Yellow Tang - Ich????

[badfish]

I know tangs are really suceptable to the Ich, and brought my final fish, a yellow tang two days ago. Being a newbie, i did not quarantine him, which i know is bad. He was at my fish store for a week, and is eating good, and no signs of the Ich at all. However, i saw him skim on the bottom a couple of times on his flat side. Is this anything i should be worried about, He is spotless, and so are all my other fish. Could this be the beginning of the Ich. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

- Jeff

 

[austinsdad]

Flashing - a quick brush off rocks or sand could be a sign of an irritant. Whether ick or not is yet to be seen. You say this is your "final" fish. What others and how long before the tang added? Got any cleaner shrimp?

So, ya thinking about a 20g QT tank these days? If ick, you may loose fish and gave to keep it without fish for 6-8 weeks. That's no fun.

 

[badfish]

i have 2 O. clowns, green chromis, yellow watchman, firefish, and yellow tang. I had all prior to tang for 3 weeks. No fish shows sign of white spots, and all look real healthy and are eating good. how long does it usually take to show Up? I didnt get a cleaner shrimp yet, i will be picking one up on friday (payday). I know they help clean tangs, do they clean Ich? Or just other parasites on the tang?

 

[steve-s]

how long does it usually take to show Up?

About a week or less depending on when it was introduced.

I know they help clean tangs, do they clean Ich? Or just other parasites on the tang?

They can help alleviate some trophonts on the surface of the fish but they are by no means a "cure". The trophonts that dig deeper in the epithelium will be unscathed by the actions of any "cleaning" animal. The problem will not abate until the life cycle of the parasite is broken.

Cheers
Steve

 

[badfish]

so if my tang rubs up agains the rocks or bottom of sand, should i assume i have the Ich? Hes only done it a couple of times, and no other fish has signs or scratches either. Do you think i should go pick up a cleaner shrimp tonight? Thanks for all your help.

 

[steve-s]

so if my tang rubs up agains the rocks or bottom of sand, should i assume i have the Ich?

Not necessarily. A fish will react to a wide variety of irritations by "flashing" not all being parasitic related. Once/if you see white sugar sized spots on the tang or any other fish then you'll know that it's C. irritans. Until then, watch and wait & get the QT up and running just in case. It will be your best option if needed.

Do you think i should go pick up a cleaner shrimp tonight? Thanks for all your help.

They're a great addition and definately add to the biodiversity. I just wouldn't do it soley for the purpose of parasite elimination. It won't work.

Cheers
Steve

 

[badfish]

so lets say one does start getting white spots, or the Ich, would i quarantine that one fish or all fish?

 

[steve-s]

would i quarantine that one fish or all fish?

All the fish. Once the parasite is in the tank all are potential carries and will feed the parasite continuing it's lifecycle.

Cheers
Steve

 

[badfish]

Thanks Again Steve, On last couple of questions, as of now no white spots.

1- Will it be one white spots, or multiple white spots?

2 - I have a ten gallon, 50 watt heater, PVC Piping, and eggcrate topping, Do i need a powerhead? and what kind of filter, i read a simple air pump with sponge filter is good enough, is this true?

 

[steve-s]

1- Will it be one white spots, or multiple white spots?

Either. Fish will get anomolous spots once in awhile that mean nothing. It's when the spots come back a few days after disappearing, usually in greater number. It's the on again off again spots in a short time frame you need to worry about.

2 - I have a ten gallon, 50 watt heater, PVC Piping, and eggcrate topping, Do i need a powerhead? and what kind of filter, i read a simple air pump with sponge filter is good enough, is this true?2 O. clowns, green chromis, yellow watchman, firefish, and yellow tang

For that type of fish load, you'll be better off with a HOB or canister powerfilter. You will also need a larger QT if it comes down to it preferabley a 20gal long or larger. A 10 gal is fine for one fish, even a corner sponge filter in that case. For the amount of fish you have, one or more of the fish will not survive if added to a 10 gal.

Cheers
Steve

 

[badfish]

Thanks Steve,

i am just trying to prepare in case i do have the Ich, at first i was gonna set up a QT, but skipped it hoping for the best, just being a newbie at its best, hopefully i will be alright, but you can bet i will QT from now on. Im gonna go get a HOB filter rated for a 30 gallon tank. I know it takes time to build up for the biological material, should i run it in my display tank, should i always run it in my display? Thanks again.

- Jeff

 

[steve-s]

I know it takes time to build up for the biological material, should i run it in my display tank, should i always run it in my display?

Any non sorbant material can be used to seed a QT. You don't need to run something "extra" if you already have something going on the main tank. Simpley swap the old one from the main to the QT and replace the one on the main with a new one.

What do you currently have on the main tank for powerfilters if any? Sump?

Cheers
Steve

 

[badfish]

no, i just got Liverock and sand, along with my skimmer. No sump either. Everyone seem to say that Liverock and sand with a good skimmer is the way to go. I didnt get a sump because i wasnt planning on doing corals.

 

[fourmyclowns]

Hey Badfish - I could have written the same post a few weeks ago. I have similar tank fish as you. (by the way I heard Chromis and Clowns don't get along - do yours get along well? I want to add a Chromis). I added a Tang three weeks or so ago that that started flashing. I only saw ONE spot ever. LFS owner never saw the spots. I took him back to the lfs for qt. He survived but he really struggled to breathe for a few weeks. Unfortunately my bicolor angel either caught it from him or just couldnt' handle the stress of the Tang and he died quickly. He was also breathing hard. My clowns and firefish show no signs of ich. As you know from my other post my qt is under construction - I learned a valuable lesson!

 

[badfish]

fourmyclowns,

so you did get the ich, i thought i saw a spot last night, but its not their today. None of my fish show signs of stress, havent seen tang flash in a while, and everyone is eating. Im hoping that i was just being paranoid, but just in case i do have my qt filter running in my main tank. How long did it take you to see the effects after you saw the white spot (ex: breathing hard). Sorry for your loss. My chromis gets along fine with my two clowns. They may fight at first, but im sure theyll get along after a while. Advice to all newbs like myself, dont take the chance and not QT your fish, it will be less stressful on yourself and cheaper. Remember 4-6 weeks fishless in your main tank, plus chance of losing all your fish.

Thanks again to all,

- Jeff

 

[austinsdad]

Advice to all newbs like myself, dont take the chance and not QT your fish, it will be less stressful on yourself and cheaper. Remember 4-6 weeks fishless in your main tank, plus chance of losing all your fish.

Kudos to you for that statement!

 

[steve-s]

no, i just got Liverock and sand, along with my skimmer. No sump either. Everyone seem to say that Liverock and sand with a good skimmer is the way to go. I didnt get a sump because i wasnt planning on doing corals.

You don't "need" a sump even if you did have corals. I was just looking for alternative solutions

Cheers
Steve

 

[fourmyclowns]

Well, I had him 10 days total. No symptoms until about the 3rd day - then flashing started and became a constant. I only saw one spot and that was on the 9th day. Not sure what day the heavy breathing started but I just thought he was wearing himself out being territorial. He got pretty bad with little red dots around his mouth. He did recover though and is doing well.

Ditto on the quarantine - I learned a valuable lesson!