Tang disease

[jezlenton]

Hi, my tang seems to have developed some kind of disease on its fins.
Has anyone experienced this and if so how do I treat it.
Thanks

 

[Kio707]

Can you provide a pic?

 

[jezlenton]

Can you provide a pic?

Hi, I have taken a couple of pics but it's really difficult to get a clear one.
There appear to be some spots on his fins.
Thanks

 

[Kio707]

Looks like ich

 

[jezlenton]

Looks like ich

How do I treat it. Can I buy something from my lfs.

 

[Sammy S]

I agree with Kio; it definitely looks like marine ich

If you have one, move him into a hospital tank and preform a 50% water change on your tank. I recommend using Formaline to treat him with; this can be administered in a short dips with saltwater, or if you have a handy hospital tank you can keep him in there and allow the medication to remain in there as well. Wear gloves when using it though and read all instructions!

 

[tonedogz]

Agreed move it to a qt tank before anything else gets it but I would't use formalin I'd use cupramine which is a copper treatment, it works great. Had a flame angel with ich and it cured it completely just follow the direction and get a copper test kit that tests for ionic copper (api ) will work.

 

[Sammy S]

Agreed move it to a qt tank before anything else gets it but I would't use formalin I'd use cupramine which is a copper treatment, it works great. Had a flame angel with ich and it cured it completely just follow the direction and get a copper test kit that tests for ionic copper (api ) will work.

---
Copper works too? I should use that for my sailfin tang next time then thanks!

 

[tonedogz]

Now that i see the pictures it looks like its to big to be ich but its hard to really tell

 

[tonedogz]

Welcome sammy, yes it worked very well.

 

[jezlenton]

Now that i see the pictures it looks like its to big to be ich but its hard to really tell

Is ich the same thing as white spot. If so that is what my lfs has said it could be when I rang today but couldn't confirm without seeing some pics so I am going in there today to sort some treatment out.
However he said not quarantine the fish as the whole tank will need to be treated.

 

[tonedogz]

When did the fish start with the spots. If you just saw them yesterday get him out of your tank now because they probably haven't droped off into the substate yet What else is in your tank (inverts, rock etc.) if you have them you won't be able to treat it with copper which is one of the two things that will successfully treat ich. There is no snnse treating the tank if the other fish don't have it yet, just get him out and keep an eye on the rest for now

 

[cmor1701d]

It looks like Ich which means all your fish need to be treated or it will come back. I prefer a non-chemical treatment that treats the fish and kills the parasite in the tank. It is called Hyposalinity.
The Ich parasite will die if it cannot find a fish to attach to and feed off. Ich also cannot survive in low salt (1.009) conditions while fish can. The premise of a Hyposalinity treatment is to move ALL fish to a QT tank and over a period of days drop the SG down to 1.009. You keep the QT tank at that level for a month (the lifespan of the parasite). Ich is now dead in the Display tank and the QT so you slowly increase the SG in the QT back to match the DT and then move the fish back to the tank.

ATJ's Marine Aquarium Site - Reference - Hyposalinity Treatment

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro

I went through this in my 125 several years ago. I had to remove most of the rock to get all the fish out. They all survived in a 30 gallon tank, but it was a lot of work. It was worth it. I have since QT everything but inverts and corals. They go through a bath/rinse cycle that almost eliminates the possibility of any Ich parasites being re-introduced to the tank. I have not had another outbreak since.

 

[jezlenton]

It looks like Ich which means all your fish need to be treated or it will come back. I prefer a non-chemical treatment that treats the fish and kills the parasite in the tank. It is called Hyposalinity.
The Ich parasite will die if it cannot find a fish to attach to and feed off. Ich also cannot survive in low salt (1.009) conditions while fish can. The premise of a Hyposalinity treatment is to move ALL fish to a QT tank and over a period of days drop the SG down to 1.009. You keep the QT tank at that level for a month (the lifespan of the parasite). Ich is now dead in the Display tank and the QT so you slowly increase the SG in the QT back to match the DT and then move the fish back to the tank.

ATJ's Marine Aquarium Site - Reference - Hyposalinity Treatment

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro

I went through this in my 125 several years ago. I had to remove most of the rock to get all the fish out. They all survived in a 30 gallon tank, but it was a lot of work. It was worth it. I have since QT everything but inverts and corals. They go through a bath/rinse cycle that almost eliminates the possibility of any Ich parasites being re-introduced to the tank. I have not had another outbreak since.

Hi and thanks for all that info.
I have since started a treatment programme consisting of none chemical products. I am using both products alternatively every 12hrs.
The first product is microbe lift Herbtana and the second is microbe lift Artemiss.
My lfs guy who has many years experience in his business assures me that after the 10 day treatment all the ich will be gone along with any other related parasites.
I will keep this thread updated so if this treatment works the knowledge can be shared.
Thanks.

 

[cmor1701d]

Sounds like 'snake oil' that seems to work because the instructions use the parasite's life cycle to indicate a cure.

The parasite will spend 3 - 7 days feeding on fish and then drop to the substrate, hmmm in about 10 days the fish appears to be clear of Ich. It must be this MIRACLE herbal remedy!

Now the non-visible life stage of the parasite begins and lasts about a month. IF during that month you do some water changes and reduce fish stress, the fish may become healthy enough to fight off the next attack that comes about 30 days later. However, you still have the parasite in the tank and living off the fish (in the gills where you don't see it) until the next stressing occurs. Then wham it start over again.

That is one way to go if you swear to do water changes religiously, not overfeed, not overcrowd, (no vacations) etc.

Or you could use one the only two proven methods to rid the fish and the tank of the parasite; copper based medication, or hyposalinity.

 

[tonedogz]

I think cmor is right sounds like snake oil to me to I'v tried different things at different times and the only thing that worked for me was copper (cupramine by seachem).

 

[jezlenton]

I have treated my fish now for 10 days and it seems to have cleared up, however I will continue for 7 more days as recommended by my lfs to eliminate any dormant spores. Can highly recommend this treatment for this and numerous other diseases.

 

[tonedogz]

did you use what the fish shop suggested or something else

 

[cmor1701d]

Did you read my post or any of the articles I linked on the lifespan of the parasite?
10 days is when you would expect an infected fish to appear better as the parasite drops off and goes to the tank bottom. In a few days there are spores on the substrate which will hatch in a few weeks.

 

[jezlenton]

did you use what the fish shop suggested or something else

Yes I did. It was Herbtana & Artemiss used alternatively every 12hrs.
Impressed with result as I didn't want to use harsher chemicals.