Blue tang with white spots

[EG617]

Im a newbie with a buncha questions. Do my tang have ich or parasites? I had it for about a two months now and she just barely started to get white dots all over, and she is brushing against the rocks and she is also going to my cleaner shrimp. I also have two clowns and they show no signs of ick or stress and theyre all eating great. Is there some kind of medication i should buy and put it in the tank. Or do i put the tang in a separate qt tank and put the medication in there. And for the Qt tank do i have to cycle all over again. what if i use the same water and same filter and maybe some sand or rock. Any help will be appreciated thanks.

 

[redflame56262]

first you have to see from an angle if the spots look like small grains of salt or just white spots ont the fish. If its the small grains of salt then its probably ich

 

[EG617]

It looks like little grain of salt she even got one on her eye

 

[redflame56262]

are there alot of the little grains ???

 

[steve-s]

<<Quarantine>> all the fish and begin <<treatment>>.

Cheers
Steve

 

[EG617]

Theres about 8 spots. Will my ten gallon tank be big enough to Qt all 3 fish steve? And can i use the water and sand and filter from the main tank so i dont have to cycle all over. And what kind of treatment...should i buy one of those ick medicines or should i try hyposalinity? Thanks for the help guys.

 

[quarryshark]

How big it the tang? The clowns would be OK in a 10, but with the tang you will need another tank, or a larger one for all 3.
Either cupramine or hypo work very well and are well tolerated by your fish.

 

[sango]

Before you start treatment of any kind you should give him a freshwater dip in Methylene Blue then put him in a QT and observe him for any more spots or flashing

 

[EG617]

I've already started the treatment is it too late for the freshwater dip?

 

[steve-s]

Don't bother with dips, they do nothing to eliminate the parasite. It simpley dislodges a few trophonts large enough and vulnerable. The trophonts burrowed in the epithelium will be completely unaffected. You might get lucky but more often than not it's a useless step unless a heavily infested fish.

What treatment did you choose?

Cheers
Steve

 

[EG617]

I've already started the treatment is it too late for the freshwater dip?

 

[steve-s]

I've already started the treatment is it too late for the freshwater dip?

Don't bother with dips

Cheers
Steve

 

[EG617]

I bought Mardel copper safe the active ingredient is chelated copper sulfate. Any idea of how long a have to Qt for?

 

[melissfish]

i also have this problem (again) i would use cupramine in a qt only, and good luck.

 

[sango]

Steve how can you say dips dont work. I have seen it work. The blue is some of the best stuff I have seen. Its only a temp. but it still works.

 

[steve r]

i think you may have answered your own question by saying it is only a temp fix. so i guess it depends on your definition of "works".

steve r

 

[steve-s]

i think you may have answered your own question by saying it is only a temp fix. so i guess it depends on your definition of "works".

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

I bought Mardel copper safe the active ingredient is chelated copper sulfate.

Be sure to test the copper levels daily. When needing water changes (and you will) be sure to dose the change water so the proper concentration (1.5-2.0 ppm) is being maintained at all times.

Any idea of how long a have to Qt for?

14 days from the time the correct concentration is reaching using 5ml/4 gal of water volume. Once the treatment is done, do a few good water changes and run carbon to remove the med. The fish must remained QT'd after that for an additional 3 weeks. This will allow for a sufficient fallow period in the main tank and observation time for the recently treated fish for secondary infection.

Cheers
Steve

 

[sango]

They will drop off the fish, but if there are more of them in the tank then yes the fish will become infected again.. It also depends on how bad the fish is too. So yes it does work.

 

[steve-s]

So yes it does work.

Please explain exactly how it eliminates the parasite

Cheers
Steve