Purple Tang w/white spots

[ttuuk]

I just bought a new Tang yesterday, in the store he looked really good. Nothing was wrong with him, but this morning he had a bunch of white spots on him. This is my first fish tank and not really sure if this is ick or if the fish is just stressed.

I checked all my numbers today Ammonium,Nitrate and Nitrite are all at 0, salinity was at 1.025,Kh is 9 and the temp is 79.

I have a 90g tank with 100#of sand and 90# of rock, and the tank is a little over 2 months old.
The other fish I have is 2 Clowns and a 6-line that was added with the tang, the clowns have been in the tank for 2 weeks.

Just wondering if I should try and get the tang out in into a QT tank or wait to see if it was just stress form the move? I acclimated the fist for 1h before adding.

[FOSELONE]

sounds like ich to me...

[chris31]

i would get him out and into to a quarintine tank to be safe so the rest of your tank doesnt get contamanated its weird that ick would just come out like that but from the info you gave us im sry to say thats what it sounds like a pic would really help us to tell you what it is

[chris31]

i would get him out and into to a quarintine tank if possible to be safe so the rest of your tank doesnt get contamanated its weird that ick would just come out like that but from the info you gave us im sry to say thats what it sounds like a pic would really help us to tell you what it is

[ttuuk]

Ok, I think Ill get him into the QT tank tomorrow, I cannot do it tonight but can do it then.

[ahullsb]

Run hypo or copper to rid it of ich. I believe tangs can be sensitive to copper so I would do hyposalinity if I were you.

[kydsexy]

he may just be dressing up. gotta look nice, it's a sign to take him to church.


hypo him.

[FOSELONE]

you should take all your fish out...your tank should be fishless for weeks for the ich cycle to die...

[tmz]

Originally posted by FOSELONE
you should take all your fish out...your tank should be fishless for weeks for the ich cycle to die...

Correct. If it is "ich", cryptocaryon irritans, it is not unusual for it to appear after a fish is introduced. The ich could well have been in the fish.The white spots are exit wounds.

Once the parasite leaves a fish it settles in the tank and reproduces over a period of days to a week or so. Then it "hatches"and hordes of new swimming parasites set out in search of a new host to infect.If they don't find one within several days to a week athey die.

Wether the Tang brought ich into the tank or it was there already and pounced on a stressed fish,it is now in your tank. The only way to erradicate it is to treat infested fish in a quarantine tank with copper sulfate(my preference) or some have success with hyposalinity and to leave the dispaly tank fishless for 72 days. Some cysts have been observed to remain viable for that long. FYI, I've treated Tangs with copper without ill effect.

[seapug]

How bad is it? If there are only a few spots and it's eating and acting normal and healthy I'd just let it ride it out. A good diet and ahealthy, stress free environment are the best ways to fight minor outbreaks.

QT is good when you bring the fish home but the stress of catching it and putting it in a QT tank might make the situation worse.

[tmz]

Sometimes, perhaps. More often there is a reinfestation that is worse than the original infection. Many times a fish weakened by crytocaryon which can be lethal by itself will succumb to secondary bacterial and algeal infections such as amyloodinium(velvet).

[Mavrk]

Tangs are very susceptible to ich and other diseases. It is very common for them to show it when they stress (such as being moved to your tank from the LFS). They are one of the fish that I would not put in my tank without QT. Yes, all fish should go through QT, but some still warrant it more than others.

Tangs should be treated with hypo. Be sure to use a refractometer (calibrated with fluid not distilled water) and follow the hypo instructions carefully. Remember to leave the fish in the QT for 6 weeks after the signs of ich are gone to make sure it is really gone.

IMO... As for your other fish, you have a choice of watching to see what happens, or putting them in QT as well. The problem about waiting is that your QT tank will already be in hypo by the time you notice the ich. You could use a bucket or something until they get to the same salinity as the QT. The decision depends on the size and number of fish.

[tmz]

Copper is as if not more effective than hypo. There is no reason to exclude tangs from copper treatment . I have never seen any definative information.
In my experience Tangs can be treated with copper without ill effect. I have aslo used hypo and have seen the parasite return when the salinity was raised with an ensuing explanaition of a hypo resistent strain. Copper works, I'm sure hypo does as well for many but copper is long proven and my preference except for fish where there is documented evidence of high sensitivity.

If there is definative information or even anecdotal information beyond opinion about which fish are sensitive to copper and which are not I'd love to have it. I'd like the same information for hypo since some have noted that prolonged hypo may negatively affect the kidneys. There are two generally accepted ways to treat ich hypo and copper. The choice is yours but don't wait too long. Some take days to adjust salinity downward when doing hypo while the fish is suffering and subject to additional infestation and death.

[Mavrk]

Originally posted by tmz
Copper is as if not more effective than hypo. There is no reason to exclude tangs from copper treatment . I have never seen any definative information.
In my experience Tangs can be treated with copper without ill effect. I have aslo used hypo and have seen the parasite return when the salinity was raised with an ensuing explanaition of a hypo resistent strain. Copper works, I'm sure hypo does as well for many but copper is long proven and my preference except for fish where there is documented evidence of high sensitivity.

If there is definative information or even anecdotal information beyond opinion about which fish are sensitive to copper and which are not I'd love to have it. I'd like the same information for hypo since some have noted that prolonged hypo may negatively affect the kidneys. There are two generally accepted ways to treat ich hypo and copper. The choice is yours but don't wait too long. Some take days to adjust salinity downward when doing hypo while the fish is suffering and subject to additional infestation and death.

I think I was thinking of dwarf angels being sensitive to copper (don't know why I got these two mixed up). I was about to come correct myself and saw the above comment. The truth is that complexed copper (non-chelated) is probably safe on any fish. I have heard good things about Seachem's Cupramine. But I have not use copper on any fish so I am no authority.

[seapug]

I'm not an expert in fish disease treatment, tmz, but there are a lot of knowledgable people in the Disease Forum that might provide the definitive info about Tangs and Copper you are looking for.

I recently dealt with an Ich infected tang that I moved into QT and followed all the prescribed hypo/copper/formalin treatments and it died in 3 days.

The next one I got developed some white spots after introducing it to the tank but this time I just left it in and gave it a good diet of garlic and Selcon soaked PE Mysis and Spirulina pellets. Much to my surprise, all signs disappeared within about a week and none of the other fish became infected. It's now a beautiful, plump fish with deep color and flawless skin that looks like satin.

[tmz]

That can happen. Fish can survive cryptocaryon.
Early on before I was convinced that quarantine was neccessary, I had a hippo develop it and it has survived till this day 5 years later. I did the garlic on a hope, kept the stress down in terms of water quality temp and sg stability added a large sterilizer to help and limit secondary pathogens and didn't add any fish for over a year. The tank would still break out every once in awhile for most of that year. This fish was established for five or six months and picked it up from a new unquarantined fish. Several other fish died but the tang ,a larger fish than the others survived.. At that time I decided not to catch the sick fish because my reef had too many corals and it would have done more overall harm than good.
There is an option to hope for the best for 11months when the strain of ich will run it's course. However ,if removal is viable I would opt for qt and treatment. QT I should note needs to be managed. It should be set up with good denitrification and resting places and medication dosing needs to be done with care and testing. Treatments can work and work best if the intervention is early. So a decision on wether to treat or hope needs to be made early on in the context of the particular situation.

[tmz]

I have asked this question on that forum sevral times. I've also scoured the available litterature without sucess. I am always looking for ways to improve my protocols. I've simply had my best successes with qt and treatment and better results with copper sulfate unchelated than hypo when it comes to ich and/or velvet.,anecdotally speaking .
I think it's fair to say there are three ways to respond: hope and cope(low stress, enriched feeding,no new fish for 11mos so as to avoid a new strain or infection of the new fish and other measures like uv),qt and treat with copper leaving the tank fishless for 72 days,or treat with hypo salinity leaving the tank fishless for 72 days.