Ich???

[sdergar]

I've just picked up a blue regal tang and have it in the QT. I picked it up yesterday. It has eaten off the seaweed clip already both yesterday and today. The issue is that it keeps trying to scratch itself on the PVC tube I have in the QT. I cannot see any white spots on it but it just seems to want to rub against the PVC or even the filter tube.

Is this ich? Can it be so small that I wouldn't notice it? If so what treatments would be recommended. I've heard of everything from copper to hypo salinity to raising the temp up high.

thanks...Steve

Parameters: (very good since the tang just went in yesterday at 11am)
temp 80
SG 1.024
PH 8.2
ALK 3.2 (with Red Sea kit scale which lists it as normal)
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate <2.0

 

[melosu58]

In SW raising the temp does not work. All you do is quicken the life cycle and make more very quick. If they are flashing then there will be a good chance but not necessarily of ich. Continue to feed plenty of greens and observe. You will see ich if it is there. You might want to soak the dried seaweed in garlic or selcon to help raise the immune system.

 

[sdergar]

Thanks Mike. I've been soaking the seaweed with both Selcon and garlic. I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens. I've picked up some Seachem's cupramine and a copper test kit just in case.

Steve

 

[mr_X]

this is yet another thing i disagree with the masses about. i think a QT tank is more stressful than tossing a fish right into the DT.
i have QT'd plenty of corals, but i've never QT'd a fish.
even the fish that were pre-sold and the customer wasn't picking it up for a few days- in the system it went.
i've had success not QTing fish. i've lost about 3 or 4 out of hundreds.

one was an achilles tang. the story on that fish is, i got him, a purple tang, and a maculiceps tang all at the same time. i tossed them all in a 195 display. they all got ich. the purple and maculiceps made it, and the achilles didn't.
the other fish just didn't seem healthy from the start. it wasn't ich that killed them.

 

[abdhalim2]

hey sdergar...i have the same problem with my fish....it always scratch it body to my LR...right now im soak their food with garlic and do some PWC with my tank...seem to be much better....

 

[sdergar]

Thanks Abdhalim. I'm getting ready for a water change and some more soaking with Selcon and Garlic.

Doug, I'm on the fence with this one. On one hand I agree with you and think sometimes it causes the stress and related illnesses. On the other what I've read makes sense. With my clownfish they couldn't care less where they were. They seemed comfortable as long as there was food. The two tangs now have both shown stress. It is a lot tougher to keep pristine water conditions in a QT. The tangs need my big tank to swim instead of the confined spaces of a QT. It also makes sense that if ich is a parasite and if you don't introduce it into the DT then in theory they should never get it in the DT. It also gives them a chance to "fatten" up before hitting the DT.

I'm not sure how I'm going to proceed in the future. We need a reef safe cure. Speaking of which has anyone tried Polyp Lab's Medic. Reef safe apparently.

thanks...Steve

 

[Codyheitmiller]

I have been told fish constantly have some ick on them

 

[Wael El-Dasher]

One option is to dip the fish in Seachem's ParaGuard, it's not too strong and will generally take care of most mild cases.

I would dip the fish and place it back in the QT for observation. You should be able to make a decision then.

Regards

Wael

 

[Wael El-Dasher]

this is yet another thing i disagree with the masses about. i think a QT tank is more stressful than tossing a fish right into the DT.
i have QT'd plenty of corals, but i've never QT'd a fish.
even the fish that were pre-sold and the customer wasn't picking it up for a few days- in the system it went.
i've had success not QTing fish. i've lost about 3 or 4 out of hundreds.

one was an achilles tang. the story on that fish is, i got him, a purple tang, and a maculiceps tang all at the same time. i tossed them all in a 195 display. they all got ich. the purple and maculiceps made it, and the achilles didn't.
the other fish just didn't seem healthy from the start. it wasn't ich that killed them.

I believe there are many factors involved here. I suspect your DT are very large and I suspect you run an oversized biological filtration system and possible a powerful UV.

In the end, if one is able to simulate the ocean's water quality then, just as in nature, ich will not take a strong foothold in a tank.

 

[mr_X]

no uv sterilizer on my tanks. the display was 195 gallons in the case of the achilles, and the total water volume was about 400. i've always done it this way though...even when i had a 75 DT.

 

[Wael El-Dasher]

no uv sterilizer on my tanks. the display was 195 gallons in the case of the achilles, and the total water volume was about 400. i've always done it this way though...even when i had a 75 DT.

You're actually confirming something I've observed at the few LFS I've visited. Those with a sump system that has a greater volume than their DT generally have few issues. I'm prone to believe now that if ones sump and biological filtration system takes up an equal or more volume of the DT, then chances for diseases and parasites decrease while water quality increase.

This is very important for me because I'm in charge of 3 very large reef aquariums that our company asked for in the design of our offices. While the projects are still in the early stage, I've been preparing a mental concept of how the system will operate. As you know, corporate lobbies are after only the final clean look of a DT and are not interested in what's required to make it work. I'm actually client in this case and want to ensure that the final system delivered is easy on maintenance and provides consistent quality in the DT.

Anyways, I'm off topic now, this may have to be addressed in a separate thread.

Cheers

W.