Yellow-eyed tang w/the Ich

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by oeb, Feb 26, 2008.

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  1. oeb

    oeb Astrea Snail

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    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!
     
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  3. omard

    omard Gnarly Old Codfish

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    Garlic dip good idea.

    Make sure it is getting some good green stuff...i.e. nori

    Some significant back to back water changes may be indicated.

    Check those water params closely.

    Make sure not be harassed by some other tank inhabitant.

    If all good, he will come out of it just find.

    If gets really bad and if he starts to act up behavior wise, QT and treat outside tank.

    Wish you best.

    Good Luck.
     
  4. missionsix

    missionsix Super Moderator Staff Member

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    I went through the same thing with my purple tang. Acclimation is key and quarantine is a very good idea. I made a QT tank out of a rubbermade container. Slowly putting salinity to hypo, adding rid-ich, and keeping a watchful eye. My PT was doing fine for a while. It eventually died after moving to QT tank #2. I went away for the weekend and came home to the most ich I'd ever seen. Which prompted the whole QT set-up. If you don't have a major issue you can pick up a cleaner shrimp or, some type of parasite eater. It will be an issue if the parasite begins to attack the gills. Watch it's breathing and start thinking of a simple QT. Rubbermade, heater, powerhead or, aerator with the medicine of your choice if you decide to use it. It's not necessary I only used it because the severity of my case. GOOD LUCK! GARLIC IS GOOD!
     
  5. phoenixhieghts

    phoenixhieghts Panda Puffer

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    I think tangs in gerneral get ich like children get dirty. i found with my tang, the addition of a uv sterilizer and a cleaner goby and fire shrimp has worked wonders!! I also feed my fish garlic and every other day add some seaweed to the tank.

    Touch wood! since doing this i havent had a single ich attack!
     
  6. Camilsky

    Camilsky Montipora Capricornis

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    I'm not an expert, however I've read skunk cleaner shrimps are one of the most elegant remedies to external parasite problems... So once you decide to keep your tang, consider getting one of the cleaner shrimps :) Good luck!
     
  7. omard

    omard Gnarly Old Codfish

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    Good one Cam...that slipped by me.

    Also a blue neon goby may even do a better job then a skunk cleaner...and generally much cheaper also (at least at my LFS)


    [​IMG]

    (unfortunately mine disappeared recently due to depredation of a Snowflake eel..:-/)​





    Additional Info





    News from the Warfront with Cryptocaryon irritans (Part 1 of 5) by Terry Bartelme

    Saltwater Ich and Garlic - Aquarium Fish Diseases Ick, By: Terry D. Bartelme

    Aquarium.Net Feb 97 Diseases in Fish, By Shawn Prescot

    Marine Ick Part I, Steven Pro

    Marine Ick, Part II, Steven Pro

    Symptoms of Stress & Disease

    An Old Cure for an Old Disease (Fishlore.com)

    Freshwater Ich, White Spot Disease, By Bob Fenner

    Protozoan parasites. (Skeptical Aquarist)

    How to Identify & Prevent Saltwater Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) (Liveaquari.com)






    ;D​
     
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  9. lunatik_69

    lunatik_69 Giant Squid

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    Great advice/option from Camilsky. To biggy pack on what was said already, the perfect remedy from the start is to properly feed the fish. If the fish are healthly, they wouldnt get ick. However, stress will cause the ick too. I've come to the conclusion that the best time to introduce a fish into the tank is when the lights are off. Everyone is asleep, so theres no confrontations to add to the stress of being "bagged" and traveled and dropped into a new home. I havent have any fish with ick for about 18 yrs now.
     
  10. oeb

    oeb Astrea Snail

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    Good news. The tang is looking significantly better. He still has a white spot or two, and some on the fins it looks like. But his color looks solid, and he was swimming around playfully, and not trying to jab me with his tail fin. :p

    Thanks for the advice everyone. And the much more reading material omard! :eek:

    Camilsky, I've read that as well, but I already have a golden coral banded shrimp. I read their behavior is somewhat similar, but I have only seen the tang get checked out once. Though, who knows through-out the day while I'm at work or during the night when the shrimp comes actually comes out.

    I just did a little bit of research on the neon goby. Question, does it have to be a blue neon goby specifically? I am just wondering if I will be able to find one. Also, I found this on wetwebmedia - NeonGobies:

    So it sounds like I will definitely will need to make sure my tank ich-less.


    Luna, thanks for the tip. I never had heard that before and it makes perfect sense.
     
  11. oeb

    oeb Astrea Snail

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    Well looks like the ich life cycle may have started over. The tang is back to pale color he was at first.

    Is a 10 gal tank too small a tank to quarantine a tang in?
     
  12. omard

    omard Gnarly Old Codfish

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    Really get larger if you can...

    Will help eliminate stress issues.