Purple tang. ICK?

Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum

Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:

sedrostyle

sedrostyle

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
759
Location
mount vernon
noticed my purple tang had some " powder " today.... Im figuring its ick. I did add a fish a few weeks ago.
My question is whats the best thing to do? Before when my clown had ick I got Metronidozol powder, mixed it with their food I think every other day and everything was fine.

Don't realy want to drive to bellingham to go get some more but if that's the best bet, Ill have to make the trip asap.
I live at the south end of camano island and don't really go north anymore, and I work in arlington.
Farthest south I really go is marysville, and Im pretty sure marysville petco doesn't carry it.
Any other options in meds? NON copper based right? because it will kill coral?
Thanks in advance everyone.

Steven
 
What do you think about this Seachem ParaGaurd stuff?
It says it treats all types of infections.
But is it safe to put IN a reef tank? I can't see that it has copper
 
your best bet is to catch the tang and put in QT, otherwise all fish in the main tank are suspectible to ick...

can you post pics to be sure it is ick?

IMHO, the only two proven methods to combat ick is hypo or copper..

BTW, Bridges Pets in Marysville may have the medications you are looking for..
 
THanks man! I will go check them out today, I don't have a tank to QT in anymore, when I moved my sump slide and busted so now my QT is my sump :D
I liked the seachem metronidozal stuff before becuase I just added it to the food and I had no problems.
 
Ich cures in a bottle are all designed to acquire money from the fish owner, they do not work. Some attempt to strengthen a fish's immune system or fight off secondary bacteria infections, but NONE will rid the tank of Ich nor cure any fish. Either treat the tank with copper or hypo, or cross your fingers and hope for the best. Tangs fare very poorly with the latter.
 
speakers on computer don't work :( is hypo salinity raising it or lowering?
I think this would be my best bet... Since it'd be impossible to catch her.
She looks better today so ill keep everyone posted, thank you for the help.
Maybe someone could walk me thru the processs of hyposalinity.

Steven
 
Let me know if you need some help. I'd be happy to lend you a tank to use as a quarantine if you want to meet somewhere. IMHO, the only way to fight ich is to eradicate it with medication and leave the display tank fishless for 8-10 weeks. Are you SURE that it is ich? Hypo only works on ich and it is a very touchy way to treat. A little below the target salinity, and you pose a danger to the fish. A little above, and the ich won't die. The best ways to keep ich out of the tank are quarantine, close observation, and IME preventative treatment.

I'm have very little faith in hypo these days. If I were you, I'd either run them through cupramine or chloroquine phosphate.
 
Rea17 said:
Let me know if you need some help. I'd be happy to lend you a tank to use as a quarantine if you want to meet somewhere. IMHO, the only way to fight ich is to eradicate it with medication and leave the display tank fishless for 8-10 weeks. Are you SURE that it is ich? Hypo only works on ich and it is a very touchy way to treat. A little below the target salinity, and you pose a danger to the fish. A little above, and the ich won't die. The best ways to keep ich out of the tank are quarantine, close observation, and IME preventative treatment.

I'm have very little faith in hypo these days. If I were you, I'd either run them through cupramine or chloroquine phosphate.
Click to expand...

You are very generous, kudos.
When a tang has spots, 99% chance it has Ich.
As to your opin on hypo-salinity treatment, the same can be said about copper.
Too little and miss the target. Too much and kill the fish.
All medical remedies both with pets and people require scientific level of diligence in application.
Myself and friends have never had less than 100% success with hypo, ditto copper.
Personally I consider Hypo safer for the less than highly experienced reef keeper.
 
Herefishyfishy said:
You are very generous, kudos.
When a tang has spots, 99% chance it has Ich.
As to your opin on hypo-salinity treatment, the same can be said about copper.
Too little and miss the target. Too much and kill the fish.
All medical remedies both with pets and people require scientific level of diligence in application.
Myself and friends have never had less than 100% success with hypo, ditto copper.
Personally I consider Hypo safer for the less than highly experienced reef keeper.
Click to expand...

I suppose I say that because I have seen velvet misdiagnosed as ich by friends in the past. They go to do the hypo treatment and lose their fish - proper diagnosis is essential here. Judging by Sedro's timeline I would agree it is likely ich.

While I don't like hypo, I really can't say that I like copper either. It is a poison, there's no getting around that. I find it to be more reliable, it treats a broad spectrum of parasites (in comparison to hypo), and there is a larger threshold before it becomes a danger to the fish. The minimum therapeutic dose is 0.2 mg/L and the toxic dose is 0.8 mg/L, target being 0.5 mg/L (and a little lower for sensitive fish). Cupramine is the only copper product I will use as it is gentler on the fish and I find it easy to use and maintain in a hospital tank, not to mention the flexibility on dosage at times.

I really think CP is catching on, and I'm looking forward to trying it out one of these days. I'm seriously considering running a preventative treatment/fallow period on my current livestock before moving them over to my new tank. I haven't seen spots, but I've noticed some increased respiratory rates and I'd rather be safe than sorry. *sigh* I'll be quarantining my coral and inverts from now on :(
 
You guys are amazing, I would hate to lose my prize fish. I definitly want to do what is best for her, and the other fish.
It would be totally amazing to setup another quartinien. Im actually having a aptasia issue at the moment again. it hought I had them all but now they're coming back. I did order a big jug of aptasia x to hopefully get rid of them forgood.
Let me know what all I would need besides the tank and how long I would need to do everything. I know it'd give me a chance to take hold of the water quality again. We MAY be moving here in a month so it'd be nice to get everytihng in hand before the move.
As for the fish, he does look less powder today. but there is 3 little specs on his pectoral fin i believe.
also maybe a few on the dorsal. As others have stated it'd pry be best to treat now before it gets worse.

Thanks again everyone. As I said before I'd hate for anything to happen to anything in my tank. its been along time running and this is just one of the humps I need to fight through. Im glad all you guys are so much help.

steven
 
sedro,

I suggest you start by reading the links at least twice I posted in my previous reply..they explain how long the QT process should last and how to setup a QT tank.

any questions..ask...

Kirk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

barrierreefcf
Arrivals & News 4/6 - 4/10
Replies
1
Views
321
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
C
Need help with cycling tank
Replies
2
Views
2K
Scooterman
Scooterman
S
New build, recap of old build and lessons learned
Replies
13
Views
5K
seattlereef
S
Vandur
40g Breeder, Tank Build(s)
Replies
16
Views
14K
spieszak
spieszak
R
Hello, the two year algae war! Am I finally beating it?
Replies
10
Views
4K
Therapy1
T
Back
Top