3reef Forums - View Single Post - Yellow-eyed tang w/the Ich

oeb · 02-26-2008, 01:44 PM

I almost posted this as part of the other saltwater ich thread, but I figured I would just start a new one... Basically my yellow-eyed tang appears to have come down with marine ich, though I'm not exactly sure which kind or how to proceed. I have a 46 gallon bow, which I know is too small for him, so as soon as this is over...

My water parameters are good, which I can post once I get home from my log book (as of Sunday). The temperature is at about 78 degrees, which I have read in many places including the other thread, that higher means speeding up the ich's life cycle though I have not decided one way or the other to change this yet. I also have two ocellaris clowns which appear to be unaffected.

The progress has gone as follows -
I recently added some coral freebies (waving hand, green star, and red mushroom) I got from a buddy I work with. A day or so later the tang started looking pale, which then I realized I had forgot to put his Seaweed Salad on a clip for the past couple days. So I put that back in and his color improved dramatically within a couple hours and almost normal by the next day. Though I noticed his fins looked a bit cloudy / kind of dirty. At that point I was thinking I stressed him out with my excessive attention given to placement (and re-placement, no thanks to my crabs) of the coral.

Last night I notice he had tiny white spots on his body, may be a half dozen to a dozen on either side. This morning when I checked, the white spots were gone, but his color is a bit blotchy looking. Fins still dirty/cloudy looking. And I want to say I saw little black dots instead, but he wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get a real good look.

Behavior wise, he is eating, breathing, swimming and grazing as normal. Though he is a bit more aggressive towards me. Somethings he will wag his tail fin at me through the glass when I am trying to check him out. He's cool with the clowns and not displaying any aggressive behavior towards them.

Treatment so far - This morning I dipped the pellets I feed regularly in garlic water (poured from fresh minced garlic containing only water, garlic and citric acid), and also dipped the Seaweed Salad in the same water. He gobbled up the pellets, though the clowns weren't so into it. Before I left he hadn't touched the seaweed salad, and I presume and garlic residue was diluted to the point of no effect.

What my instincts are telling me is to quarantine him, get him well, and then just take him to a LFS and wish him a long and happy life. My problem is I am worried that moving him to the QT will only stress him out more, making the problem worse. Plus I am reluctant to use meds, but not direly opposed to it either. Ideally, I would like him to get better, quarantine him when he is healthier, then pass him to the LFS. Then quarantine my clowns for 6 weeks while the ich dies off in the display. Though what I really worry about is any extended quarantine of the tang in a 10 gallon tank, now that I am aware that he needs room. How much a problem will this be. Would getting a 20 gallon long make that much of a difference? Coincidentally I was just looking at adding a small tank to my system as sort of an anti-refugium for the crabs, so I can rationalize the additional tank purchase.

Newbie Lesson learned (please correct me if this is wrong) - It doesn't hurt to quarantine ANYTHING you plan to add to your display tank.

Sorry for the novel. I just wanted to provide as much detail as possible. All help is appreciated!

02-26-2008, 01:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
oeb Astrea Snail Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 33 Karma: 11	Yellow-eyed tang w/the Ich I almost posted this as part of the other saltwater ich thread, but I figured I would just start a new one... Basically my yellow-eyed tang appears to have come down with marine ich, though I'm not exactly sure which kind or how to proceed. I have a 46 gallon bow, which I know is too small for him, so as soon as this is over... My water parameters are good, which I can post once I get home from my log book (as of Sunday). The temperature is at about 78 degrees, which I have read in many places including the other thread, that higher means speeding up the ich's life cycle though I have not decided one way or the other to change this yet. I also have two ocellaris clowns which appear to be unaffected. The progress has gone as follows - I recently added some coral freebies (waving hand, green star, and red mushroom) I got from a buddy I work with. A day or so later the tang started looking pale, which then I realized I had forgot to put his Seaweed Salad on a clip for the past couple days. So I put that back in and his color improved dramatically within a couple hours and almost normal by the next day. Though I noticed his fins looked a bit cloudy / kind of dirty. At that point I was thinking I stressed him out with my excessive attention given to placement (and re-placement, no thanks to my crabs) of the coral. Last night I notice he had tiny white spots on his body, may be a half dozen to a dozen on either side. This morning when I checked, the white spots were gone, but his color is a bit blotchy looking. Fins still dirty/cloudy looking. And I want to say I saw little black dots instead, but he wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get a real good look. Behavior wise, he is eating, breathing, swimming and grazing as normal. Though he is a bit more aggressive towards me. Somethings he will wag his tail fin at me through the glass when I am trying to check him out. He's cool with the clowns and not displaying any aggressive behavior towards them. Treatment so far - This morning I dipped the pellets I feed regularly in garlic water (poured from fresh minced garlic containing only water, garlic and citric acid), and also dipped the Seaweed Salad in the same water. He gobbled up the pellets, though the clowns weren't so into it. Before I left he hadn't touched the seaweed salad, and I presume and garlic residue was diluted to the point of no effect. What my instincts are telling me is to quarantine him, get him well, and then just take him to a LFS and wish him a long and happy life. My problem is I am worried that moving him to the QT will only stress him out more, making the problem worse. Plus I am reluctant to use meds, but not direly opposed to it either. Ideally, I would like him to get better, quarantine him when he is healthier, then pass him to the LFS. Then quarantine my clowns for 6 weeks while the ich dies off in the display. Though what I really worry about is any extended quarantine of the tang in a 10 gallon tank, now that I am aware that he needs room. How much a problem will this be. Would getting a 20 gallon long make that much of a difference? Coincidentally I was just looking at adding a small tank to my system as sort of an anti-refugium for the crabs, so I can rationalize the additional tank purchase. Newbie Lesson learned (please correct me if this is wrong) - It doesn't hurt to quarantine ANYTHING you plan to add to your display tank. Sorry for the novel. I just wanted to provide as much detail as possible. All help is appreciated!