Naso Advice

[revhtree]

I recently purchased 2-3" Blonde Naso, and put it in qt.

Well the tang has developed what seems to be 3-5small salt grain like spots around it's head area. So far there are none on the fins. I am very afraid that it is ich, and I was wondering what you all might do. Should I wait a few more days, or should I start medicating. The tang is very shy, but eats very well. I am a bit reluctant in starting the copper, because I dont want to destroy my qt biofilter if it doesnt need to be.

Well bring on the opinions. TIA.

PS. The tang will be moved to a my larger tank in January, when I get it of course.

 

[steve-s]

I would wait a few more days to be sure it's C. irritans and not possibley velvet. If you will be using Curamine then it won't matter either way. As long as your sure it's a parasite though and not something else.

Cheers
Steve

 

[srgetz]

Rev, congrats on your new blonde naso. I have always been fond of that fish, my lfs gets them a lot and they always look very healthy and hardy.

I can speak to my recent experience with ich: I got a baby 2" hippo tang and next day noticed several white spots, then itching behavior. My qt was also cycled so I decided to do hypo treatment as it is said to be easier on the fish. Tangs are copper sensitive, fyi, but I have heard good things about the use of cupramine. I borrowed a refractometer and lowed salinity to 12-14 ppt (~1.009) for 4 weeks after spots were gone. As you know, if doing hypo the good thing is less concern of ammonia spikes and constant water changes, you can even put a little base lr in there (I did) to aid in the biofiltration. Just be sure to use a refractometer, my hydrometer was low ~ .005 and the treatment would have failed. Hope this helps you decide. Hypo does work. Another important factor for you may be time; the cupramine works faster afaik, so there may be less qt time with that method since you are not leaving the display fallow 6 weeks. The other negative to hypo is ph will drop and you'll need to buffer / change water. Need to check that at least every other day. It's kind of a tough decision and you have to go with what you feel most comfortable with. The only other thing I can think of is regarding fw dips - don't bother. They are very stressful to the fish. Some of the parasites are safe from fw and unaffected by dips anyway, the treatment is the only thing that will cure him. My tang was very shy too, I put him in the display with my clown and he is very active now .

check this as a reference on different ich treatments:
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

 

[quarryshark]

Agree with the hypo treatment, its works great. But, SteveS brought up a great point. Make sure its not Velvet first. Hypo won't work on Velvet and you would have to slowly bring up the spg to treat with Cupramine. If it was to be Velvet, there may not be time to properly raise it.

 

[revhtree]

It's official the naso has ich or velvet, one of the two. So I am starting the copper tonight. I hope the $79 tang can take it. Any suggestions on making it any easier?
TIA.

 

[steve-s]

The Naso should handle the Cupramine just fine. Be mindful of water quality and be sure it gets a decent amount of fortified herbavor foods.

Cheers
Steve

 

[quarryshark]

Good luck Rev, I believe you are getting good at this.

 

[revhtree]

Ya we are the qt pros, right Qshark?

Taken it all in stride.

Steve, I will be alternating the foods. I have herb pellets, spirulina, nori, and other things. Thanks for the info, I will keep you updated.

PS. I am setting up a 30g that I have for the qt this time. The 20g is set up, but since the bio filter will be destroyed anyway, I figure the bigger the better for the tang.

 

[steve-s]

PS. I am setting up a 30g that I have for the qt this time. The 20g is set up, but since the bio filter will be destroyed anyway, I figure the bigger the better for the tang.

Cupramine will not destroy the biofilter like most ionic coppers. It will supress the bacteria's ability to multiply for a short term but it should rebound fairly quickly. Just be sure you do regular medicated water changes to keep up in the interim and if possible get the Seachems ammonia alert badge to prevent false readings.

Cheers
Steve

 

[revhtree]

I have a filter in the main which has 2 bio wheels. Just for the extra comfort, and since I really dont need the filter in the main, I placed the Bio Wheel at the bottom of the qt. Will this help?

 

[steve-s]

Anything that will add strength to the biofilter is a good thing. It still won't prevent the possibility of unstable water conditions once treatment starts though.

Cheers
Stve

 

[revhtree]

Well, I added the cupramine last night. Fingers crossed!

 

[revhtree]

Is it ok to use a protein skimmer, or will that remove some of the copper?

I have an extra prism I could use.

I think that it's not ok, but you tell me yes or no. TIA!

 

[steve-s]

Nothing wrong with using the skimmer with Cupramine. Just be sure you monitor the levels to be sure. The main concern with Cupramine is carbon or other sorbant materials.

Cheers
Steve

 

[revhtree]

We'll the skimmer help with the ammonia levels ect..?

 

[steve-s]

Yes, the skimmer will help remove excess DOC before the bacteria can in turn convert all of it to ammonia. It will definately add benefit.

Cheers
Steve

 

[revhtree]

Great! Thanks Steve....Kudos too you!

 

[revhtree]

Well the Naso has been in treatment, and I am begining to think that I made a mistake in my thinking. The lfs said that a young naso will have some juvenile spots as mine does. I was afraid that it was ick or velvet. I have been reading and it seems that what the lfs said was true. The spots are not bad, and there are only a few. What really tips me off, is when I mess around the fish in the tank, the spots increase and get real bright. What do yu think?

 

[steve-s]

Yes some species of Naso do have spots in their juvenile stage but they are dark, flat and somewhat symetrical. I would be sure before removing the med. Any chance of a pic?

Cheers
Steve

 

[revhtree]

I will try for the pic. The spots on the tang are off white, and they are not a consistent round color. They are also flat, not raised at all.