Fish disease

[kimmeewoo]

I bought a starving yellow tang several weeks and am happy to say that he's now all
plumped out! However, sometimes he is covered with little bumps that look a lot like
baby acne--the tiny white bumps that very young babies often have on their faces.
Is this ich?

I had a clown die a few months ago (in a different tank) from what I thought was
ich. He looked like he was coated with dust. The bumps on the tang are different,
though. They are definitely small individual bumps that are on his body and fins.
Sometimes I can see them, other times he looks perfectly healthy. I bought a cleaner
shrimp that I hoped would take care of things, but so far, no luck.

Any idea what this might be?

[Agu]

Moved to disease ID forum.

Agu

[billsreef]

A light case of ick is a possibility. Is there any particular timing to when you notice these spots and then don't see them?

[kimmeewoo]

No, no particular timing. I can only really at my tank in the evenings, so that's the only time I've seen it. One day I'll see the tang and think, "Oh my goodness, I've got to do something!" and the next day he'll be totally fine, only to have the stuff back within a couple of days.

[billsreef]

The disapearing for couple of days and then coming back in a couple of days does sound like ick. IMO I would treat the tang with either hyposalinity or copper in a Q tank.

[kimmeewoo]

Thanks, Bill. Is one method preferable over the other? I've heard some concern that treating with copper shortens a fish's life by damaging its liver. Any truth to that? Or is that only after prolonged treatment?

[billsreef]

I've never experienced any shortened life spans due to copper treatment. However it is tricky to use and easy to overdose. If going with copper I prefer to use Sea Chem's Cupramine as it is better tolerated by a broad range of fish. The straight ionic copper's such as Sea Cure from Aquarium Systems can be very harsh and some fish can be very sensitive. With any copper the levels need to be tested and adjusted daily.

My personal preference is hyposalinity. This to needs carefull monitoring, with an accurate hydrometer (refractometes or lab grade hydrometers are best). The advantage is that it has less stress on the fish, is easier to maintain than copper levels and works just as well as copper.