Am i correct in saying this is ich?
 

Hey guys..
Am I correct in assuming this is ich on my folks powder brown tang. I tried to get some pics while he was still. If so...how can they treat him without having a quarantine tank? If it isn't ich....does anyone know what it is?

Thanks,

Jim

[IMG]http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/kissfan79/DSC02254.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/kissfan79/DSC02253.jpg[/IMG]

It appears to resemble ich but without clearer pics or close ups it's hard to tell. IF it is ich then the only

PROVEN and

DOCUMENTED cures

are to treat in a QT tank with either hyposalinity or copper treatments. If it is ich then other fish are at a high risk to be harboring the ich as well or there is ich in the tank somewhere as bad as it looks. ALL fish should be treated at the same time and the tank left fishless or fallow for at least 4-6 weeks.

It could also be velvet

Thanks for the replies. First off...what is "velvet"? Second....how does a hyposalinity treatment work? I read about it once but I forget how the treatment works.

Thanks, Jim

Good call canarygirl. Could very well be. Do a google search for marine velvet. Hypo is done by lowering the salinity in the QT tank to 1.009SG or 34-35ppt using a refractometer. It is very important to lower the salinity over a couple of days. Inverts, corals, etc cannot handle hypo.

Hypo will only work on ich if that is what your fish has. I don't believe it will work on velvet.

I am used to seeing ich as a discrete bump, not this flaky appearance. I'd suggest going to a fish disease site and giving a thorough lookover.

There is no way to save this fish [or any other fish that takes it] except by qt and proper medication. NEVER treat your main tank by any means whatsoever...it will destroy your rock and sandbed and crash your tank. The things that claim to treat ich in the tank---no: if you're lucky, they simply don't save the fish: if you're not lucky your fish dies and the tank crashes. The only safe in-tank thing to do is feed him crushed garlic and crossing your fingers---in which case he will probably die and any other tang you get in there will probably take it, if it is ich. This will be true for about 8 weeks, supposing the parasite finds no other host, and that clownfish swimming past would be a prime host unless it has already shaken off a case of ich and has some immunity.

Sorry, but there is no shortcut to a cure in this parasitic infestation. It's like fleas. Only generally lethal.

So....after confirming the disease...(I will try to get a better pic and post for better ID), the hypo would have to be done in a QT being as the main tank has shrimp, emerald crabs, etc. As far a QT tank.....how big would it have to be for this tang and what would i have to put in it? I assume some cleaned PVC for him to hide in, a small hang on power filter, and possibly a heater?

Thanks again for all of the info.

Jim

Can you get this fish into QT ASAP? Here is someone you can send an email w/pics to and he can coach you on how to treat it:

Lee Birch

reefland.com or reeffrontiers.com

marine fish care and disease forum

It's hard to tell the size of the tang but it doesn't look too awfully big so a 20 gallon QT would be about right. If you have other fish in there with him then you will want to take all fish out, as stated above, and treat all of them in a QT. What size depends on the sizes of the fish you have and the number.

I tried to get a better picture but to no avail. Whatever it is that is on him looks kinda' like little peices of white cotton string or peices of lint. He seems energetic and eats fine....just has the "stuff" all over him.

Jim

Your quarantine tank doesn't need to be pretty. A big rubbermaid trash can (new obviously and rinsed out with white vinegar and RO/DI water before using) will be fine. Buy a small air pump and stone and a heater for circulation and temp control. Go to [url]www.wetwebmedia.com,[/url] this site and others for treatment protocols. I have used cupramine very successfully on my tang and rusty angel. Get a test kit to monitor copper. This is a pain because the test kits are all almost impossible to read. Seachem makes one that I could at least read, though not easily. Hyposalinity can work if you have a refractometer and get your salt content just right and many experts recommend it. I just find Cupramine easier. Even if you use Cupramine you can go for mild hyposalinity (like 1.019) to help discourage ich but this level isn't enough to kill it. Treat for several weeks, as recommended, and make sure you treat ALL your fish at the same time. You need to remove all fish from the tank for some weeks (4 is minimum. I prefer 6 to 8 weeks). Keep doing water changes since you won't have any biological filtration and use something like Amquel Plus to remove ammonia and nitrates. Replace Cupramine and Amquel Plus with each water change. Once your treatment cycle is done, do a big water change and throw in a bag of activated charcoal to remove the copper. After a few days, replace the charcoal if you want and add some Colonize or other bacteria to start a bio filter. I keep using the Amquel Plus just to be sure. Keep checking the fish to be sure ich is gone (if that's what it is). After 6 weeks, all ich in your tank should have died off (no guarantee but it usually works). Snails, shrimp, corals and crabs won't allow ich to thrive so no worries there. Put your fish back in. Don't tranfser any of their treatment tank water. Do a rinse with your display tank water just in case any copper remains in your treatment tank. Good luck! P.S. this probably seems like a pain and it is but not as bad as you might imagine. If the fish are healthy enough to survive and if you have the right diagnosis, you will be glad you did it.

Do determine ich or velvet do a FW dip in a clear container. If you see "dust" particles on the bottom it is velvet and copper is really the only proven method that works. If nothing falls off then it is ich and either hypo or copper works.

My personal favorite treatment is Cupramine copper. But I use the Red Sea test kit, as Seachem's test kit had/has some issues.

Thanks for the info. I am still trying to determine if this is ich or something else before I start this process. I will try some of the disease id websites for pictures.

Thanks, Jim

Large Angels....
When you say do a FW dip in a clear container....I assume you mean the tang...and not just putting some tank water in with the FW. I know that sounds like a ignorant thing to ask but I wanted to make sure being I have not had to deal with this before. How long can tang the survive in the FW without harm (I.E.- how long should the dip last)?

Thanks, Jim

Yes, the tang.

[url]http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/freshwaterdips.html[/url]

[url]www.wetwebmedia.com[/url] should have some pictures of ich for you to compare against. Just go there and do a search for ich or cryptocarion irritans(which is the scientific name for what we call saltwater ich)

Whether it is ich or velvet it doesn't really matter, treatment is the same. Treat this animal before it dies.

I looked at the image again and I think your fish has flukes instead. Give him a fresh water bath and they should fall off if they are flukes.