Tang in QT has white spots - now what?

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peterac

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
164
Location
Long Island, New York
I have a Yellow Tang and Scopas Tang in a 29g QT. I have a very large main FOWLR tank that I can't risk contaminating. The fish looked great when I got them and I began Hypo (sg = 1.009) which they have been in for about 2 weeks so far. Just yesterday I noticed the Yellow Tang had a few large white sand-sized spots on its head.

I'm not really sure what I should do from here. I am going to find it hard to ever put these in my main tank with the evidence of Ich being present. Should I just continue Hypo for X amount of weeks?

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Pete R.
 
Hyposalinity does not affect the theront or trophont stages of C. irritans, only the tomont. Depending at which stage of infestation the fish where aquired and placed in the QT, it's not all that uncommon for there to still be signs of trophonts after a two week period. That would also be dependant on how long it took to reach the correct salinity for treatment.

The best advice is to double check your salinity reading and be sure you are using a refractometer. Given the innaccuracy of a hydrometer, you could potentially be at a point where it may supress the infestation some but not eliminate it. Target 14 ppt on the refractometer so it allows for a margin of error both on your part and possible evaporation. Also ensure alk/pH are checked daily at minimum.

Once the last "spots" are seen on the fish, start your countdown clock for 4 weeks. That should ensure you are completely successful. Once the 4 week term is up, ever so slowly raise the salinity and allow the fish to remin in the QT at full salinity for another 2 weeks. This will give you time to monitor for secondary infection as well as determine if treatment was 100% effective.

Cheers
Steve
 
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