Long story but please read (I'm getting to feel defeated)

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Well, it looks like I will be bringing fox face back to the LFS. I ended up getting a bicolor angel from a store near my house for a great deal. He lived in the tank for 2 weeks before I found him stuck in my rock work. While it was my mistake that I didn't QT the fox face when I added the angel I feel it is pretty safe to say that the fox is to blame for all of the deaths in my tank since he is still thriving.
 
Angel was all normal colors at the time of death and I took a sample of my water to the LFS and they said it was pristine. Any suggestions on how to carb the fox without stressing him to death? I don't want to kill him while trying to get him to a home that is better suited for him.
 
Angel was all normal colors at the time of death and I took a sample of my water to the LFS and they said it was pristine. Any suggestions on how to carb the fox without stressing him to death? I don't want to kill him while trying to get him to a home that is better suited for him.

That bites. Get a large net and have a bucket of your water ready. Put the net in the tank for an hour or more and let him get use to the fact it won't hurt him. Feed and when you do swipe him up. That's how I do it anyway...
 
You should of waited before adding the angel. I don't think taking the Foxface to LFS is going to help unless you plan on treating the tank afterwards and letting it stay empty for a month or two. My suggestion is to keep him and don't add any thing for at least 6 weeks.
 
Unless you are seeing the Foxface being aggressive, I think it could be something disease related. Foxfaces are generally not aggressive and use their spines for defense, not to attack other fish.

If you take it back, I would leave the tank fallow for at least 6-8 weeks. That should allow things like Ich to die off. MV takes about 8 weeks, so ideally go two months. Throw in ammonia to keep the BB going.
 
I can see what your saying but I'm just curious why the fox face wouldn't catch it f it were a disease?
 
It is probably a good idea to read up on some of the common ailments that most of us are going to deal with in this hobby at some point or another.

There are things like Ich, where some fish might get it and die, others get it and overcome it and live and others never show signs. It's that way out in the ocean. The nasties are just way less concentrated. You can have something like Ich in your DT and your fish show no signs after an outbreak. The owner claims they had a magical cure and there is no more Ich. In reality, it is either in the sand/rock cycling through its life cycle or it can be in their gils, where you can not always see it. Some fish can basically live with it/fight it off and not show signs. One site refers to it as a standoff between the fish and the parasite.

I had what I now believe was Marine Velvet in my tank. Lost a dwarf angel and a bicolor Foxface. My two Chromis lived and are still fine. Not knowing what killed the two fish originally, I chalked it up to something random. I bought a multicolor angel that was totally healthy, about four days later, its not looking good and shows visible signs of MV. It dies two days later. The Chromis are still fine, no symptoms of anything. I've been too busy to get a new QT and get them in there and clean the DT out, but I will not add more fish until after I do that. In certain that its still in there just waiting for fresh meat.
 
I haven't had any diseases in over 15 years. Result of good feeding, large no stress environment and careful fish selection. Even a diseased fish will recover and not affect other fish in the right environment. It's why all the fish in the sea don't succumb to a disease outbreak. Wild fish are exposed to disease and parasites constantly. Most diseases we deal with are directly attributed to stress. It's why fish selection for the intended environment is crucial to long term success.
 
I haven't had any diseases in over 15 years. Result of good feeding, large no stress environment and careful fish selection. Even a diseased fish will recover and not affect other fish in the right environment. It's why all the fish in the sea don't succumb to a disease outbreak. Wild fish are exposed to disease and parasites constantly. Most diseases we deal with are directly attributed to stress. It's why fish selection for the intended environment is crucial to long term success.
+1.
I've imported many, many fish, never quarantined them, kept them for extended periods, and sold them to others. In approximately 10 years I lost 1 fish to ich. It was an achilles tang. Initially all the fish I added to the tank at once showed ich along with the achilles. The rest beat it and lived out their lives seemingly disease free, until I sold them off a couple years later.
Stress is the key, or lack thereof.
 
That sux. But your experince is not uncommon. Don't give up.

If I had to guess, I would say you perpetuated ich (Crypt) on the fish in a relatively new tank.

I subscribe to the philosophy that ich is more related to managing stress in fish than the actual parasite.

I'd give it some time with what remains and QT new fish.
 
You won't get ich if the parasite isn't present in the tank in the first place. It's a parasite. Stress or no stress, if its not there then it won't be an issue. QT...it's the safest way to go.
 
I disagree. If you had a tank with no fish, and no hosts, ich would not be present, but some fish can carry ich in their gills and if healthy not exhibit symptoms. Invertebrates are also known to carry it. Stress thins the fishes protective coating and gives the parasite access to the fishes flesh. A QT tank, if not properly setup will just stress the fish more and amplify problems. I have no QT tank and haven't had a outbreak of ich in 20 years. Oh I guess a copper treatment or something else to sterilize the fish first might work, but again, i am more affraid of the cure than the disease. in the wild, fish are constantly exposed to parasites.

Thats the problem with ich and surgeonfish (tangs). its a double whammy, they have a already thin slime coat protein barrier and are easily stressed.

Good read on this: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/ichthyophthirius

Each to their own.
 
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