Achilles Tang is this ich or something else?

[Ben1]

I recently got a nice Achilles Tang. It has been eatting well and getting along good with the yellow tang I already had. I feed the tank a 3" or so piece of green seaweed selects everyday. I also feed frozen foods 3x a week.

Since I noticed what I thought was Ich 2 days ago I have soaked the daily greens in garlic juice and selcon.

The Achilles Tang has a dusting of fine white spots mostly on its front half even some on the eyes. None of the other fish seem to have any of these spots.

What makes me wonder if it is Ich is that the tang is not scratching on rocks or sand. And has only slightly increased breathing which started today. Also on one side you can see a white line on its backend of its lateral line.

IS this ICH? what else could it be? What would you do?

 

[Goldmoon]

Sorry I would love to help but the only thing I found is this website with a do-it yourself diagnostic that usually leads you to the disease your fish has by answering simple questions.. does not cost anything to try.. meanwhile someone might have a good answer for you..
http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite. htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aquasite.com%2Fknowledge%2Fdisease%2Fdisease.shtml

The white on the eye makes me think this one here is out but you might have a look and see if your fish could look like that? HLLE is very common disease for tangs

http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geocities.com%2FHeartland%2FGarden%2F5533%2Fpurpletang.html

[ October 11, 2001: Message edited by: Goldmoon ]

 

[Ben1]

The spots on the eyes are tiny white specks, not cloudy eyes. This morning most of the "dust" is gone but a few spots remain. Any other advise, seems like everyone has ich all the sudden.

 

[Terry B]

It is probably ich if you have added any fish with quarantine in the last month. This tang will get it first even if another fish brought it in.
Terry B

 

[naesco]

Ben continue with the garlic extract. Soak the greens in it and feed nothing else. The ich should disappear in a couple of days and you can go back to normal feeding in 10 days.

 

[Goldmoon]

Do you have any cleaner shrimp in your tank? I know our tang when it got ick was always chasing after the shrimp to get cleaned.. and it was not even a cleaner but a peppermint. He did not seem to see the difference..but the pep did

That is when we decided to put in a cleaner one... the poor guy was working almost 24/24. Shrimp won't rid the tank of ick though.. but they can help the fishes feel better.

 

[rayjay]

Unless you have a very large tank, like 180g or more, the chances of the achilles surviving are slim.
Even though you don't see any conflict, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's unnatural for the two tangs to cohabit the same tank without stress, unless the tank is large enough, and for the very few times it works out, it's not worth subjecting the fish to the resulting stress.
I would suggest removing the achilles at least to a quarantine tank for probable treatment. If you don't have a large tank, it's best to find a new home for it, or, if you like the achilles better, find a new home for the yellow.
If the symptoms don't go away while the fish is in the quarantine tank you will have to treat in some way. Because I don't like to use copper, my preferred treatment for my tangs is to slowly lower the S.G. to 1.008 over a few days, leaving it there for at least 4 weeks after symptoms disappear. At this point slowly return the S.G. to 1.026 before replacing the tang into the tank.
My achilles is the only tang I've experienced problems after this treatment. Several months after treatment and placing in the main tank, "ick" reappeared and required treatment again. After about 3 times like this, I finally resorted to treating in the quarantine tank with copper for a month after symptoms disappeared and then replaced in the main tank. It's been several years now with no further problems.
I don't mean to say you will also have this problem, but only mention it to alert you to the possibilities.
My ways are not the only nor not necessarily the best ways so I recommend using the search feature to research "ick" treatments, especially with respect to tangs. It's best to disregard treatments not supported by the majority of hobbyists.
I wish you the best of luck, and, happy reefing.