Help!!! Tang has ick

[wdozier]

Well, as I htought, my Hippo Tang has ick.

My question for the board is what is the best method for treating him.

I am planning a hospital tank as we speak. I already have the rock to put in it. I am not going to use any sand though...maybe in the future but not at this juncture.

What do I need for the tank. I already have a heater and a powerhead. What type of filtration should I use. Also, what meds do you recommend. How often should I do water changes and such.

Another question although I really don't want to do this but is it possible to treat in the display tank. As of right now, I have the tang and a false purcula. I assume that if the tang has it, it will not be long before the clown has it. The tank is a 30G FOW50lbLR and about 2.5inches of sand. It will be afish only tank untill we move sometime next year so no worries there. I still think I need to go by way of the QT.

Any help would be appreciated, and I thank you in advance.

Wayne

 

[wdozier]

Well, I just bought a tank so I can start my process. Could not wait. But I got a Aqua-Tech 5

I know it is probably more than I need for this but I like the hood feature not to mention it keeps the cat out.

So will this tank be ok?

Wayne

 

[krullulon]

check the ich faqs on wetwebmedia.com -- you can find a lot of guidance there, including suggestions for medicine and filtration in quarantine tanks.

as for the tank -- don't put rock or sand in it... bare-bottom with no decorations and just some non-reactive material (like PVC pipe) for the fish to hide in. anything else will absorb medications, which you don't want.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't buy another tang for that 30G tank after this one dies.

Is a Aqua-Tech 5 a 5 gallon tank?

 

[wdozier]

Don't buy another tang for that 30G tank after this one dies.

Is a Aqua-Tech 5 a 5 gallon tank?

I bought him knowing he would outgrow the tank. He is about the size of a silver dollar now and has not grown much. I already have the fish store waiting till he gets to a medium size, then we will trade and I will recieve store credit. The guy at the LFS said it would not be a problem because people seem to like buying the larger specimens.

Beside that, I do not think i will buy the same fish twice for some time. And I definetly would not buy anything that was too large for the 30G.

He is actually about the same size as my clown. They get along great, usually following each other around. I also made sure there were plenty of hiding places for him. But i do understand the concern. However I am all about what is best for my inhabitants. don't want any deaths on my hands. I have even decided that when i do turn it into a reef tank, the only thing I will put in it are going to be frags.

Wayne

 

[cdeakle]

Hey bro please read this link:

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevo ... inity.html

I have recused 5 out of 5 fish infected with ich using hyposalinity. I thought for sure I would of had at least a 50% death rate since I got these guys from someone who absoulutely should not of bought ANY fish of ANY kind EVER and I'm surprised they lived long enough to be rescued.

 

[Anonymous]

I guess I could have tried to help while at it.

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46571&highlight=hyposalinity+ich

 

[fishfanatic2]

A simple filter is fine, any ich med is good. Dont bother with garlic crap, just get good ol' copper med cuz it works well and its fish onlyh. :wink:

 

[cdeakle]

FF2,

I gotta disagree with you on this one brutha.

any ich med is good

Not so. In fact alot of meds arent that good and not effective or even worse, can harm your fish if not used properly.

Dont bother with garlic crap, just get good ol' copper med cuz it works well and its fish only

Garlic has been shown to be helpful and effective with ich. I would only use copper as a last result. Copper can be very dangerous if not used very carefully. I would ONLY use copper as a last resort.

Again, I have never lost a fish and have cured every single fish I have rescued and treated with hyposalinity.

 

[wdozier]

Thanks for the replys.

I have bpth the fish in a 10 gal tank (took the 5 gallon back) with lots of PVC for hiding. I decided to go with copper only because the Tangh has it BAD. I had to take most of my liverock out to catch him, which I am sure stressed him even more. He is currently tucked in a tight corner next to some PVC. He has lost alot of color and is breathing quite rapidly. I really hope I can save him.

I am going to keep these guys in quarantine for 6 weeks, that should give plenty of time for the life cycle of whatever is left in the tank.

So next question, at what point do I stop dosing? I have the test kit for the copper and I know what level it should be at. But do I do I keep the copper in the tank the whole time?

Again, Thanks for the help.

Wayne

 

[hillbilly]

Tangs seem to be ich magnets in smaller tanks. I assume the stress doesn't help at all.

 

[wdozier]

Yea... I have definetly learned my lesson. After this everything that goes in the tank gets at leat 30 days of solitary.

From what I have been reading about ich. Once I keep the fish out of the display for 6 weeks, there should be no ich lift in the tank due to their life cycle. By then the fish should be well and ready to put back in the tank. I don't ever want to have to deal with this again.

Wayne