Blue Tang Sick

[Eb0la11]

Hey guys,

so my blue tang seems to develop white spots every now and again but they always go away after a couple days. This has been going on periodically for the last 6 months or so. He's probably had it happen 4-5 times total, so once a month or so it seems like.

But right now it seems to be the worst I've seen it.

I was thinking of maybe just feeding the whole tank a portion of garlic soaked food as it will be almost impossible to feed only him garlic soaked food.

Is this ok for the other healthy fish? What do you guys think I should do? Quarantining him is out of the question right now as I will have no chance in catching him without tons of stress as there are way too many hiding spots.

[naesco]

Hey guys,

so my blue tang seems to develop white spots every now and again but they always go away after a couple days. This has been going on periodically for the last 6 months or so. He's probably had it happen 4-5 times total, so once a month or so it seems like.

But right now it seems to be the worst I've seen it.

I was thinking of maybe just feeding the whole tank a portion of garlic soaked food as it will be almost impossible to feed only him garlic soaked food.

Is this ok for the other healthy fish? What do you guys think I should do? Quarantining him is out of the question right now as I will have no chance in catching him without tons of stress as there are way too many hiding spots.

Are you talking about a powder blue tang?
If suspect the white spots are ich they will pass on to the other fish.
Feed only garlic extract/extreme soaked food to all the fish. You need to to overfeed.
The ich will fall off the fish but you cannot stop feeding as the ich is still in the tank and reattach if you stop. That is why you are getting a rebound.

[kien]

I have been feeding all of my healthy fish garlic soaked food for the past year now. Actually, I am now starting to mince in raw garlic or garlic extract with with the fish food blend that I make.

For what it is worth, my blue tang does the exact same thing. Gets ich flare ups every now and again. :neutral: Although he hasn't in a longer period now.. usually happens when new fish are added. You can also buy nori that is fortified with garlic so if he really likes nori you could try that too but garlic extract is probably a better bet. My question would be, is there such a thing as too much garlic? :)

[Coleus]

I don't think there is any harm to feed other fish garlic extract/extreme soaked food.

I feed all my fish though none has ich

[Eb0la11]

Alright, where can I get garlic extreme or extract?

[naesco]

Alright, where can I get garlic extreme or extract?
You can get Garlic Extreme from a LFS. Choose that brand as I suspect some of the others are watered down.
You can get liquid garlic extract from a health food store. Read the label as some brands add other stuff to it.

[Wingin It]

I read on reefcentral that people have also been buying garlic extract from the grocery store. They said that it has minimal preservatives in it but that it was not much more than what's in fish food?
I have no idea if this is even a good idea, but maybe someone else can chime in here and set it straight. I wanted to try some, but i'm on the fence. :(

[naesco]

I read on reefcentral that people have also been buying garlic extract from the grocery store. They said that it has minimal preservatives in it but that it was not much more than what's in fish food?
I have no idea if this is even a good idea, but maybe someone else can chime in here and set it straight. I wanted to try some, but i'm on the fence. :(

I would think that a preservative would preserve the anti-fungal and anti-ich properties of the garlic 'ingredient' that makes garlic extract work and would therefor be beneficial.

I would use garlic without hesitation in the case of ich infestation.
I would also use it without hesitation when I am adding new fish to the tank as a preventative.

I would not use it as a daily feeding protocol because the jury is out on whether their would be any long term risk in using preservatives. Just my opinion.

[Eb0la11]

Hmmm, well I'll probably feed it for a week or two until he can be nursed back to health - hopefully.

[Eb0la11]

Hes rubbing a lot on rocks and sand. They do this with Ich, right?

[naesco]

Hes rubbing a lot on rocks and sand. They do this with Ich, right?

Yes it is one of the first signs you see even before you see the dots.
The fish is attempted to remove the parasite from its skin and also its gills. By doing this they become subject to a potential opportunistic infection like bacteria or fungus.

BTW, add a bubbler in your tank and place a powerhead near the waterline to add oxygen in the tank to assist in breathing.
You will see that they will soon 'play' in the surge.

[Eb0la11]

I have two return jets constantly agitating the surface water to promote oxygen exchange.

Ok so I can only seem to find garlic extract in tablet form. Can I just crush this up and soak the food in the "dust" from doing so?

Yes it is one of the first signs you see even before you see the dots.
The fish is attempted to remove the parasite from its skin and also its gills. By doing this they become subject to a potential opportunistic infection like bacteria or fungus.

BTW, add a bubbler in your tank and place a powerhead near the waterline to add oxygen in the tank to assist in breathing.
You will see that they will soon 'play' in the surge.

[Milad]

why not just use chopped up garlic? just wondering...

[naesco]

I have two return jets constantly agitating the surface water to promote oxygen exchange.

Ok so I can only seem to find garlic extract in tablet form. Can I just crush this up and soak the food in the "dust" from doing so?

No, I think it will just float away but it may do until you finds some. It is hard to find. The brand is kaolic sp? You need to phone pharmacies and ask or you will be chasing all over town.

Crushing a garlic is better than nothing but what you left with is garlic juice which is not as concentrated as the extract or buying Garlic Extreme from a LFS.
Maybe someone near you can lend you either extract or extreme until you get one of your own.

[Eb0la11]

Hmmm, Kyolic sounds like the right stuff... I dunno where to get that. Anyone know?

[plutoniumJoe]

Hmmm, well I'll probably feed it for a week or two until he can be nursed back to health - hopefully.

As many have said don't just feed for a week keep it going. The ich cycle is at least 6weeks and you want to keep your fish's immune system high for longer than that at least.

[Milad]

son of a bitch, i have ich on my new wrasse!! all because i replied to this thread.
im guessing I cant soak the food in my automatic feeder with the garlic extreme?

[The Grizz]

I have been feeding Formula One Marine Pellets with garlic and PE Mysis soaked in garlic extreme for 6 month now and no ich, knock on wood.