be "nothing" pathogenic> I qt ALL my fish prior to placing in my display tank. She was in QT 6 weeks... She looked good so I placed her in the display. I had the water tested at LFS yesterday. <Water chemistry changes with time, transport... for what you have invested here, I would get/use my own kits> He said everything is great with your water. That isn't you problem. Now today she has a gapping hole in her side and looks like something is in the re. Help. The tank is 3 1/2 foot deep <Yikes! Custom!> so this will be fun trying to catch and put in QT. It takes two people to do this on each side of the tank to catch the fish. FUN, FUN, Today I noticed the smaller black clown has the same spot on this side. Help me please. The spot is as big as, if not bigger than the balled end of a straight pin. The hippo is not eating as well as she has been. I need Big help before she dies. All other fish have been in the tank 6 months now. Tank has been running w no problems for 8 months now. Thanks in advance for your help. I sure do need it. Julie <Mmm, I would drain the tank down to facilitate all the tangs removal, and dip them per what you read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/YellowTang.htm re Paravortex (which this likely is) and here: http://wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm and the linked files above... and move the fish to QT to avoid re-infestation... for a month or more and all should be well. Oh, and I would add a purposeful cleaner organism here. Also covered on WWM. Bob Fenner> Blue Hippo and Ich 4/1/06 Dear Crew, <Ben> Sorry for bothering you with such a normal question, but I really am confused because I get so many answers to the ich problem. My blue hippo has recently been experiencing an outbreak of ich. My puffer has had a few pieces of ich on him as well, but everyone else seems fine. The hippo has had it for two days and the puffer has had it for a week. I have several other fish in my aquarium and do not have a large enough quarantine tank to remove all of my fish. I only have a 10-gallon and would need to set that up. Since I have an anemone in the tank would Ich-X work or should I wait it out. My tank is a 125-gallon and I have only an anemone for my invertebrate population. What would you suggest? I would love to do hyposalinity, but the anemone is a problem and copper would be fabulous but then it would be in the tank and I could never add corals or inverts again. This is frustrating. <Ben, all covered on WWM. Read here. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tangdisfaq2.htm and here. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/treatmen.htm James (Salty Dog)> Ben Paracanthurus/Blue Tang ... health 3/4/06 Mr. Fenner & Crew, <Bryan.> A while back wrote to you about my very tiny 1" blue tang which I suspected to have ich shortly after introduction to quarantine. You suggested a biological treatment before chemical because of the size. Well, here's an update and a few questions. Biological cleaning barely helped the little guy so I did a four day treatment of copper and after a rough 2 weeks everything seems to be fine. It has been 6 weeks now and the he's doing great and as almost doubled in size. <Good to hear.> Currently he is still in the 20gal tank that I first put him in to treat and grow a little before moving to the big tank. My question is what would be a good size for him to be before I put him in the display tank. My concern is the other fish he will be joining (mainly the purple tang - 5"). Should I wait until he gets about 3-4"? <Might be better to put in there now. The small size of the blue tang may not be recognized as a threat to the purple tang. Keep in mind that regardless of size there will more than likely be a skirmish or two.> Also, when that time comes and there has been no additional sign of illness, should I give a FW bath prior to moving to the display tank or skip it? <I would skip it. This is the purpose of quarantine...fish looks good for three to four weeks, time to move.> Lastly, do you know any tricks to get blue tangs to eat their greens, <Might try an algae clip, worked for me once.> he eats everything but seaweed and macro/micro algae. He loves every type of shrimp, flake, and plankton I offer to him. Most of the foods I use are high in HUFA and Spirulina and sometimes I soak it in Selcon. Will this mix of foods do, or do I need to continue to try the greens? <Sounds like a healthy diet but do continue trying the greens. The greens are the freeze dried variety, correct?> Thanks, <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Bryan Re: Unbeatable Hepatus Tang and Crypt 10/12/05 Dear Crew, <Jeff> I wrote several weeks ago concerning my Hippo Tang and Crypt, and Adam wrote back with some suggestions which I have attempted to follow. The tang has now been in a QT for almost 3 months and I still see spots on it. <... likely needs to be treated... not just quarantined... ahh, I see you've done this. Below> The odd thing is though, the spots never seem to disappear or increase. Is it possible I'm not dealing with Crypt at all? <Yes> Some of the spots appear to be like white pimples while others are white and smooth. There are no spots on the fins whatsoever, only on the body. Some sort of other irritant? Debris? <Possibly... there are other external parasites that look "spotty", other conditions that irritate neuromast (the pit organ/cells that are part of the lateralis system...> I don't see the tang flashing nor does it appear to be in any distress and it eats like crazy. Quick summary of what I've done up till now: Hypo for 4 weeks, Formalin baths, freshwater baths, copper treatment for 2 weeks with CopperSafe and now almost a week of copper with SeaCure (and using the appropriate test kit to monitor the level) and finally multiple aquarium swapping (as suggested by Adam). <I see...> At this point, do I dare move the Tang into the main? <I would> I'm worried the prolonged copper usage and other stresses of being in QT is going to kill this poor fish. As always, you all are amazing and many many Thanks! Jeff <I share your concern. I would pH-adjusted freshwater dip/bath this fish and place it in your main system. Bob Fenner> Hepatus tang and Cryptocaryon 9/19/05 Dear WWM Crew, I am writing to you because I have reached a point where I have nowhere else to turn. I have had this Hippo Tang in a bare quarantine tank for over 9 weeks now and I cannot get this fish to stop contracting "ich". I have used every possible resource on your site and I only wanted to write as a last resort. Treatment Details: Originally I started with hyposalinity (1.09 SG, using a refractometer) for 4 weeks to no avail. I slowly returned the SG to normal and then started treating with CopperSafe (using a test kit to monitor the levels) for 2 weeks. Again, the ich has re-appeared, or should I say never disappeared. I then tried several formalin (Rid-Ich+) baths, and I would leave the tang in the solution for an hour. You guessed it, ich is still showing. I have now picked up a bottle of SeaCure but of course the Aquarium Pharm copper test kit I have doesn't have a reading for this type of copper level and I'm treating "blindly" at the moment till I can find a test kit (I drove to at least 4 LFS the last two days to find a simple test kit without luck and I'm fuming). <I can only imagine your frustration! I am surprised that this barrage of treatments has not been successful. I would suggest confirming 100% that you are dealing with ick. As for the SeaCure, I am not sure that a test kit exists to accurately monitor it. I would simply follow the package directions precisely.> Conclusion: My WWM Friends, I am totally desperate. I just bought a neon goby and it's been "going to town" on the tang but the white spots still remain, and the tang still scratches too. All in all, the tang is doing EXTREMELY well considering what it has gone through but I worry it will never have a chance to go into the main tank. What else can I do? For what it's worth, I had ordered this tang online through saltwaterfish.com. When I received this poor tang it was so tiny and skinny it was almost transparent. Through TLC and Nori feeding it has gotten plump and much larger but the crypt is our nemesis. Please help "us". Thank you!! - Jeff <See here for some great information (as well as part 2 of the linked article): http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php I also have one last suggestion (assuming you are 100% sure you are dealing with Ick). Set up a second hospital tank and fill it with water from your main display. Move the fish to the second tank. Drain the first hospital tank and allow it to dry COMPLETELY. After the fish has been in the second hospital tank for three days, fill the empty tank from the display and move the fish to the new tank. Repeat this tank transfer procedure through a total of four moves and the fish should be ick free. Best Regards. AdamC.> Blue Tang with Blisters on Dorsal and Ventral fins 8/11/05 We
have a small salt water tank in our office. The Blue Tang
has developed blisters on his dorsal and ventral fins. The
"Fish Guy" who cares for the tank doesn't know what it is
and doesn't know if it is treatable. <Me neither...
could be "worms" of a few sorts, possibly
environmental...> I've surfed the net and thought I get
"blisters and blue tangs", I can't find a specific
reference to the subject. Please help. Oddly, I seem to be
in love with these fish. Thanks. <Please have your
"fish guy" contact me... I would try some Vermifuges here
first (Praziquantel my first choice), and if this doesn't reduce
the blisters, Metronidazole... as well as bolstering this fish's
immune system with soaking foods in Zoe, Selcon... Our various input on
this species, other tang disease, nutrition, habitat can be found here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/paracdisfaqs.htm and the linked
files above. Bob Fenner> Pacific Blue Tang 07/01/05 ... disease... Crew, I recently bought a small (2") Pacific Blue Tang to add to my 90 gallon tank, joining a maroon clown, black and white damsel, 2 cleaner shrimp, and 3 small hermit crabs. I acclimated him as per the LFS instructions (which did not include quarantine or freshwater dip). Within 1/2 hour I noticed very tiny white things on his body, which I thought might have been bubbles. After reading some FAQs on your website I am afraid it may be ich. Is it too late to try a freshwater dip and quarantine? <I would QT and treat ASAP before the other fish contract the disease.> Should I medicate the entire tank? <Not with inverts present, the copper will kill them.> I have heard that cleaner shrimp can help with ich, is this true? <To some extent, certainly not 100%. James (Salty Dog)> Thanks for your help, Nathan Regal tang acting weird Hi there, I am
quite new to the hobby and have found your FAQs and articles an
invaluable resource. I have a question about the recent weird behaviour
of a blue hippo/regal tang I'm keeping. For the last four weeks
this fish has been in QT with a pair of percula clowns resulting from
an outbreak of Ick. I have been treating carefully with Cupramine but
couldn't get hold of a test kit for the first three weeks (a faulty
batch from the USA meant no shop in Sydney, Aus. had stock). Upon
seeking advice from Seachem via their website they posted me another
kit (great customer service) <Yes, their service is great.> and
so finally last week I found my Cupramine levels to be spot on at 0.5
The fish had been free of spots for 3 weeks by then and Seachem
recommended dosing for another full week (even for the Tang considering
its digestive bacteria, etc) to be sure considering she was probably in
a lower than effective dose before I had the test kit (I was changing
water frequently and dosing with caution to avoid poisoning them). So
after four weeks of treatment, the fish are free of spots but I've
noticed this odd behaviour over the last day or two in the Blue Tang.
She seems to spend more time than usual hiding in her PVC tube. She
comes out occasionally and still eats like a maniac (brine shrimp,
Nori, flake, garlic and small pieces of chopped squid). Her behaviour
seems to alter dramatically when I'm watching her...she loses her
colour very quickly, begins to breathe rapidly and sort of
"fits' inside the tube. She's not scratching herself,
rather she's sort of darting and flapping her fins rapidly. If I go
away she stops this behaviour and regains her colour but still spends
more time in the tube than she was even during the treatment. <This
isn't abnormal. If all the tang has is the PVC for a
hideout, they will be a little skittish. Much prefer live
rock, caves, etc for shelter.> My instinct is that she might be
stressed from being in a small QT tank for the past four weeks<could
very well be> and is trying to tell me this by exhibiting this
frantic behaviours when she sees me watching her. The QT is only
40Litres but I've got an AquaClear 350 turning the water
over and an airstone bubbling away so the oxygen is terrific. We are
changing about 30% water weekly. PH is 8.5 (not sure about ammonia due
to copper), Nitrates zero, temp at 29 and salinity showing 0.24 (we
raised the temp on advice from the shop whilst waiting for the test
kit). The last water change was 2 days ago and we have not redosed
copper. I intend to add carbon to get rid of the rest of the copper
this week. Could there be another reason for this behaviour? Have I
done something wrong? <I would add a couple more pieces of PVC in
the QT.>I would ideally like to keep the QT going for another 2
weeks without copper to check they are all in good health and that the
main system has run fallow for 6 weeks (main now has 2 coral banded
shrimp and frequent hovering and water changes as well as higher temp
28 in effort to get rid of as much Ick as possible) but if the tang is
suffering from being in smaller confines for too long should I move her
back now to her 140 litre main home? <If the tang has been exposed
to effective copper levels for 28 days, I would feel comfortable
putting her back in the main system.> Please advise, thanks in
advance for more invaluable help...<You're
welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Hillary Hippo Tang Still has ICH My question is what can I do to rid my hippo tang of ich, other than copper. I have my fish in a quarantine tank and have been treating with RID-ICH for 2 weeks now, but my hippo still is showing signs of ich. <Or... what you presume is Cryptocaryon... might just be proteinaceous precipitation from the medicine> I have been dosing every 12 hrs like it says if you have a stubborn case. None of the other fish are showing any signs of ich including a yellow tang and a Naso. I do not want to use copper as I plan to use this as a quarantine tank for live rock, and inverts. By the way the qt tank is bare bottomed with pieces of pvc for decor. The filter is a penguin 330 w/bio wheels, and there is no filter media or carbon. The hippo is fat and moving around very well, but is flashing and I can see a couple spots of ich.. I don't want to lose it, what can I do. <Read, study... try to understand other possibilities, get, use a microscope, make a smear, look for causative organism/s... I would "bath" this fish per WWM input and place it, with biological cleaners... Bob Fenner> Hippo Tang (disease) Dear Bob Fenner, <James here for Bob> Carefully following The Conscientious Marine Aquarist and Wet Web Media from the start for over 3 year, I have never had a disease process in my 100 gallon reef show tank. I now have a total of 180 gallons in circulation with two refugiums containing three types of macroalgae and over two hundred pounds of live rock total, 0-3 generator on a Turboflotor, a 25 watt U/V, and over 2500 GPH circulation. There is no predation among the peaceful fish community. Feeding includes a mixture of premium flake and pellets, Gracilaria, Caulerpa, and freshly hatched brine shrimp. Water changes and make up water are RO/DI. Ca is maintained with Kalkwasser drip system. There is never detectable ammonia, nitrite, silicate, or nitrate in the system. Most of the fish I started with 2 to three years ago are still with me. ORP stays between 350 and 400 except after weekly water changes. Having wanted a hippo/pallet/Pacific blue Tank for some time while knowing that it can be a problem fish, I found one that had been at the store for four weeks - an absolutely clean fish. After "Fenner dipping" she was in a 30 gallon quarantine for 4 weeks, eating everything I put in there. I introduced her at night to the reef tank and she immediately began active swimming and aggressive eating. There was no predation. She remained clean and beautiful for 3 weeks. A few days ago I noticed one white spot. Today I see seven white spots. The fish otherwise looks and acts very healthy and active. By the "book" this looks like ick! I have no idea why. I cannot catch her due to the extensive rock work but will take it apart if you say it is necessary to treat her. But then, I would not want to put her back. I love the beauty and activity of this fish. Can I wait and see if it goes away or is this an emergency? Will this contaminate my whole system? I have and will continue to follow your recommendations. What should I do? <Howard, for now I would suggest you soak the fishes food in a garlic based vitamin. This will help the immune system of the fish and may even prevent other fish from getting the disease. I would keep an close eye on the hippo, and if the case gets worse, you probably have no choice but to remove the rock to net the fish. There really isn't an effective medication you can use in a reef tank. I have seen other hippos contract the disease and eventually recover, so cross your fingers. James (Salty Dog)> - Blue Tang, Black Spots - Well? >Hi, >>Hi, I'm coming into a conversation already taking place, so forgive me if I go over stuff already covered (this is why we like to have previous exchanges included in the body - this is also likely why you ended up with me). >We have a new tank raised baby Hippo Tang with black ich. >>Righty-oh. Very easily eradicated. >Have read everything on freshwater dips - but haven't found the step by step for complete idiot's guide. Is this procedure appropriate? - - Add amount of reef buffer recommended for salt water to RO/DI water (do not add any salt) - Test that pH is the same as saltwater - Get temperature exactly the same - Add an airstone for 5 minutes prior to putting in Tang - Place baby Tang in the freshwater for 3 minutes - Move baby tang to fresh tank treated with ? (CopperSafe at xx strength???)? >>I don't know that you would really need to go with the copper, this parasite is so easily eradicated with simple hyposalinity. A salinity of 1.010 ought to do the trick. Also, I'd leave him in there much longer than 3 minutes, I'd give him more on the order of 10 or so. >Also, how many days should we wait before bathing the little fellow (to not add too much to his stress) - and then how often would you do the fwb? >>Bathing? I'm going to assume that you're using this terminology interchangeably with dipping, in which case length of dip as above (forgot to add that you would do well to add Methylene blue - enough to turn the water dark blue). I would keep the tang in the hypo for two weeks, using observation to decide at what point he seems to be clear. As I said, this is easily dealt with. Then, he should remain in quarantine for 30 days MINIMUM, starting from the point at which you decide that he's clear of all disease. After that 30 days is up, begin bringing the salinity up to the tank's levels, over two or three days is good. Dip in the freshwater as above, then he can be placed in the display. Oh! Garlic has not been shown at all to demonstrate any efficacy for treating Cryptocaryon irritans. >History - 1" tank raised baby Hippo Tang was put in quarantine Friday evening after a very traumatic shipping experience. Developed small black spots Saturday night and now hides in the rock about 95% of the time (we can only tell he has the spots by looking with flashlight). Has eaten a little off the live rock and nibbled a tiny bit of the Gracilaria we soaked in garlic extract - I think. Thanks, Patty PS: Sorry for constantly sending you questions! Your site is the best - the only one we trust completely! >>It's the first for me, so.. I'm not irritated at this point. ;) (We like our fish-minded friends, anyway.) Be sure to keep up water quality with water changes, this is KEY. ZERO ammonia and nitrites, nitrates under 30-40ppm is desired (obviously, the lower the better). Best of luck! Marina Re: disease? I have a hippo tang with small bumps on his body. It looks like small pimples of some sort (best way I can describe it). I have searched online but have only found one disease that seems to fit what he has, and that was called wasting disease. I have had the fish about a year now and never had any problems with him so far and he still eats and it seems to not bother him at all. I would like your opinion as to what it could be and what I should do about it. Should I give him a freshwater dip or just leave it alone and see what happens? It started out as one bump about 5 days ago and has progressed to about 6 to 8 bumps now, mainly on the middle part of body. Any help with this would be appreciated, thank you. <This is hopefully evidence of a Microsporidean infection... a type of protozoan. And not (currently) "treatable". Not uncommon in wild stocks or otherwise healthy Paracanthurus. These "spots" are multiplying too quickly to suit me though. I wouldn't dip or chemically try to medicate this specimen for now, unless the "spots" are white, epidermal (rather than blue, subdermal)... in which case I suspect marine ich... and would read quickly on www.WetWebMedia.com re treatment. Bob Fenner> Sick of Ich--Hippo Tang >Hi, thanks for your wonderful website, this is always a good source of knowledge!! >>Hello, you're welcome, we're glad it's of good use for yourself and others. >I have moved my 50 gal reef tank from my parents' house to my apartment 1 week ago. All my livestock are fine except my hippo tang. It was showing some sign of stress since the first day at my apartment. >>Alright, could it have gotten chilled during the move? This can bring on that ich pretty badly, especially with fish such as tangs. >It have get worst and last Friday I have found some ich on it. So I have gave to it a fresh water bath with bleu Methylene. >>Good course of action, however, it may need to be placed in a hospital tank using hyposalinity (1.010). >Since that time my tang is always hiding and don't eat anymore. What could I do for him now? I really don't want to lose him... Steve Timmons >>Set up a hospital tank with heater and some filtration, and acclimate the fish over the next two days to a specific gravity/salinity level of 1.010. Keep him there for at least two weeks at that salinity level. Once he's cleared, keep him in quarantine for 30 days. Offer him a good variety of foods, perform as many water changes as needed to keep the water quality very high, and this, hopefully, will do the trick. Marina Blue tang ich options Hi Robert, I think I'm making good decisions, but I thought if I was making obvious mistakes you could catch me on them, if you have time. <Okay> I have a 33G tank with ~10lbs of live rock, 1" of aragonite sand over 2" of crushed coral over a UGF run in reverse. The draw if through an Eheim surface suction extractor into an Eheim canister, into the UGF. I've ordered an AquaC Remora protein skimmer, and I'm waiting for it to arrive (should be this week) to remove the UGF. The tank is 6 weeks old and I cycled it with two damsels. There were two snails and a nickel-sized starfish on the live rock. <I'd likely just "unplug" the flow to the UG and leave the plate there as an ersatz plenum> After 6 weeks and no measurable ammonia, nitrite and ~2ppm (approx based on colour somewhere between 0 and 5 on my test kit) nitrate, I bought some more friends! I bought 2 scarlet hermit crabs, 3 snails (one Astrea, one turbo, one tiger turbo, bringing the total up to 5), and a starfish (I don't remember what kind, but it looks pretty standard, nothing fancy, roughly 3" in diameter and brown.)<Hmm> I bought those at Marinescape in Ottawa; nice store, I think I'll be going there a lot. I waited almost a week, returned the Damsels at the Ottawa (St. Laurent) ASWO and got two real fish there. A blue tang and a pygmy angel. The rep seems quite knowledgeable about marine tanks, and said that these two are reasonably good choices for a beginner and should coexist well. Not trusting him, I checked in their books anyway! They pretty much confirmed that these fish are easy to keep and hardy. I acclimatized them over the course of an hour, but didn't do the freshwater dip. <Yikes, I would have... and no quarantine? You may have inadvertently infested your tank... time will tell.> Both fish were from the same tank, the tank was very active and seemed in perfect health, and I had no other fish to protect, so I was unconcerned. Although future incidents put that into question, my understanding of the biology of marine ich (foreshadowing there!) seem to me to indicate that this was not a bad decision. I got some emerald entree as well. <Do like the mystery lingo entered here... can we wait to see how this "turns out"?> They've been home for three nights now, and unfortunately 2 days ago the blue tang was dusted with about 30 or so white spots (consistent with your description of marine ich.) Yesterday, the fish was less active and there were fewer white spots. Both fish are still feeding well and there is no sign of asphyxiation. There was 100% I'll stake my reputation on it absolutely no sign of it in the store. More Internet research has uncovered the fact (absent from the book in the store!) that the tang is susceptible to ich. Sigh. <Arggghhhh, I knew it... It was YOU! Not the Butler after all... Don't be too hard on yourself... Neither you, I or anyone else could/would have likely seen the "spots"... but in shops they're epidemic... Most systems are not independent in mixing, treating water... folks are sloppy in sharing specimen containers, nets... sans sanitizing dips/procedures... Hence the rationale behind dips/baths, quarantine procedures... a bunch and I mean a really big pile more on this stored on the site: www.WetWebMedia.com> Marine ich biology is now a subject in which I am reasonably well versed. Please correct me where I'm wrong: The little bastards live in and on fish, not just on them. A freshwater dip can be helpful, but won't necessarily prevent fish who are currently infected from bringing their infection along with them. The lifecycle of marine ich (three stages) lasts approximately from 8-10 weeks, with about 2 weeks being the "white dust" phase. <Pretty much correct, 'cept for time frames of single generation infestations... and the capacity to speed up same with elevating temperature... the Q10 factor as you may recall> There seem to be two possible ways to deal with this: 1) I accept that marine ich parasites in the tank is a fact of life, the way going into a hospital the fact that the flu virus is somewhere in there is a fact of life. Healthy fish need not be particularly concerned, but whenever there is a stressful event, some may catch it. It's unlikely to kill my fish. I can control it with a cleaner shrimp, which many sources advocate as a natural way to combat marine ich and other marine parasites. OR 2) I don't want any nasty marine ich in my tank, thank you very much. I take the two fish out right away, pop them into a hospital tank (that currently does not exist), treat them with copper and leave them there for 10 weeks, while not adding any fish to my main tank. I can add inverts and have some fun watching them while the tang and angel recuperate. In 10 weeks, having completely deprived any ich in any stages in the tank from any fish hosts, my tank is clean. I can add the fish back in. From now on, however, I need to treat ANY new fish with copper for 2 weeks in my hospital tank before adding them to my main tank. <Two weeks should do it... in the hospital tank with environmental manipulation thrown in... and a month of dropping spg and elevating temp. in the now-impugned main system... but you can/will read about this on the WWM site> I'm going to decide (1) as it requires me to buy a 30$ additional pet to enjoy instead of setting up another tank and going without my pets (for practical purposes) for a long time. I also surfed your site and there are salinity options discussed there that I am open to adopting. I am worried about overstressing the fish in this weakened state with salinity changes. Any advice for me? Thanks in advance, Paul <First, I do commiserate with your situation... I would do both 1 and 2 in the way of treating the fishes in the main system with a copper based medication (which will likely be necessary... you'll very likely otherwise lose your livestock...), test kit, and the mentioned spg, temp. changes... in the main tank... Yes, risking the loss of nitrification and all that portends... and having plenty of back up pre-made water to effect possible water changes... And then once this "parasite problem" appears to be licked, avail yourself of plan "1" (after utilizing activated carbon or Polyfilter to assure removal of the cupric ion... and returning temp. and spg to near natural seawater conditions...) and make a firm commitment to adopt and adhere to a stiff regimen of dip/bath and quarantine of all new fish livestock.... Bob Fenner> Ectoparasites on hippo tang Bob, Once again I crave your
advise. I have two hippo tangs and a Bannerfish butterfly that have
been in quarantine since 12/9/00. I dipped the fish in fresh water and
then treated them with therapeutic copper x 10 days. During that time,
the tangs were reclusive so I didn't get to examine them well. Two
days after stopping the copper, I noted that one of the tangs had
several ~1mm brownish attachments to one side of its dorsal fin. Both
tangs had 3 mm white oval rings on their bodies. The butterfly had a
single white 1 mm lesion on its body. I attempted to view the dorsal
fin lesion in my surface microscope, but was unable to hold the fish in
focus without traumatizing it, so I didn't get a good view of the
lesions. I treated them again with copper for another 14 days, and only
the butterfly's lesion disappeared. Then, I tried a commercial
Malachite green / quinine preparation x 5 days, while feeding them
brine shrimp mixed with Metronidazole, without affect. Then I used
Paragon (which along with various antibiotics, has Dylox. <Yes,
DTHP, an organophosphate insecticide...> The oval rings are gone.
The butterfly and one tang have been completely clear for two weeks.
The other tang still has 3 brownish, 1 mm protuberances on its dorsal
fin. All fish are eating and acting well. Should I continue quarantine
or could these represent dead but firmly attached parasites? I do have
a cleaner wrasse in the main tank (sorry, I read your injunction after
the purchase!). Would it be sufficient to safeguard the tank from
contamination? Should I try another treatment, and if so, with what?
thanks, Sam <Much thought and thoughtfulness have gone into your
actions and message here; I appreciate this. And a somewhat tough call
on how to proceed. I can, as always, only speak to how I would proceed.
I would place the Paracanthurus Tang, even with the described lesions
at this point... and consider that the risk of contamination is very
small (acceptably). Biological cleaners (I like various shrimp,
Gobiosoma gobies as you know, rather than the dismal survival-history
Labroides)... do help, but cannot/will not prevent infectious,
parasitic disease spread... All else contributing... an optimized,
stable environment and so much more (see the "Three Sets of
Factors Determining Livestock Health" on the www.WetWebMedia.com
site) I give you very good odds that the problems on the
Palette/Hippo/Pacific Yellow Tail Blue Tang will self-cure. Bob
Fenner> Yet Another Ich Question...! Mr. Fenner, I have read all related questions prior to bothering you but had no luck with finding anything relating to my problem. I am new to "The Hobby" and introduced a hippo tang into my reef tank a couple of weeks ago (12 Gallon Eclipse). <A Paracanthurus in such a small system...> I DID dip him in a product called "HydroPlex". He developed the onset of Ich two days ago and I purchased and added a product called "No-Ich Marine" to the tank that same day. <Both non-effective products in my estimation...> I started doing some research and you can imagine my dismay when I found your web site and started reading all the horror stories regarding Ich. Do you know if the products I used are valuable as I am using them? <Yes, do know, and no, they're not...> I have raised the temp, vacuumed the live gravel and rock, changed the water, purchased a cleaner shrimp, etc., etc. as I see you advise over and over again, but am hopeful that this "new" type of medication will prove more effective than older products. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer! <Ah, my new friend... I do wish I had some 'magic' or other-additional information to render... you now know about all I do re the common parasitic infestations of marine fishes... do continue with the environmental manipulation, use of cleaners, vitamin prep.s.... Bob Fenner, who would of course, encourage you to dip-bath, or quarantine all new livestock... not place the stated species in such a small system... I wish you well, life>
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