Ich prevention: All potential Tang owners should read this

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spinman

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Thanks to Steve S. for providing this link to the following article by Steven Pro from Reefkeeping.com regarding QTing fish.

I thought particulary striking was the auther's belief that all incoming Tangs be hypo'd as a matter of course. It makes perfect sense. It's a simple tecnique that will once and for all take away the "ich magnet" moniker that follows these fish.
Believe me, seeing an ich outbreak in your display tank is quite demoralizing. After my BHT came down and subsequently died from ich, I resigned myself of never getting another one. Now, the idea of preventative hypo has given me a a whole new outlook on this beautiful fish.

The author states that all the stress in world won't bring on ich if the fish was properly hypo'ed in the first place.

In part...

"....I occasionally employ preventative treatment even when an infection may not have been noticed and I would recommend others do the same. The reason for this is some fish are routinely plagued by certain diseases. Many hobbyists miss the signs, or, even if they see initial signs, they often misdiagnose the malady and use the wrong treatment. Or, by the time they realize something is wrong and get the right medication, the fish is too sick to be saved. Because of that, I propose certain blanket treatment protocols for some fish. For instance, any surgeonfish/tangs that I import go through a hyposalinity treatment because of their propensity to be infected with Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans. Also, I give all wild-caught clownfish a formalin bath in case they harbor Brooklynella, a common condition called "clownfish disease." I also recommend adding garlic to the food of all quarantined fish as a general immune system stimulant (Colorni, et al. 1998) and as a de-worming agent (Fairfield, 1996 and Jedlicki, pers. comm.)...."


Full article is here:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php

Spin
 
Preventitive treatment is always a good thing, but what about the theory that ick is already resident in the DT? Might it be a good idea to give the same preventative courses to all fish you add to the tank, not just the Tangs?
 
"....Might it be a good idea to give the same preventative courses to all fish you add to the tank, not just the Tangs?"

It's going to be my S.O.P from now on. Two bouts of ich in as many months is enough for me to see the light. Besides, normal QT procdures call for keeping the fish in for 4 weeks anyway. Why not just drop the salinity down to 1.009 while it's in there and add another 2 more weeks?

Spin
 
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