Blue Tang Copper Treatment

ZKAqua23

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Hi all,
We have had our DT about 6 months, have had a few invertebrates and we added the blue tang we had been looking at. She is about 3 inches with a 30 gallon tank to herself. Unfortunately she developed ich and after posting here and getting info from the LFS, we attempted to increase her immune system with Herbtana, then a 4 week hyposalinty and then a 3 day increased heat treatment with breaks in between. Nothing has worked so it looks like copper treatment may be our only course left. This is our first time dealing with this, so if anyone has done this before or knows the ins and outs of it, any help would be fantastic. We have a spare 30 gallon tank we are setting up as a hospital tank with PVC, but need recommendations for the best copper medicine, any complications to be prepared for and how to get the copper out of her system before putting her back in the DT where we plan on just adding back a couple snails and a starfish. Thanks a million!

ZK
 

MnFish1

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Do the spots come and go? - is it the only fish in the tank? is it eating, etc etc etc? Look healthy?
Would you be able to send a picture? How long did you have it before developing symptoms?

I am only asking because - before you 'treat' something its helpful to be sure you know what it is for sure. In the meantime - here is a link with different protocols - Hope this helps:

 
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ZKAqua23

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Do the spots come and go? - is it the only fish in the tank? is it eating, etc etc etc? Look healthy?
Would you be able to send a picture? How long did you have it before developing symptoms?

I am only asking because - before you 'treat' something its helpful to be sure you know what it is for sure. In the meantime - here is a link with different protocols - Hope this helps:

The spots do seem to come and go, the blue tang is the only fish in the tank, we just got done with heat treatment this past week. Still eating very well about 3 inches long, color is fine maybe a little faded but she's fat and free swimming, no excessive hiding or lying over on the side. Weve only had her for about 3 months now and then she developed the white salt grain sized spots, some seem to burst from time to time. I've uploaded some of the best pictures I've managed to get over the past couple days so anything you can recognize or point out would be great.
 

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MnFish1

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The spots do seem to come and go, the blue tang is the only fish in the tank, we just got done with heat treatment this past week. Still eating very well about 3 inches long, color is fine maybe a little faded but she's fat and free swimming, no excessive hiding or lying over on the side. Weve only had her for about 3 months now and then she developed the white salt grain sized spots, some seem to burst from time to time. I've uploaded some of the best pictures I've managed to get over the past couple days so anything you can recognize or point out would be great.
To me - it looks like a mild CI (Cryptocaryan - ich) infestation. The dropping off and coming back are part of the 'lifecycle' of CI. @Jay Hemdal may have a comment or two - so I'll tag him. My comment - assuming Jay confirms its CI would be.

1. Put the fish in a separate 'hospital' tank - with the appropriate filtration, copper levels, daily copper measurements, ammonia checks (I believe this is all in the protocols I linked before) for the recommended duration. At the same time - you will need to leave your other tank without fish for up to 76 days - though there are protocols for 45 days - using a warmer temperature.

2. See if the fish will fight off the infection by it self. It may get the occasional spot - But - may very will become immune. It does look healthy. With only one fish in the tank - the stocking density is so low the numbers do not see to be 'killing' the fish.

The problems with #2 - are if you want to add more fish - you're going to be risking infecting them - when you add them to the tank. The more fish you have - the more CI will be produced - and the ore dangerous it could become. Also - if you stop the various things you've been doing - its also possible the fish will become sicker.

Hopefully some others will weigh in - it looks like a nice fish for sure.
 

Jay Hemdal

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Hi all,
We have had our DT about 6 months, have had a few invertebrates and we added the blue tang we had been looking at. She is about 3 inches with a 30 gallon tank to herself. Unfortunately she developed ich and after posting here and getting info from the LFS, we attempted to increase her immune system with Herbtana, then a 4 week hyposalinty and then a 3 day increased heat treatment with breaks in between. Nothing has worked so it looks like copper treatment may be our only course left. This is our first time dealing with this, so if anyone has done this before or knows the ins and outs of it, any help would be fantastic. We have a spare 30 gallon tank we are setting up as a hospital tank with PVC, but need recommendations for the best copper medicine, any complications to be prepared for and how to get the copper out of her system before putting her back in the DT where we plan on just adding back a couple snails and a starfish. Thanks a million!

ZK
Hi,

I think @MnFish1 has outlined the best course of action for you. Just a couple of general observations - Herbtana doesn't have a really good track record for ich. I won't use it myself - I stay away from all "herbal" remedies, they just don't have good efficacy, and "herbal" doesn't always mean safe. How low did you go with the hyposalinity? The proper level is a specific gravity of 1.009 for 30 days (no invertebrates present of course!). Avoid heat treatments with marine ich, that was an old school remedy for freshwater ich that people mistakenly thought would work for marine ich. Actually, the preferred water temperature for maximum growth for marine ich is 86 degrees F. So, running warmer actually makes things worse.

Jay
 
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ZKAqua23

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Thank you both for your replies, it's been a tremendous help. I just had a couple final questions before we start treatment. If the treatment duration is not the same as the fallow period, can I keep the tang in the hospital tank after treatment until the Displau tank is ready? Because if I'm going to have to find her a new tank to keep her in after the hospital tank then should I just start a new tank for her to live in? Also after treatment is done and the copper levels have been reduced, would it be safe to add inverts back into the display tank with the tang? I'm only looking to have her in there with a shrimp and some snails.

I appreciate it immensely!
ZK
 

MnFish1

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Thank you both for your replies, it's been a tremendous help. I just had a couple final questions before we start treatment. If the treatment duration is not the same as the fallow period, can I keep the tang in the hospital tank after treatment until the Displau tank is ready? Because if I'm going to have to find her a new tank to keep her in after the hospital tank then should I just start a new tank for her to live in? Also after treatment is done and the copper levels have been reduced, would it be safe to add inverts back into the display tank with the tang? I'm only looking to have her in there with a shrimp and some snails.

I appreciate it immensely!
ZK
I do not understand the question - Usually - when you leave a tank fallow - you keep the fish out of the tank (separate) for the duration. I've said before there should be no reason for you to take your inverts, etc out of the display tank. Just leave them in there.
 

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