Ich?

[+SChrisEV]

I did not want to hijack the "Need to set up QT asap" thread...

It look as if a small blue tang (like an inch long) that I just put in my tank has ich, or something, I did not see it when I added him (last Saturday) but last night when I got home from work he was not doing so well, he had wedged himself between a frag plug and the rick it was on. He appears to have whitish spots/blots on him. It could be something else, because they are not really small sand/salt looking spots, she seemed larger. I feed my fish with a combination of food I made (shrimp, scallops, muscles, clams, I added garlic extract in the mix, and some pieces of Zoo Med Spirulina 20 flakes) and sometime I just add the Zoo Med Spirulina 20 flakes and marine pellets, but the tang had not eaten very much since added to the tank. He's eaten some small bits of Zoo Med Spirulina 20 flakes, and I've seen him swim after and eat "stuff" in the water column, but over all he has not eaten a lot, given his size I was not too worried about it, we has actively looking for food.

The same time I added the tang I also added two cleaner shrimp, and I've seen my angle and my yellow tang both use the cleaners services. I guess some of my questions are will the cleaners do a very good job against ich and/or other parasites on their own? I've never seem my clowns swim in the rocks, they'll swim over and around, so I don't think they'll use the cleaners services, and my watchman goby stays mostly under the rocks (he come out to eat) so I can't see him getting any help from the cleaners either.

Should I set up a QT tank (I know I should have had one tho start) now and treat the recommenced 6ish weeks in hyposalinity or wait it out a bit longer? I don't want to stress them any more than I have to, if I do wait a bit what suggestions do you have for the DT while I wait, and moving forward? I do have a number of inverts in there and coral, so the "normal" ich treatments are not an option.

Sorry I don't have a pic to post, if I can get one I will post it.

Thanks for your help!

[+SChrisEV]

Oh another question, I have the two cleaner shrimp, as well as a coral banded script, serpent star, couple emerald crabs, snails and hermits, can any of these also be hosts for the Ich parasite?

[George Monnat Jr]

From what I've read, cleaner shrimp have a hard time getting the ich parasites, because they burrow under the skin. They will probably get a small percentage of them but are not a sure-thing cure by themselves.

[FarmerTy]

There was an experiment I remember reading where the guts of cleaner shrimps were examined and they never found remnants of ich in any of the stomach contents of the shrimp. I think ich and cleaner shrimps is just one of those unsubstantiated claims in the reefing industry we all like to hold on to.

Those tiny tangs they sell have dismal survival rates. Maybe hit up Juiceman as I know he got one to live that started out about that size. When I first bought my hippo tang, I QT'ed him and then put him in my sump afterwards before introducing him into the main DT. I thought he was going to die for sure. Never came out, hid under rocks, barely ate. The minute I put him in the main tank, he was swimming around, making new tang friends, and eating up a storm.

They are such skittish fish... but introducing it to the main tank was what kept him from dying for me at least. He learned appropriate aquarium survival skills from his tankmates and felt more comfortable coming out with other fishes around.

Get some garlic extract or garlic extreme and soak all your food in garlic prior to feeding the tank. Do that as well with the nori you feed your tangs and angels. That should help a little. QT would be best but you would have to quarantine your entire fish population, not just the blue hippo since you've already introduced him into the main display tank.

Personally, I don't think ich is the end of the world. I put it akin to cyano in a reef system... it's always there and lurking and under the right conditions, it will come out. If your fish are healthy and happy, they will rarely succumb to the terminal effects of ich. They may get smaller episodes but nothing to be concerned about, especially with options as soaking food in garlic available. There is not an eradication of ich from my system mentality... as I feel it is not needed. I am sure not everyone agrees but just my own approach. I've had 3 happy and healthy tangs for the past 3 years (blue, yellow, and sailfin) and none of them have ever looked worse for wear.

[Viet'spride70]

been there, buddy....killed a fews.

from what i understand, TANGS carries parasites on it body, but it shows when a fish being stressed by many conditions. harashing by others, adapting a new enviroment, and water conditions...ect...

HERE IS HOW I 'VE DONE IN THE PAST:

making sure NITRATE IS LOW or UNDETECTED.

TEMP stables 80F

PH at 8-8.3 ( adding calk wasser)

ELEMINATE a bully out of a tank, temporary keeps in seperated tank

keep a light dimmed

and feed it with mainly dry sea weed with garlic exract

GOOD LUCK...

[George Monnat Jr]

I agree with JeeperTy. I have cleaner shrimp and a UV sterilizer, and new tangs (and only new tangs) get ich every time. I like the cleaner shrimp because they're cool to watch setting up stations and doing their thang. I have a UV sterilizer, because I like clean glass and clearer water. Either or both may help with ich, but I doubt they are a cure; they may be slightly beneficial. They definitely don't prevent ich. Every tang I've gotten (which has been a whopping three so far) has shown ich when first introduced. After a few days they calm down and get comfortable, and the spots go away with the reduction in stress. Last time, my Bicolor Blennie had some, too. That's the first time any non-tang showed ich spots. But they were gone in a couple of days, too. I just make sure everybody is eating and try to be patient.

[kingjames]

1+ on stable environment, and a uv sterilizer, for one ich will drop off your fish into the water cloumn and look for other hosts so you want to be shure to kill them

[+etannert]

+1

Stable environment

Lots of food

Patience

Ich is a frequent part of the introduction of a tang to a new tank. You are unlikely to completely eradicate it from your tank, nor is it necessary that you do so if your fish are healthy and eating, and your tank is stable.

Baby tangs are hard to keep. It took us 3 tries before we got one that made it, and he was a fiesty one that was eating at the store.

[Sherita]

Cleaner shrimp/cleaner gobies do nothing for ich. The parasite is not on the surface of the skin, but rather burrowed into the skin and cannot be reached by cleaners. So, while they are cool to watch, they won't help with ich.

Your inverts cannot harbor ich, the parasite requires a piscine host. It cannot survive on anything but a fish.

It is quite possible to have an ich free system, but it's not easy. It requires a rigorous qt procedure for anything that goes into your tank. One slip up can undo all your hard work. I currently have three tanks with tangs in them, all three tanks are ich free. Getting there wasn't easy, I had to learn the hard way. Some people will tell you that ich can be found in all marine aquariums, but that's simply not true.

That being said, many folks manage ich successfully in their tanks. So hopefully you can too. Little tangs are difficult to keep alive in my experience. They seem very fragile and prone to disease and sudden death. I wish you the best of luck with your little guy.

[+SChrisEV]

Thanks for all your post. The blue tang ended up being a very expensive meal for my CUC. I'll keep an eye on the rest of the fish.