Black ich on yellow tang?

[havefun]

<vent>
Grrrr, I'm really starting to lose my patience. My tank has been setup since last march (yes, almost 1 year) and I now have a grand total of 1 clown in it. Now I think my YT in QT has black ich
</vent>

Please tell me there is something else it may be, dirt, blackheads, anything but ich. He has been in QT for over 3 weeks now and I just noticed them starting to appear a day or so ago. This Sunday I was going to put him, along with the other 2 fish in QT into the main. It's not the greatest pic but if you look close you can see the dark spots. I can try to get a better one if needed...

If it is black ich do I treat it just the same as regular ich?

TIA
Steve

 

[steve-s]

I cannot see the spots in the pic but if it looks like the picture below, most likely. It is usually knocked out easily enough with a pH/temp adjusted FW dip. Stubborn cases would need a series of formalin dips but that is not usually the norm.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/blackich.html

Cheers
Steve

 

[havefun]

Yep, thats what it looks like - not quite that many though.

Thanks for the link. A few additional questions though.

1) It says the life cycle is 10 days - after the bath do I put him into a different QT tank? Otherwise wouldn't he just keep getting re-infected?

With this regime subsequent baths will kill parasites that were not on the fish during previous baths.

Wouldn't putting them into a new tank with clean water (free of the parasite) eliminate the need for subsequent baths? I'm probably missing something but that seems to make more sense to me.

2) What about the 2 other fish, a small false perc and a skunkback pseudochromis. Should I give them baths as well (I don't see any spots on them yet)?

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[steve-s]

Yep, thats what it looks like - not quite that many though.

Thanks for the link. A few additional questions though.

1) It says the life cycle is 10 days - after the bath do I put him into a different QT tank? Otherwise wouldn't he just keep getting re-infected?

With this regime subsequent baths will kill parasites that were not on the fish during previous baths.

Wouldn't putting them into a new tank with clean water (free of the parasite) eliminate the need for subsequent baths? I'm probably missing something but that seems to make more sense to me.

Yes it could eliminate the problem as long as the dip eliminated all the worms on the fish. This is something you can't guarantee and if the current QT is cycled, it is really better off there than transfering to an uncycled tank.

2) What about the 2 other fish, a small false perc and a skunkback pseudochromis. Should I give them baths as well (I don't see any spots on them yet)?

More than likely they won't be affected although still a possibility. I wouldn't bother unless they give you reason to. You will know for sure in a few weeks one way or the other. Just be sure it's eliminated before they move to the main.

Cheers
Steve

 

[havefun]

Thanks Steve,

I just gave them their first temp/ph adjusted bath. The tang and clown did fine but the skunkback was a little scary - he kept laying on his side. I did read however that that may happen and not to worry. It was the longest 3 minutes I've had in a long time. I don't think I'll be doing him again (I didn't see that you had replied and said I probably didn't need to do the others).
Right now the tang seems to be breathing harder/faster than normal. Is that to be expected? He was in the fw for about 3.5 to 4 minutes.

Thanks again

 

[havefun]

Oh yeah, and I repeat the bath every 3 days until I don't see any spots correct? Is it from that point that I need to wait another 2-3 weeks?

 

[quarryshark]

If that doesn't work, a SW bath with formalin did the trick for my YT. Only took two treatments and he was clear.