White spot help needed!

[laureniron31]

Hi I have a 4ft 75gallon reef tank with sump tank, my powder blue tang and cowfish have been affected with white spot. These are the out 2 in the whole tank that have been affected. The whole tank is perfectly healthy and so are the fish. I am feeding frozen garlic foods 2 times a day and I seemed to die down a bit, but after water changes it worsens. Will it affect the Corals and is it dangerous?

 

[Minkota]

I am looking at this on my phone so pics are small but it appears to look like ich to me. You should remove the fish immediately to a Quarantine Tank. Also it is my understanding that the Cow/Box fish can be toxic when under stress or dying but I'm not positive on this.

 

[laureniron31]

So is this dangerous? What steps do I take?

 

[Minkota]

So is this dangerous? What steps do I take?

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+24+68&pcatid=68

I would say that it could potentially be dangerous. I would remove the fish and place them in QT. the Powder Blue is a fish that is very susceptible to disease from what I have heard I personally have never had one so this is all from what I have heard not from my own experience. What other fish are in the tank? You will likely have to treat all the fish, just because they seem healthy does not mean they are not already infected.

 

[TheTodd]

The fish should be put in QT and treated with either copper or Hyposalinity. The DT should be left fallow for six weeks to allow the Ich to die out. That is the only proven way to eliminate Ich. Garlic supplements can increase the immune system, but are not a cure.

There are several articles online about marine Ich. It's really a good idea to read up on this and understand the enemy. A lot of people buy into the "my fish was miraculously cured" when the spots disappear, only to have the Ich reappear a while later.

That Powder Blue being in a 75g could be part of the stress problem. Stress lowers immune systems and lowered immune systems open fish up for Ich, especially Tangs. There is a lot of debate, but many people agree that most Tangs need to be in a six foot tank. Almost every "My Tang has Ich" post on here comes from a Tang that is in a smaller tank.

 

[Bectan01]

If it is ich then that is not good news. Have a search on here there are plenty of threads on how to treat it. Don't be fooled if the spots seem to disappear, they fall off fish as part of their life cycle but continue to live in your tank. All of your fish are at risk to I am afraid. Do you have a QT? The only proven methods for curing ich is copper or hypo salinity both of which need to be done in a QT. your display will need to remain fallow (without any fish) for 6 weeks for the ich to die off. That's going to be super tricky with the cowfish - if he dies in your QT he is taking everyone with him good luck, I hear it is a tough battle...

 

[Minkota]

I would recommend havering a seperate QT for the Cow fish.