Regal Tang ??

[Madmak]

I have a beautiful 4" Regal Tang that developes ich every time he is in my DT. I have had him out for Cupramine treatment 4 times now and everything clears quickly, flashing stops, and he relaxes, 2-3 weeks each time at a proper dose.

No other fish show any signs of ich or flashing at all although the parasite must be in the DT.

I run a 30W, 36"UV with a huge dwell time 24/7 to help with this.

My question is do I try him in the DT again or is this fish better off re-homed?

I don't want to repeatedly QT him but have heard that maybe letting the ich run through a life cycle of two with him in the DT may be the end of it. Let's his slime coat return to normal and increase him immunity levels as well as increase his comfort level.

Looking for any experiences or suggestions as I'm starting to feel for this guy.

[George]

yes, your DT has marine ich (MI).
I will either re-home the tang (after a successful treatment) or treat all fish in a QT and keep the DT fish-less for 8+ weeks. I prefer the second solution.
There are some study showing that certain strain of MI will loose its effectiveness against fish after 11 generations. But there are more than one strain of MI in the wild and you never know what you have. And you are not sure if all your fish can survive MI throughout this period.
Good luck.


I have a beautiful 4" Regal Tang that developes ich every time he is in my DT. I have had him out for Cupramine treatment 4 times now and everything clears quickly, flashing stops, and he relaxes, 2-3 weeks each time at a proper dose.

No other fish show any signs of ich or flashing at all although the parasite must be in the DT.

I run a 30W, 36"UV with a huge dwell time 24/7 to help with this.

My question is do I try him in the DT again or is this fish better off re-homed?

I don't want to repeatedly QT him but have heard that maybe letting the ich run through a life cycle of two with him in the DT may be the end of it. Let's his slime coat return to normal and increase him immunity levels as well as increase his comfort level.

Looking for any experiences or suggestions as I'm starting to feel for this guy.

[Nano]

+1 sounds like the DT has it too, a bit strange that he is the only one getting it though

[gregzz4]

That's a really tough call as to keeping him or not

Just as you may get the flu when I won't, some fish have immunities to certain strains, and some don't. But apparently all lose this immunity over time

I'd think, from what I've read, that some of your other fish are most likely infected but it's not so easy to spot ie; in the gills

Personally, I'd run the tank fallow for 9 weeks and QT everybody with the hyposalinity method. First for the recommended period, then another 4 weeks of observation

Do it once to get rid of all the MI, then you'll never have to deal with it again
QT all new dudes for 6 weeks observation and dip everything new that you can do so safely with

[Madmak]

A fallow tank would require another several thousand dollars of investment as I have over 30 fish and nearly 100 coral frags. I know this can work but it can also fail, even at 10-12 weeks.

This method is also always at risk of one drop of LFS water getting back in to the tank and limits buying livestock from fellow reefers.

Velvet is a different issue... Knock on wood.

[gregzz4]

I'm not trying to talk you into it ... I just don't want you to go away thinking it's difficult or expensive

Sure, you'd need a fairly big hospital tank, but with lots of water changes, it doesn't have to be huge. Look how many fish Brad had in his 50g :smile:
And if close quarters becomes an aggression issue, eggcrate makes a cheap divider

All you need for the QT is a used tank, heater, simple light, HOB filter, no sand, no LR, no skimmer ( but better with ) and lots of water testing and changes
And if you do the hyposalinity method, the water changes are that much cheaper

Everything that isn't a fish stays in the DT and the tank is fed to keep the bacteria alive
All regular maintenance is kept up

Dipping or QTing everything new is easy enough and the QT doesn't have to be large ( mine's a 20g ) when you're only adding one or two new fish at a time
I wish I had room for a longer tank, but all my new fish will be small to start with

I'm suffering through the QT process right now ( going for 6 weeks with no visible signs of infections ), but I know it will be worth it in the long run
This process will also stop me from adding too many fish to the DT at once :wink:

[Doc_Polit]

Take this with a grain of salt because I am just a noob who has done plenty of reading.

I have read good things about this product.

http://www.novalek.com/kordon/ich_attack/index.htm

Maybe an option?

Good luck!

[Madmak]

I have tried the IckAttack, Herbtana, Artemiss and other reef safe meds. They do seem to work while they are in the tank but within a day of stopping treatment the ich is back.

It's hard to spend $100 on meds to help a $50 fish, 3 or 4 times over.