black ick????????

[keene1981]

my yellow tang has black dots all over it . it is eating and overall look's happy

 

[Brenden]

How long have you had it? What else is in the tank. Got a pic?

 

[Kraut!]

Probably Paravortex... type of flatworm, I believe, which causes "black spot disease." One of my Yellows had it and I got rid of it with freshwater dips.

 

[keene1981]

i have had it for 3 week's no pic's sorry i know it hlep's .freshwater dips?????

 

[ronj]

yep... i have been treating this same problem... i have done 2 fw dips and have one more just to be sure...is it in a hospital tank? if so, siphon the bottom daily...do the dips 3 days apart....be sure to match your freshwater ph and temp and aerate the water for about 20-30 minutes http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/blackich.html

 

[keene1981]

i will gave it 1 tonite thank's for the help

 

[steve-s]

sure to match your freshwater ph and temp and aerate the water for about 20-30 minutes

A very important point, please do follow the advice/instructions in the link above.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ronj]

read this post that steve helped me with....be sure you match the temp and ph exactly.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16260&page=3

i have found that when i add the buffer (superbuffer dkh) to the water, it will show a high reading..i let it mix for a few minutes and test it, then add more and test again later...it takes a while for the ph to stabilize...i use about 1/16 tsp or 1/8tsp per 5g of freshwater...start w/ the 1/16tsp..i have really messed up the ph of makeup water before by adding too much..you have to add alot of fw to get it back down......by the way, do you have a ph testing instrument, because if you don't, the strips and color changing liquid tests are not accurate enough to match the ph.....this is not a life threatening emergency.....you could order one first for about $25...i have a milwaukee ph meter..it was $25

 

[ronj]

at least wait until steve s gives you some advice.....the fish will be fine..
here is a link to a cheap, but reliable ph tester...
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Milwaukee

 

[keene1981]

i gave a fw dip it look's like it is work and he looks to be ok

 

[ronj]

do you have a ph tester??? it will need one more fw dip...i am doing 3 to be sure...

 

[keene1981]

salt water test kit is all

 

[steve-s]

The pH test kit is fine since the water is being prepared prior to adding the fish as long as the results are decently accurate. As ronj said, you will need to do at least one more dip in 3 days time but I would suggest another near the end of next week.

Cheers
Steve

 

[keene1981]

the tang look's good i will do a fw dip fri

 

[shallowreef]

Is black ich worse or the same as regular ich?

Just Curious.

 

[ronj]

black ich is not as serious as "regular" ich...it still needs to be addressed...it is also much much easier to get rid of...i am in this process right now...today is going to be the 3rd and final FW dip, and it should be gone after this

 

[shallowreef]

Good luck to you.

Thanks for the info

 

[steve-s]

If treated appropriately, Black ich is much less a concern than C. irritans and much easier to get rid of. They are not the same type of parasite either. Crypt is a ciliated protozoan while Black ich (Paravortex) is a flatworm. Black ich will not usually kill the fish anywhere near as quickly as crypt would. The exception being where water quality/husbandry was poor and allowed for the easy onset of secondary infection.

If a FW dip does not show good results on the first dip, formalin would be the next step. Barring that, organophosphates would be the final resort but should never (or at least rarely) be initially considered. I would start with the FW dip in almost all cases where Paravortex was suspected. Any other external worm or copepod I would go straight for formalin.

None of these options would work for C. irritans.

Cheers
Steve

 

[keene1981]

will friday be ok for the 2 dip or is it to long ?????????

 

[keene1981]

all the black dot's are goin