FAQs about the Yellow-Tail Blue, Palette,
Regal, Hippo Tang Disease/Health 5
FAQs on Paracanthurus Tang Disease:
PYTB Tang Disease 1, Pacific YTB Tang Disease 2, PYTB Tang Disease 3, Pacific YTB Disease 4, YTBT
Health 6, YTBT Disease 7,
YTBT Disease 8,
YTBT Disease 9, YTBT Disease ,
& Tangs/Rabbitfishes &
Crypt,
FAQs on Paracanthurus Tang Disease by Category:
Diagnosis, Environmental,
Nutritional, Social,
Trauma, Pathogenic (plus
see
Tangs/Rabbitfishes &
Crypt), Genetic,
Treatments
Related Articles: The
Genus Paracanthurus,
Related FAQs: Pacific YTB Tang FAQs 2, Pacific YTB Tang FAQs 1, Pacific YTB Tang FAQs 2, Pacific YTB Tang FAQs 3, Pacific YTB Tang FAQs 4, PYTB Tang ID, PYTB Tang Behavior, PYTB Tang Compatibility, PYTB Tang Selection, PYTB Tang Systems, PYTB Tang Feeding, PYTB Tang Reproduction, Surgeons In General, Tang
ID, Selection,
Tang
Behavior, Compatibility, Systems, Feeding, Disease,
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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 |
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Regal Tang, fin covering up small lump? 10/23/07
Quick question for ya... A question about a Regal Tang I have in
quarantine. I believe the retailer had him for a week before I
selected him as the best looking Regal Tang I've seen for
months at a store. Nice colors, active, and plump. I did a pH and
temperature adjusted freshwater dip for about 7-8mins. I've
now had the tang for a week and he is feeding well on flake,
pellet, meaty foods, and Caulerpa I have in the tank. pH 8.2
Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 10ppm Salinity 1.025 Temp 26oc This
has just developed over the past 24hrs.... The tang has a bit of
swelling or a lump right behind it's right gill. The skin is
still proper color... in fact I'd best describe it as a
pimple forming under the skin. The lump is round sort of like if
you had shaved a few mm's off of a standard pencil eraser.
Furthermore, the fish is not using the fin on that side of the
body. It is evident that he can use it as the odd time he does...
he was swimming fine all week. He still seems to swim around fine
without using it much. When he's not using that fin, it
almost completely covers the lump. Does this sound at all
familiar? What can be done if anything? Dave <Mmm, might be
physical (a trauma let's say), could be pathogenic (perhaps a
parasite of some sort), but more harm to be done than not by
overtly "treating" this fish at this point. Best to
maintain high, consistent water quality. A note re the (sic)
Caulerpa mentioned above. I would replace this with a
less-noxious genus of algae... Likely a Gracilaria or
Chaetomorpha species. Its toxicity might be working against you
here. Bob Fenner>
Using Metronidazole and Praziquantel... More re the Regal
Tang bump 10/23/07 Hopefully I reach you in time
as I'd like to recall my previous question regarding a Blue
Tang with a developing lump on his side, where he is also not
using the fin on that particular side of the body. <Am still
here> After reading through 4 pages of Tang FAQ's, I think
I have spotted two notes about what appears to be a similar
issue. Bob's recommendation on the other notes in both
instances was: <Have seen such markings before... usually
geographically, seasonally expressed... Are likely either a
protozoan or encysted worm presence... Can be treated serially
with one dose of Flagyl/Metronidazole and an anthelminthic... (my
choice, likely Prazi/quantel)... Both/all are covered on WWM. Bob
Fenner> <Ah, yes> So, now that I likely know what it is
I've read through the article on Metronidazole, etc..
<Okay> My Tang is in a 24gallon Nano <Needs more room
than this... oh, this is for treatment only I take it> with a
very shallow crushed coral bed (less than one inch by far) with a
small piece of liverock with a good growth of Caulerpa. I'm a
bit confused by the article. It seems to state that soaking food
in Metro and then placing in the fridge for a few hours and then
feeding to the fish is considered one dose. This seems to be
associated with the treatment for freshwater fish who do not
'drink'?? Is this correct? <Is one way of
administration... more "sure" as dosing/dosage than
direct water treatment> For Marine fish, long-term baths for
about 3 hrs each day for 3 days?? Is the article suggesting
filling a bucket with tank water that is aerated with the
appropriate dose? <Is another approach> I'm just
wondering if catching the fish, placing in a bucket for 3 hrs,
catching the fish to put back into the tank x 3 days would
severely stress out the fish? <Too much so, too likely,
yes> Or, since it's only a 24gallon tank... should I add
directly into the quarantine tank that has the crushed
coral/piece of liverock, and then do a full water change (from my
main display) daily for the three days? Is it ok to have a
crushed coral bottom and/or a piece of liverock in their during
the treatment? <Not if the medications are to be added
directly to the water, no. Too likely diluting effects...>
Will it harm the nicely growing Caulerpa or should I take the
liverock out for the three hours during the treatment? <Will
not harm Caulerpaceans> Or... is it just as easy to soak the
food and use that as the treatment? <This is best in most
circumstances... given the fish/es are feeding> Soaking the
food seems like a lot less work and easier to administer... at
the same time, I want to ensure that I knock out this issue as
quickly as possible without harm to the fish. The recommendation
to use Praziquantel as an additional cure/precaution... can I use
both together? <Yes> Your article says to simply add
7.6mg/gallon. Can this go directly in the system with crushed
coral and the liverock? <Yes, though will be affected to a
degree...> How long do I keep it in there? <Indefinitely...
will degrade in time> Can I do this while administering the
Metronidazole via soaking food? Via adding Metronidazole directly
into tank? <Yes, could> I have been doing 30% water changes
on this 24gallon quarantine tank about 3 times every two weeks
using 1/2 new mixed water and 1/2 system water for each water
change. Although the Metro doesn't seem to conflict with
water changes... do I keep up with water changes with
Praziquantel if the Prazi is meant to be in the tank for a week
or more? <Yes, or re-administer with water changing...>
Apologies for all the questions... but there isn't much info
on the Prazi and the article on the Metronidazole has me afraid
of potentially killing the fish because I used it incorrectly.
David Brynlund <Again, I would treat with nothing at this
juncture if this were my ward. B>
Re: Using Metronidazole and Praziquantel 10/23/07
Hi Bob, <David> Thanks for the comments, it has helped...
But now you have me even more confused... <Again, I would
treat with nothing at this juncture if this were my ward. B>
Last night, the fish was using the other fin more... But the
lump/pimply like feature on his right side that used to be the
same color as the rest of the fish appears to becoming a bit
discolored. Reading through your FAQ's this does sound like
an internal parasite and you had recommended others to treat with
the products I mentioned below. Why would I not treat this fish
for what appears to be a parasitic infestation? <... please
see my comment/mantra above...> The fish is still pretty
chubby and feeds easily. Can this parasite work it's way out
of the fish leaving the fish healthy after a recovery period?? If
it remains untreated and the parasite exits the fish... Can it
not re-enter the fish for a secondary infestation? David Brynlund
<Be patient, learn... B>
Re: Regal Tang, fin covering up small
lump? 10/24/07 Ok. The Caulerpa is just
naturally growing on the liverock. Should i pull it out? Move it
to the main display? Any chance of... if this is a parasite that
perhaps it may also be present in the liverock thus i
shouldn't move the liverock to a main display? <If only a
"small piece" I would not worry re toxicity... leave it
in place. BobF>
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Hippos... Quarantine?
-- 08/17/07 Just a quick question... in Bob's book as well as
on your website, it is suggested to place Hippo Tangs directly into the
main display without quarantine to reduce the stress of multiple catch
and release out of quarantine. Are you still of this opinion? In my
past experience, a Hippo I had about 4yrs ago seemed to be a
'Crypt' magnet. <Mmm, Paracanthurus are not "as
bad" as such compared with many other Surgeonfish species... and
my opinion is "it depends"... "IF" the specimen
looks otherwise in good health, it can be isolated for a time... to
assess its health... However, it can be peremptorily FW dipped and
placed in most cases> Would u expect a Hippo Tang, aside from adding
nice colors to a tank, assist in mowing done some green hair algae?
<Depends on the species of algae... not many are palatable... and
many that look "Green" are not... are often BGA, which is
entirely undesired> I will be adding a Foxface after a 4 week
quarantine which I'm thinking will further assist in a green grassy
hair algae problem. Note, the tank is 200gallons FOWLR. David Brynlund
<Hotay! BobF>
Hippo tang with Popeye... not using
WWM 8/14/07 I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank.
<Too small to house Paracanthurus...> We purchased 2 percula
clown fish, 1 potters angelfish, <Not easily kept> 1 hippo
tang and 1cleaner shrimp. We had the fish 2 weeks and noticed the
tang and angel had ick. I started treating the tank with kick ick
<Worthless> every 2 days. I noticed the hippo wouldn't
let the angel get cleaned by the shrimp, so I purchased a second
cleaner shrimp. I thought they were doing better. We did a partial
water change then in two weeks did another water change, put back
in the carbon filters, turned back on the skimmer, thought they
looked good, stopped using the kick ick. The angelfish died the
next day. So, I took out carbon filters and unplugged skimmer and
went back to using the kick ick, every 3 days now. Tang looked good
but I noticed white on the outer side of one eye when the fish
would shift its eyes, but overall eye looked good solid black. A
week has gone by and today the tang has Popeye in one eye.
<Unilateral... mechanical injury...> I bought MelaFix
<Also worthless> to treat tank. My question is should I be
treating the tang with something stronger ( a real anti-biotic) for
this. <No...> I don't want to try this for a few days to
find the tang dead. I know antibiotic will kill shrimp - I will
take them back to fish store, <Along with the Crypt? I doubt
they'll be happy> not worried about that. I want the tang to
live - he has been sick for over a month now and i am worried he
cant take much more. he still eats well, body mass looks good. ick
spots are gone but i am still treating the tank because he is still
scratching and getting cleaned by shrimp. He hides a lot always
scratching his eyes and fins against objects in tank. please help.
I was crushed to lose the angelfish. Thanks a lot, KMS <Please
read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Popeyecures.htm and the
linked files above. Bob Fenner> sorry about the file size on
pics, I forgot to check it before hitting send. thanks again.
<No worries. RMF> |
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Hippo Tang... not
reading ahead of purchase, writing... hlth.?
7/30/07 Hi! I am new to this forum but have found the info here to
be very useful. I bought a hippo tang about 3 days ago, it is only
about 1 - 2 inches long. Her behavior has been odd. The first night she
turned colors and laid on the bottom <A "normal" behavior
of/for this species> of the tank almost pale white, I tested all the
levels in the tank and every thing was perfect. The next day, she was
bright and doing great. Today she is acting strange again, she is
brushing up against the hermit crabs that we have in the tank and we
found her a little while ago under the largest crab almost being bit by
it. <Yikes! Hermits are often opportunistic predators...> We took
the net and pushed the crab off. Now the Hippo is turning pale again,
may possibly have some pinch marks and is swimming at the top of the
tank, almost bobbing up and down. Is this just stressed behavior or do
you believe that she is not going to recover from the crab? Any help
would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Julie Riggs <... no info.
of use here... re the system, history, water quality values/testing...
Foods/feeding, tankmates... No quarantine? Please, read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/paracant.htm and the linked files above. Bob
Fenner>
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>
Regal has "pimples" -- 06/29/07
Hello All, Here is my problem. About a week ago I noticed two small
lumps on the side of our Regal Tang. They didn't concern me at
the time because the fish is a "mutant." What I mean by
that is, it eats ALL the time and looks as if it is ready to
explode. It is by far the healthiest looking tang I have ever seen,
even in some of the best aquariums in the country. Getting back to
the problem, tonight my wife told me the tang was ill. I asked if
she meant the lumps on the side and she said, "Yes, and also
by his mouth." Well, I took a good look at it and
low-and-behold, there on the right side of his face was a small
spot about the size of a match head and the two lumps on his left
side had "morphed" All three looked as if they were
"pimples" as humans would get that had come to a head. We
have a 75gl. tank stocked with a Percula Clown, Neon Dottyback, a
very young Coral Beauty, a Lyretail Anthius,2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp,
a Hermit Crab which was picked up from a local marsh years ago) and
of coarse the Regal Tang. There is approx. 60-70lbs. of live rock
on a 2" bed of crushed coral. Bio-wheel filtration with a HOB
Prizm skimmer, and two power heads. Parameters are good, temp at
72-74 degrees. 7-10gl. water changes every two weeks. Fish are fed
every other day a variety of frozen Mysis, brine shrimp, fresh fish
roe, phytoplankton and ground Nori, which ALL the fish consume
readily. There is also an over abundance of Caulerpa growing in the
tank which has contributed to the tang being so obese. Hopefully
the photos sent will aid in identifying what ails the fish and will
help lead to a cure. Thanks for your time and response, Mark
<Have seen such markings before... usually geographically,
seasonally expressed... Are likely either a protozoan or encysted
worm presence... Can be treated serially with one dose of
Flagyl/Metronidazole and an anthelminthic... (my choice, likely
Prazi/quantel)... Both/all are covered on WWM. Bob Fenner> |
RMF unable to change image files for posting
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Blue tang in danger!! Inappropriate home
6/6/07 Hi there, <Hello> Here is my setup (or what I
know of it... I bought it used for 200$ from a guy on the net who
said he did not have time to care for it anymore). 33Gal tank one
Fluval 303 and two power head in there is three large live rock
two clownfish 1 cleaner shrimp (used to be two but lost one in a
day of big heat before the A/C was installed) about 4-5 turbo
snail and more I don't know about yet ! Yesterday I decided
to do a little tweezers treatment on my live rocks as there where
many Fireworms and I saw them eat away at a snail who is now dead
of course! <Mostly likely dead or dying already, and they were
just cleaning up.> I also carried out a cleaning of the live
sand and replaced about 40% of the water (maybe too much here !)
<I would limit it to 25% unless there is a real emergency.>
This morning I noticed that my blue tang was staying at the
bottom and breathe very rapidly he refuses to eat I am afraid I
might lose it ! <This tank is way to small for a blue tang,
they need a tank at least 100G larger than what you have.>
Water parameters are (ammonia 0 to 0.1 hard to read !! NO2 is 0
and no3 is about 50 ! salinity is 1.0235 Used to range in the
1.024 to 1.025 when I first got it (that might also be it the
reason right ?) <Not likely, not enough of a change.> There
does not seem to be any spots other than the HLLE that it came
with which is very minimal and concentrated in the eye area (not
in the yes but in front) I don't really know what to look for
I think I might have an Aiptasia outbreak but they are very
little about 1-2 mm diameter and 5-7 mm long and there are two
large ones about 1cm wide to 2-3cm long buried in the live sand.
<Not the source of your problem here.> I will include
pictures of the Aiptasia and other life forms found for referral.
Please help my tang !!! It does not want to die ! Thanks !
<Not much to go on here. First guess would be that there was a
fall in water quality, either an ammonia spike, or too drastic of
a change in temp, pH, or other parameter when you conducted the
water change. Could also be the first signs of ich or other
parasite, they attack the gills first. Either way the long term
survival of this fish is doubtful in such a small tank honestly.
Also please spell and grammar check your mails before sending
them, correcting them before posting takes away time we could be
using to answer questions.> <Chris>
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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>
Re: Blue tang got itch
6/03/07 Thanks for your reply, I read your links about the parasite
disease and treatment. The only problem I face that I don't have
Qt. <Really limiting your choices here.> I have 1 clown,1
Chromis, 1 tang & 1 goby, 1 rose anemone, 1 open brain & 1
zoa. Should I treat my itch tang with copper in main tank? <No,
tangs don't respond to copper particularly well, and it will kill
all your invertebrates.> How to do the freshwater dip ? Pls more
specific.
<http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.php >
Or should I move all corals to some place else and put copper med in
main tank? <Won't work, would need to remove all live rock and
sand as well, also copper would bind with the silicon and release over
time.> If so, what should I do to eliminate copper in main tank
after treatment done? <Can't really.> Or what's your
advice. Thanks in advance Hanson <Really your only hope here without
a hospital tank is to keep up the water quality and feed good foods and
hope the fish develop an immunity, but the Ich will always be present
in the system until it can run fallow, so all new additions will
suffer. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.>
<Chris>
Blue Regal Tang has
been beaten up! What can I do? 5/20/07 Hi
<Hello, Brenda here> I have a Regal Tang (Paracanthurus Hepatus)
(2 in.) it got beaten up today by a 3 stripe damsel. It is
pretty bad. It is still alive but is swimming with its nose up most of
the time, if not that it is on the bottom of the fish tank. I moved it
in to another tank with two clown fishes (2 in.) Is there any thing I
can do to help it. I really like this fish. <Pristine water
conditions and keeping it away from any aggressive fish, and waiting is
all you can do for now.> Thank you <You're
welcome! I'll keep my fingers crossed for
you! Brenda>
Blue Tang with Ick, no useful
info. 5/3/07 Hey guys, love the site. I have an
emergency. I have a blue tang in a QT tank (have had for 4 days). She
has mega-ick and is dying. What do I do for her? (I'm trying hypo
salinity and 5 minute FW dips. I fear for her life...
-Jay
<... Hopefully you helped yourself... and your fish/es... and have
been reading: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm and the pertinent
files linked above. Bob Fenner>
Blue tang disease, infection?
5/2/07 I read through your site often and refer people here all
the time. I own a fish store and have occasionally come
across this same situation. Mostly only occurs with Blue
Tangs. When I received this fish she was fine and
beautiful. I performed my normal acclimation procedure
for all of my new fish. <Does this/it entail a dip/bath? What
chemicals do you use if so? Is it pH adjusted?> I have had this
blue tang for over a week now, she eats, and is fat and healthy,
when I came into my store yesterday she had swelling on top of her
head, as if she had un into something and injured herself (which is
common for them to get spooked from customers etc), <Yes> in
this situation I observe and do my best to keep them eating and
calm, <Best to place such fishes in "high" up and away
tanks...> today when I came into the store the top of her head
is rotting away. My system holds approximately 600
gallons, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0. This system
always contains copper. <Mmm... not uncommon, but not
recommended> and specific gravity is at 1.019.
<And... I'd keep this a few thousandths higher...> All
other fish in same system are fine, including other blue tangs,
which have been in system for over a month. In the tank
with this blue tang is (Vlamingi tang, Leopard Blenny, Klein's
butterfly, Foxface Lo, Longnosed hawk). I have included
some pictures in hopes you can help me to identify what this could
be, I love all of my fish and only want to help them the best I
can. Thank you so much Wendy <Very nice specimens... judging
from the very yellow underside... from New Caledonia or
thereabouts... Likely the damage initiated in capture, holding,
shipping... but the copper exposure and unnaturally too-low spg is
not helping... If this fish were mine, I would remote it to your
invertebrate system (in a good sized/volume tank) as you likely do
with your seahorses, Pipefishes, clowns... Sans the copper and with
NSW spg of course there. Further... if I might influence you, I
encourage you to revise your receiving protocol and do away with
constant copper use. The rationale, instructions for these is
posted... on WWM. Bob Fenner> |
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Dips, Hippos - 05/01/07
Dear WetWeb, I have been reading on hippo tangs and Am confused.
Because I read in you info about hippos that you should fresh water dip
them and then place them into the display tank. I thought that this web
site strongly believed in the QT. Please help me try to understand why
you should not QT a fish that is so prone to illness. Jeff <Read on!
Some fishes are better not dipped... for what apparent good it will do
them, you... versus the stress and strain, likely induced problems from
said procedure... Keep reading. Bob Fenner>
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>
Hippo tang in need of immediate help - possibly
ringworm? Hyposalinity... 3/5/07 Dear Bob, <Ryan> I
searched high and low on your website for an answer to this
question but I could not find one. I was hoping you could shed some
light on the issue and put me out of my ignorance. This hippo tang
has rings all over its body. <I see this> I have enclosed
some pictures for you to see. Currently, the fish is in
hyposalinity to get rid of ich. The specific gravity is at 1.008,
<This is a/the problem... Paracanthurus don't do well in
such low salt densities... See WWM re Crypt, Hyposalinity... this
is simple stress marking> ammonia and nitrite are 0, nitrates
are 10, temperature is 79, and the pH is 8.3. I have had people say
that it was the beginning of head and lateral line erosion, gas
bubble disease, or maybe, side effects of hyposalinity.
<Bingo> I performed hyposalinity on two times in the past in
a quarantine tank and have never seen this happen to a fish. Any
advice you can offer would be very much appreciated. Ryan Smith
<BobF> |
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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>
Tang Troubles
2/14/07 To whom it may concern, <Hi> I have recently bought a
blue tang. And am having some difficulties getting him to eat and even
come out of hiding. He constantly is lying on his side. My pH was out
but is now right and is 8.3 and I had to buffer my water. <Shock>
I also had no bacteria and had to put bacteria starter in. <Uncycled
tank? First Fish? Need more info.> He is still
not eating and is still not coming out what do I do please help. thank
you for your
time. hayalz
<Sounds like you have an uncycled tank and related poor water
quality. This would explain the tang's
behavior. Please see here for more http://www.wetwebmedia.com/estbiofiltmar.htm
.> <Chris>
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 |
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