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Newflee,
If you like to talk about fish disease and treatment then I would love to chat with you. Maybe even do the Instant message thing.
I think that you give good advice but I my opinions differ in some respects. Personally, I see little use for copper anymore since hyposalinity at 14-16ppt salinity will cure Cryptocaryon irritans very well and without any of the drawbacks to copper treatment. I wouldn't even use copper for Amyloodinium anymore. Chloroquine phosphate works so much faster for Amyloodinium. One of the nice things about hyposalinity is that it does help with some other types of external parasites (even flukes) which may make it unnecessary to use praziquantel unless you are using it for some sort of internal parasite. I prefer formalin dips over FW dips. If you really like copper then Cupramine by Seachem is THE best IMO. I have used Cupramine with copper sensitive species such as small angels, lionfish and mandarins and they came through just great. You do have to use Cupramine at a higher dose. The instructions suggest .5 ppm (not .05 ppm). I have found that .4 ppm works quite well with it.
I am currently researching the use of Beta glucan as an immunostimulant in fish. I have personally used the stuff for myself for years and I have fed it to fish. It works very well in stimulating macrophage spreading and size. Some say it increases macrophage numbers also.
I would be interested in your thoughts on HLLE. Ever considered the idea of it being an autoimmune disease brought on by chronic stress? Where are you in Canada? I live in Washington State.
Before I forget, it looks like the tang needs more frequent feedings. Personally, I do not like to use copper with tangs, in part because I believe it can induce HLLE and is a known immune system suppressant. Tangs do very nicely in hypo. You need a very accurate hydrometer or a refractometer and monitor the pH and alk daily during hyposalinity therapy. The pH tends to fall so add a buffer as needed. Do you feed the tang frozen spirulina? Formula two is another good food for them. Oh, I think garlic is a better preventive than a cure for ich. It does work well to clear out some internal parasites but doesn’t appear to work really consistently for ich. Maybe everyone having their own dosage has something to do with it.
Take care,
Terry B
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