Hippo tang has white spots
 

Hi everyone this is my first post!!! About time :). Anyway I'm A little concerned with my blue tang. I have had the blue tang for about two weeks and three days into having him in my tank he started to develop white spots. He is eating and swimming he seems okay. Is it Ich? What should I do? I have read from other sites and forms that I shouldn't be too concerned A) because he is eating and B) he seems to be pretty active. But I'm still worried because the spot seems to be getting worse and I do see him from time to time trying to rub his side. I also see him kind of make these jittery swims like he is being bothered. I bought a cleaner shrimp about three days ago and was hoping that that this would help. But still I'm not sure what to do.

I've been told blue tangs are known for getting ich, even in pristine water conditions. They tend to come and go and not much you can do about it.

Post a pic if you can its probably ich if you didn't Qt him read up on all that goes along with ich if you want to treat it properly

Spear it!!!

Welcome ;)

This simply isn't true. There are many things you can do about it. You may not like doing it, but you can 100% eliminate ich from your display tank.

You will of course have to leave the tank fishless for 72 days but during that time you can treat your fish for ich and then observe them in an isolated environment to make sure it truly is eliminated.

The most popular ways to treat them are with copper, using the tank transfer method or hyposalinity (not really recommended anymore). Personally I prefer to treat tangs that have ich with copper, seachem cupramine to be exact, but tank transfer method might be easier for you to do assuming you don't have too many fish and can get 2 extra sets of tanks heaters ect.

+1. Best treatment is to quarantine ALL FISH in a suitable size bare bottomed (nothing in it other than cut up PVC pipe for fish to hide) sponge filter air stone. Leave your display tank fallow for 72 days( just to be sure the ich has run its course) treat the fish with SeaChem cupramine.

I new I had to take drastic measures. Unbelievable!!!!! What a bunch of blank. Well I guess I have to grab my 33g in the garage and become a vet. First hard lesson learned in my new tank. "Always have a quarantine tank for new fish"

I did some digging and I think I'm going to do the copper treatment. I'm a little scared of the the hypo salinity. Seems like a lot of work and I don't have time each day to be doing all the things involved.


Thanks guy for the input

Wish me luck.....

Btw do you think I could use my old penguin 125 bio wheel penguin filter in the QT?

Ok now I'm really confused what to do. After my last post I did some more reading and ran into this article on Reef Central.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...2229271&page=2

I'm liking the tank transfer method, but I am intrigued by the few comments about the UV sterilizer. Some of the members said that they use a UV and have never had a problem with ich.

I should probably let everyone know that my tank is a 90g that is 6 weeks old with 100lbs live rock and has no coral. I have five fish, inverts, snails, and 2 shrimp. My water perimeters are good. My goal is a thriving sps reef tank.

Has anyone used a UV before? With what results for ich and how is the tank doing as a reef?

Having a UV Sterilizer on a tank holding Ich-prone fish like the Hippo Tang is a good idea. A UV Sterilizer interrupts the life cycle of Ich, but the life cycle can be anywhere from about 24-72 days (temperature dependent among of things). Since this is such a long time, a UV Sterilizer is not a good treatment, though it is a good preventive.

As long as the fish is active and eating the tank transfer method is a good option, but if the fish is not in good condition TT, like UV sterilizer, can take too long and the fish may perish. For me, it's about common sense; if the fish is covered in Ich, then treatment with a medication is often the best bet. If the fish has a mild case, then TT may be the best bet.

In regards to your other comments, is this your first reef tank? For a tank that's only 6 weeks old, you have a lot of fish in there already. IMO, you're probably moving a bit too fast. Did you use 100% live rock or did you use dry rock too? Dry rock is not equal to live rock. What brand of test kits are you using to test the tank? Are you using a refractometer or hydrometer for testing salinity? What are the actual numbers you've tested? "Parameters are good" is a bit vague. Just trying to make sure you're on the right track, regardless of the Hippo Tang situation. :)

If you are doing the copper treatment you have to remove the fish and quarantine them in a separate tank. The copper will leach into the rock and continue to kill the inverts long after the treatment is done. Yes you penguin bio wheel will work fine. Just remove the carbon filter, it will absorb the copper rending it weak.