I purchased a Blue Tang -- Big mistake but not the end the world

[crazyreefergirl]

Thank you! I think I've had the scooter for about 3 weeks. He was picky at first and only ate the copepods but now he eats meaty foods. I will try get some seaweeds. So far, As of now, I feed them a mixture of Mysa/Brine shrimp, Krill, Spirulina the occasional pellets and tubiflex worms. The video shows the water being a tad clouded but trust me it's crystal clear.

Good to hear. The scooter going to do fine if he is eating meaty food. Make sure the Regal gets a lot of veggies in her diet. My 22 years old get tons of veggies daily. She is very thick and the way I like all my fish. Does the Regal still have Ich. Did it come and goes? You notice her getting the Ich early in the morning and the Ich goes away as the day progress?

 

[Zigma]

Good to hear. The scooter going to do fine if he is eating meaty food. Make sure the Regal gets a lot of veggies in her diet. My 22 years old get tons of veggies daily. She is very thick and the way I like all my fish. Does the Regal still have Ich. Did it come and goes? You notice her getting the Ich early in the morning and the Ich goes away as the day progress?

I got her in the evening, around 7:30pm and when I woke up today, a lot of the spots had cleared up. I think tomorrow it may be cleared up 100%. If I could put a figure around yesterday and today, I can safely say that 80 to 85% of the spots have gone away but time will tell. So I'd say, I noticed the itch and about 14hrs later its slowly vanishing but let's not kid ourselves. They're still in there if it is indeed ich.

 

[crazyreefergirl]

I got her in the evening, around 7:30pm and when I woke up today, a lot of the spots had cleared up. I think tomorrow it may be cleared up 100%. If I could put a figure around yesterday and today, I can safely say that 80 to 85% of the spots have gone away but time will tell. So I'd say, I noticed the itch and about 14hrs later its slowly vanishing but let's not kid ourselves. They're still in there if it is indeed ich.

Take a look at her again tomorrow morning. If the Ich came back and goes away as the day progress, more than likely the PH is the culprit. I still wouldn't rule out fluke. What is the temperature of your tank?

 

[131696]

They have ich away medication on BRS and saltwater aquarium.com ,I say take tang out and bring It back to the ocean and don't buy again..lol

 

[polyppal]

This whole thing sounds like a mess at this point, and emphasizes the need for thorough research and education in marine aquaria. Can't walk into a Petco and get sound advice for long term success.

Not to sound pessimistic, but I have little hope for the livestock in the tank now. If you could find a LFS or local hobbiest willing to QT them or adopt them, it'll likely give the livestock a better shot at survival in the coming days if you have a disease outbreak. You might be in a little over your head trying to QT and treat sick fish at this point in your journey.

If you want to succeed in this hobby you need to do lots of research, starting here:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean...

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Cycling an Aquarium

Cycling a new aquarium. One of the earliest topics a new aquarium hobbyist needs to learn is how to properly cycle their aquarium. There is a ton of information on this process and many different methods on how to accomplish it. There are many different chemical and biological cycles our tank...

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Beginners Guide to Acclimation and Quarantine

Beginners Guide to Acclimation and Quarantine Your beautiful new display tank is up and ready for fish. You have come up with your stocking list and you are finally ready to buy your first fish but you aren’t confident on how to proceed. I am going to walk you through a basic acclimation and...

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Need help deciding on whether or not a fish is right for your tank? Post here and we'll help!

Hi guys! I know that at times it can be difficult to know whether or not a fish is right for your tank. There are lots of things to consider when purchasing a new addition to your reef community: What size is the tank? What other fish are already in there? What inverts are in there? Is it a reef...

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gl

 

[crazyreefergirl]

About One Month. Before I added any fish, I let it cycle for 3 days. The Anemone came with the live rocks that I purchased. So I just ... let it chill. It seemed to love the water quality.

Cycle for 3 days! Better duck! LOL FYI, I never cycle. I put all the fish and corals the same day I setup my system. No ich.

 

[vetteguy53081]

About One Month. Before I added any fish, I let it cycle for 3 days. The Anemone came with the live rocks that I purchased. So I just ... let it chill. It seemed to love the water quality.

API Saltwater Master Test Kit. I test before I do water change and 2-3 days after. Basically I test the water 2 times a week or better yet, twice a week.

Hmm, if the tank is a month old, the answer is 3 days before I added a fish?

Every fish/stock that was added to the tank was acclimated for at least 30 minutes to an hour by slowly adding some of the water from my tank on to the water that he/she came from as well as making sure that the temperature of the water matched the small acclimation tank that I use when not hatching brime shrimp. Should I be doing something else?

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you! For now - As stated before, I am going to be "starting over" this coming week. I will be making the evo the best hospital/QT tank ever and making the new tank my permanent display. I will make sure to keep the thread updated. What I have done now is added 2 drops of Kent Marine Garlic Extreme to boost my stocks immune system while I wait for the new tank to arrive next week. Once I can get my corals etc on to the new tank, I will be treating the fish with whatever is needed / recommended so they have the best fighting chance to overcome this fiasco. I will be making sure to ASK questions first before I do anything. I'll make sure to put up a build thread. Hopefully some of you will continue and follow the journey and make some of the trolls jelly at the new tank I'll be getting. It's going to be pretty. Taking is SLOW.

A few things and please take it to heart:
API is perhaps the worse test kit out there and is notorious for false readings hence the low price for a master kit and has let down many reefers, You want Hanna or salifert. You likely have false readings why I placed Question marks

Cycling- 3 days is not enough for even Freshwater. You want to cycle with live rock and add liquid bacteria such as Dr Tims One and only and monitor ammonia levels during this period with a reliable test kit

Anemones are best placed in a tank that is mature and stable as they do not handle changes in parameters well.

For treatment- Ruby rally reef or Pro covers an array of issues and good to have on hand PLUS its reef safe

 

[Zigma]

Take a look at her again tomorrow morning. If the Ich came back and goes away as the day progress, more than likely the PH is the culprit. I still wouldn't rule out fluke. What is the temperature of your tank?

It could be the PH. The water quality that came in the bag from Petco was terrible. Salinity was barely 1.020. The PH in my tank has always been at 8 to 8.2 - never higher or lower than those levels. Temperature in the tank is usually 78/79F. I am meticulous about the temperature and have a probe and automated pre-set heater. I'll keep you updated.

 

[Lyss]

About One Month. Before I added any fish, I let it cycle for 3 days. The Anemone came with the live rocks that I purchased. So I just ... let it chill. It seemed to love the water quality.

API Saltwater Master Test Kit. I test before I do water change and 2-3 days after. Basically I test the water 2 times a week or better yet, twice a week.

Hmm, if the tank is a month old, the answer is 3 days before I added a fish?

Every fish/stock that was added to the tank was acclimated for at least 30 minutes to an hour by slowly adding some of the water from my tank on to the water that he/she came from as well as making sure that the temperature of the water matched the small acclimation tank that I use when not hatching brime shrimp. Should I be doing something else?

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you! For now - As stated before, I am going to be "starting over" this coming week. I will be making the evo the best hospital/QT tank ever and making the new tank my permanent display. I will make sure to keep the thread updated. What I have done now is added 2 drops of Kent Marine Garlic Extreme to boost my stocks immune system while I wait for the new tank to arrive next week. Once I can get my corals etc on to the new tank, I will be treating the fish with whatever is needed / recommended so they have the best fighting chance to overcome this fiasco. I will be making sure to ASK questions first before I do anything. I'll make sure to put up a build thread. Hopefully some of you will continue and follow the journey and make some of the trolls jelly at the new tank I'll be getting. It's going to be pretty. Taking is SLOW.

This makes me feel like you’re still not all the way in the right headspace for this:

“Hopefully some of you will continue and follow the journey and make some of the trolls jelly at the new tank I'll be getting.”

I don’t see any trolls on this thread. I do see a lot of hard truths, and some folks could’ve tempered the way those truths were shared (some are just way harsh).

You have someone from the LFS coming to help w/all this, right? I would also ask that person for help/advice on making the Evo into a hospital tank.

Edit: the thing is, the majority of folks new to this hobby don’t make it past a year. If you want to succeed, you need to course correct now. You can do whatever you want, as some folks have pointed out — but if you truly want to grow and succeed in the hobby you’ll need to follow the standard advice, and research so you are approaching it from a more informed place.

 

[ninjamyst]

The sad part is that you think you are doing a great job at caring for these inhabitants that you claim to be attached to and despite people giving you advice, you keep finding ways to justify what you are doing is fine.

 

[crazyreefergirl]

It could be the PH. The water quality that came in the bag from Petco was terrible. Salinity was barely 1.020. The PH in my tank has always been at 8 to 8.2 - never higher or lower than those levels. Temperature in the tank is usually 78/79F. I am meticulous about the temperature and have a probe and automated pre-set heater. I'll keep you updated.

Yeah, I don't like buying fish from petco for many reasons. That is a big salinity change, assuming you are keeping your salinity at 1.025, even with a 1-hour drip acclimation. Feed her good, hopefully she destressed over time. She's a big girl. Might be able to handle the big salinity swing ok.

 

[Zigma]

A few things and please take it to heart:
API is perhaps the worse test kit out there and is notorious for false readings hence the low price for a master kit and has let down many reefers, You want Hanna or salifert. You likely have false readings why I placed Question marks

Cycling- 3 days is not enough for even Freshwater. You want to cycle with live rock and add liquid bacteria such as Dr Tims One and only and monitor ammonia levels during this period with a reliable test kit

Anemones are best placed in a tank that is mature and stable as they do not handle changes in parameters well.

For treatment- Ruby rally reef or Pro covers an array of issues and good to have on hand PLUS its reef safe

Most of the LFS recommend that particular saltwater test kit but I can see I've looked online for an instrument that is able to read most of the parameters of the water needed to keep a healthy kit I could not find any. Most are just temperature, PH, Salinity and for the most part I have all that covered with the instruments that I have. For the nitrate, nitrite and ammonia I've relied on the kit. I'll look into a better one. With that said, is it farfetched to say that due to the water changing that I've described that at the bare minimum, those 3 levels should be a more than acceptable levels?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Most of the LFS recommend that particular saltwater test kit but I can see I've looked online for an instrument that is able to read most of the parameters of the water needed to keep a healthy kit I could not find any. Most are just temperature, PH, Salinity and for the most part I have all that covered with the instruments that I have. For the nitrate, nitrite and ammonia I've relied on the kit. I'll look into a better one. With that said, is it farfetched to say that due to the water changing that I've described that at the bare minimum, those 3 levels should be a more than acceptable levels?

Acceptable- best way to find out is to take a water to a trusted LFS that does not use API kits and see what readings they come up with and to compare with yours. Nitrate- you can bypass. Unless sky high, not significant in SW as it is in FW

 

[MaxTremors]

Looks like you’re going to have the tang police on you lol. It’s your tank you do what you want it going forward you should do research on livestock you want. That tang does need a much bigger tank but first it needs to get healed outside of your tank asap imo

Mmm. No. We should model and promote ethical reefkeeping. There is no situation where a tang in a ten gallon tank is justifiable, and when people post that kind of thing here we shouldn’t just say ‘you do you!’. People are free to do whatever they want their tanks, but people are also free to call out bad husbandry when they see it.

 

[rwheeler0213]

I got into the hobby about a month ago and unfortunately (fortunately?) I got a bit carried away and now I need to upgrade.

I started out with a 13.5 gallon salt water evo, skimmer, basically went the whole 9. 2 clown fish, anemone, 2 cleaner shrimps, a fire Shrimp, some snails, a sea orchid, a yellowhead jawfish, schooner dragonet. Oh, I also have a palm palm crab in the mix.

I do not mix my own water, I use Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water since day 1 and purchase 10 gallons of it weekly for my water changes Every 7 days, and about a 20% water change every 2 days.

Salinity is always at 1.026 and params are always great. I purchased the a blue tang today to complete a total of 5 beautiful fish. I think I made a mistake... I did not know that blue tangs would get so big.. right now, it's a juvenile -- very small but I know he or she will quickly grow to be a majestic beast -- and that's OK!! At work, we have massive reef aquariums throughout our floors so rehoming it once it gets too big is not a problem. I plan on purchasing a Red Sea/Waterbox 55-65g AIO setup sometime next month where I can continue this amazing hobby. I can safely say that in a years time, he/she will likely be going into one of the many one of the 1000+ gallon reefs we have at work.

Now, The problem with the blue tang is that I as soon as I acclimated him and put him/her in -- I noticed white spots ... ugh, yeah -- ich... ouch. I feed my fish the good stuff. Mysa shrimp, Brine shrimp, both life (I hatch them myself) and frozen, pellets, basically I try to give them a gourmet.

So this tang has ich. Unfortunately I did not spot it when I picked him/her up at Petco. The lighting there did not reveal the spots until I got home. I am very worried about my other stock which my wife and I have grown incredibly attached to. I know they are healthy enough to "fight it" I do not have a tank hospital to treat the tang and even if I go and purchase a setup tomorrow I am afraid it will be too late and the ich most likely has spread. So I have to make due with this problem.

My goal is to avoid any type of chemicals that can potentially reek havoc in my tank. I have an amazing collection of corals that will most likely be affected by any type of chemicals that I throw in there to help fight this. So, outside of meticulous water changes -- continuing to keep the tank sparkling clean, feeding them to keep the strong, is there anything else I can do?

Close to 5am and I cannot sleep. Super worried about all my little guys. Maybe I am overreacting and it could have been stress that caused this little dory to break out? We will see.

Thank you,

Zig

No cure for ich. If fish is healthy will beat it. Need to install UV. That will kill the ich in the water column and keep it at bay.

 

[crazyreefergirl]

Most of the LFS recommend that particular saltwater test kit but I can see I've looked online for an instrument that is able to read most of the parameters of the water needed to keep a healthy kit I could not find any. Most are just temperature, PH, Salinity and for the most part I have all that covered with the instruments that I have. For the nitrate, nitrite and ammonia I've relied on the kit. I'll look into a better one. With that said, is it farfetched to say that due to the water changing that I've described that at the bare minimum, those 3 levels should be a more than acceptable levels?

API test kit should be fine with what you are doing unless you want to start selling your corals. It will give you close enough range and it's easy to use. I do have Red Sea, Salifert and Mastertronic but I used API most of the time to test unless I have some problem with my coral not color up properly then I switch over to Red Sea to help out most of the time.

 

[Zigma]

This makes me feel like you’re still not all the way in the right headspace for this:

“Hopefully some of you will continue and follow the journey and make some of the trolls jelly at the new tank I'll be getting.”

I don’t see any trolls on this thread. I do see a lot of hard truths, and some folks could’ve tempered the way those truths were shared (some are just way harsh).

You have someone from the LFS coming to help w/all this, right? I would also ask that person for help/advice on making the Evo into a hospital tank.

Edit: the thing is, the majority of folks new to this hobby don’t make it past a year. If you want to succeed, you need to course correct now. You can do whatever you want, as some folks have pointed out — but if you truly want to grow and succeed in the hobby you’ll need to follow the standard advice, and research so you are approaching it from a more informed place.

Don't let that comment fool you. I'm not an idiot. Maybe inexperienced, but far from an idiot. I'm not doing this to prove anything to anyone but I do take pride in what I do -- and I am smart enough to know when to slow down and make things right.

I'm purchasing this bigger tank for more flexibility and for the simple fact that I am able to scratch everything that I've done so far and start over correctly. Dry rock, a true correct cycle and seasoned professionals that will be there for when I need a question answered. I F'd up getting this Tang but I'll make it right in the long run. To turn a negative into a positive, you have to remember that there is a possibility someone else may have purchased it and they would not be in a position to make corrective measures. I can promise you I'll make it past 1 year.

 

[Zigma]

The sad part is that you think you are doing a great job at caring for these inhabitants that you claim to be attached to and despite people giving you advice, you keep finding ways to justify what you are doing is fine.

Um... I never said this. Do not put words in my mouth or take what I said out of context, please.

If I was under the impression that I am doing everything right, then I would have never looked online for a community of enthusiast to be able to steer me in the right direction. All I am seeing in this community, is individuals condemning me and saying my fish are as good as dead and that I am an idiot for getting to where I am now. For those who are actually providing me meaningful information, I sincerely thank you.

The more I think about it, outside of a few individuals here that have been nothing but helpful -- the majority sure as heck are not welcoming to new members. I have a thick skin but I may have picked the wrong community to be a part of. If I stop responding, I can assure those that have a genuine interest in my current situation that it will be corrected -- not by trial an error but from the advice of actual true professionals.

 

[polyppal]

OP seems to be legit, he even posted a video of the tank - It appears to be a case of making all the wrong decisions that has really incensed some people here. No this hasn’t been a very positive welcome, but your dealing with people who really care about their livestock and this hobby. It’d be like going to a dog forum and saying your new puppy isn’t happy and you kept it locked in a tiny cage 24/7… Your gonna get some blowback for bad decisions, and frankly rightly so.

OP I don’t think your an idiot - I think like a lot of people before you, you jumped into all this without doing research and knowing what you were doing. Fact is most of us have made some stupid mistakes and killed many poor fish over the years. Before you start buying more stuff, do your research and set some realistic goals. And for god sakes rehome the tang and stop going to petco

 

[Spieg]

This current setup is going to be eventually be my QT tank. The options that I am looking at are along the lines of a Red Sea MAX E Mode or the Waterbox AIO 65.4 AIO. As soon as I find something I like and it comes in I will start to move the corals etc in there and have it cycle before I put anything in. Once I have every piece of coral in there, I'll start to disinfect/do what I have to do to make sure that the current fish I have are healthy before transferring them over. It will most likely take weeks before they move in. I think that's the best route I can think of unless someone can guide me in a better direction.

You should really read up on the ich life cycle. It's pretty common for the spots to disappear for a few days in the early stages but they usually come back worse and worse over time. Moving your coral/rock into a new tank is only going to infect the new system unless you wait quite a while to move in your fish after quaranteen/treatment with copper. 74 days fallow (without fish) is typical to be sure the ich is gone.