Help!!! Hippo Tang Ich?

[vinny110]

Good Day Fellow Reefers,

I bought an hippo tang from Top Shelf Aquatics on April 20th, fish looked fine so I decided to go with it and knowing their tanks are treated with copper. The day after I noticed 2 white spots on him, thinking it was nothing since he slept by the rocks. But then it started to spread all over, I immediately put him in a QT tank with biological media and water from my display tank. I placed the ammonia tab on the tank to monitor levels and started to dose with copper powder solution. Can you guys look at the pic below to confirm its ich. After experiencing this, I placed all my fish in QT and started to treat them as well. In need of help!

 

[Robink]

Hippo tangs are notorious for ick. Some of them look like bubbles to me, I could be wrong though. @Humblefish ,@melypr1985 .

 

[Dom274]

I know I'll probably be in the minority here, but I would put the blue tang back in the display and let it be. It looks healthy from the posted picts and blue tangs are ich magnets. As long as he is eating and swimming around, he should kick it in a day or two.

 

[vinny110]

Hippo tangs are notorious for ick. Some of them look like bubbles to me, I could be wrong though. @Humblefish ,@melypr1985 .

yes the front portion from head to halfway is the bubbles, but look at back area its faint cloudy white spots, that started to spread.

 

[vinny110]

I know I'll probably be in the minority here, but I would put the blue tang back in the display and let it be. It looks healthy from the posted picts and blue tangs are ich magnets. As long as he is eating and swimming around, he should kick it in a day or two.

@Dom274, have you done that from previous experience?

 

[Dom274]

For reference, here's a pic of a purple tang with ick that possibly (probably) needs treatment.

 

[Dom274]

@Dom274, have you done that from previous experience?

Sure have. I don't worry about eradicating ich, I manage and mitigate it. Occasionally my blue or purple tang will get a flare up of a couple of spots, but that is due to me stressing them out. I work 2nd shift and get home late sometimes which means I upset the tank coming home when the tank is all asleep.

 

[vinny110]

Sure have. I don't worry about eradicating ich, I manage and mitigate it. Occasionally my blue or purple tang will get a flare up of a couple of spots, but that is due to me stressing them out. I work 2nd shift and get home late sometimes which means I upset the tank coming home when the tank is all asleep.

But now my yellow tang and tamini tang has spots, so all livestock in QT.

 

[Maritimer]

You've probably already read this, but just in case you hadn't, here's @Humblefish's article on ich eradication:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/#post-2192627

I think you've begun the correct course, by removing your fish into QT for treatment, but I'm a little puzzled by those softer-edged spots - - those don't properly look like ich to me.

~Bruce

 

[vinny110]

You've probably already read this, but just in case you hadn't, here's @Humblefish's article on ich eradication:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/#post-2192627

I think you've begun the correct course, by removing your fish into QT for treatment, but I'm a little puzzled by those softer-edged spots - - those don't properly look like ich to me.

~Bruce

thanks Bruce, I'm thinking its velvet now. Right now lights are off and I see he's grazing his body against the PVC tubing I placed for hiding.

 

[Big G]

If it is velvet, time is your enemy. Here's Humblefish's treatment for velvet: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/#post-2499437
Note that he has had much higher survival rate if the freshwater dip is followed by an acriflavine (Ruby Reef Rally) bath. The freshwater dip removes many of the velvet parasites and the RRR has both antiseptic and antibiotic qualities that help with the numerous insertion points of the velvet parasite.

 

[Humblefish]

For reference, this thread shows the difference between ich & velvet on a Hippo Tang: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-difference-between-ich-velvet.315957/

 

[vinny110]

For fish that is already in QT tank with infected species, do you just treat all of them as well? even though no signs are present? I know, its most likely a dumb question guys...

 

[Humblefish]

For fish that is already in QT tank with infected species, do you just treat all of them as well? even though no signs are present? I know, its most likely a dumb question guys...

If one fish has a disease, it is a safe bet that all of his tankmates have it as well. Since most fish diseases are waterborne transmissible.

 

[vinny110]

If one fish has a disease, it is a safe bet that all of his tankmates have it as well. Since most fish diseases are waterborne transmissible.

Thanks for all the great info @Humblefish, quick question. Today I did a 50% water change, with new salinity of 1.020. I also added seachem copper remover to get rid of the copper and added the Ruby Reef Rally/Ich combo to the QT tank. I'm planning to leave it for a week then switch back to copper power. Is that feasible?

 

[Humblefish]

Thanks for all the great info @Humblefish, quick question. Today I did a 50% water change, with new salinity of 1.020. I also added seachem copper remover to get rid of the copper and added the Ruby Reef Rally/Ich combo to the QT tank. I'm planning to leave it for a week then switch back to copper power. Is that feasible?

If you switch back to Copper Power, you’re starting over from scratch. Meaning, 4 weeks of copper at therapeutic levels without interruption.

 

[vinny110]

If you switch back to Copper Power, you’re starting over from scratch. Meaning, 4 weeks of copper at therapeutic levels without interruption.

thank you Humblefish, I switch back after reading your protocol. Appreciate the help

 

[Sashaka]

The spots look a bit like patches rather than a rash of tiny white bumps or the larger white bumps of ick. It's hard to tell from your pictures, but if you look down the sides of your fish when it is facing you in the light of your tank, do you see a rash of spots down the sides? If not, it may be a bacterial infection or even flukes attached, though flukes are usually clear unless you've done a freshwater dip. Just wondering... @Humblefish will recognize the problem much better than me, though. The white patches just look like what I saw on my tang when he first got sick. The good people here diagnosed my fish with Brook and bacterial combo sickness. As the days passed, the white patches did not get better in the CopperPower. They got larger and then started flaking off...such as Brook will do. I later discovered I had velvet in the tank as well. Right now I am 1 week away from taking out the CopperPower in my tank. I am letting it go one extra week because I don't read the API copper test kit so well, so I want to make sure the fish are now clean. As you treat, watch to see if the copper treatment seems to help. If not... check in again with the people here. Good luck!

 

[vinny110]

The spots look a bit like patches rather than a rash of tiny white bumps or the larger white bumps of ick. It's hard to tell from your pictures, but if you look down the sides of your fish when it is facing you in the light of your tank, do you see a rash of spots down the sides? If not, it may be a bacterial infection or even flukes attached, though flukes are usually clear unless you've done a freshwater dip. Just wondering... @Humblefish will recognize the problem much better than me, though. The white patches just look like what I saw on my tang when he first got sick. The good people here diagnosed my fish with Brook and bacterial combo sickness. As the days passed, the white patches did not get better in the CopperPower. They got larger and then started flaking off...such as Brook will do. I later discovered I had velvet in the tank as well. Right now I am 1 week away from taking out the CopperPower in my tank. I am letting it go one extra week because I don't read the API copper test kit so well, so I want to make sure the fish are now clean. As you treat, watch to see if the copper treatment seems to help. If not... check in again with the people here. Good luck!

thanks Sashaka, I think its velvet as well and it quickly spread all over based on reading Humblefish post So your' doing the 4 week treatment of copper + 1 additional week. Did the spots cleared from the fish? Did you use the Ruby Reef Rally dip/Formulin dip before the treatment? Also can you post current pics so we can see the progress. Appreciate it

 

[Sashaka]

My journey fighting fish illness has been long and arduous. The Hippo tang didn't make it. It developed a bacterial infection while in treatment. It did go through a formalin and a Rally dip, and it was being treated with the triple trifecta antibiotics recommended by the crew here, but the Hippo stopped eating and died. I lost quite a few favorite fish during this bout of fish illness, but the fish that survived seem to be doing well..so far. I'll try to get an updated pic with my cheap cell phone camera when I'm feeling better. I've been home sick with the flu, so I'm typing this from bed. ;Vomit

The fish I mourn:
Yellow coris
Green wrasse
Banner fish
Hippo tang
Spot band butterfly (my fault...I had to add copper quickly because of an outbreak of velvet seen on my vagabond butterfly)
dragon wrasse
There may be a few more. I can't think well today.

Fish I am hopeful that are clear of illness with one week to go of copper power:
2 banner fish
melanuarus wrasse
yellow tang
vagabond butterfly
blue streak cleaner fish
unknown goby
kole tang
flame hawkfish
midas blenny
ruby headed wrasse
2 engineer gobies

The engineer gobies had huge gaping wounds at one point. They are one hardy fish!

In a separate copper power tank...also with one extra week to go:
Majestic angel
transitioning leopard wrasse (eating like a pig both frozen and flake!)
blue spot goby
African dwarf angel
diamond watchman
No losses in this tank.