New Hippo Tang With Ich - Can Ich Be Invisible in a DT?

[LuckyPhil]

I'm one that says all systems have ich. I'm sure there are lots that don't, but the lifecycle of this parasite has forms that are not visible to us and can come into our tanks in so many ways, so I would say it is very possible you have ich in your quarantine. I've had ich pop up in every tank I've had after a fish (particularly tangs) get stressed thru some kind of big change (e.g., had a return pump fail which led to decreased O2 levels overnight).

I've found the best treatment is to encourage healthy eating and to get tank stable again ASAP. IME, this disease is easily defeated with good husbandry, and I've only lost fish after major stressors led to the fish showing heavy spotting around the gills.

I do not agree with this.
There is either ich management or ich eradication.
I find that those who QT/Treat fish but don't QT anything wet (corals/inverts) usually find it back in their tank and make the same statement as you did "all systems have ich"
If you know the life cycle of c.irritans then you understand that they can be introduced to your DT in their Cyst/tormont stage.

I tried ich management at the start when i introduced it to my tank through corals but just didn't work for me.
I did TTM (+QT until fallow complete) + Fallow 76 days and 1/2 year on no signs of anything.
It is soo relaxing sitting back and enjoying the tank without having to stare at my fish scouting for white spots.

 

[LJLKRL05]

Ok, I have to bring this back up. The little hippo is scratching again in the HT.
All other fish are doing fine and show no signs of any issues.
I have put these fish through 30 days of cupramine, and 3 doses of prazi.
What could possibly be making him scratch? I cannot see anything on him.

Fish are supposed to go back into the DT on Jan 28 after it sat fallow for 76 days.

 

[4FordFamily]

Ok, I have to bring this back up. The little hippo is scratching again in the HT.
All other fish are doing fine and show no signs of any issues.
I have put these fish through 30 days of cupramine, and 3 doses of prazi.
What could possibly be making him scratch? I cannot see anything on him.

Fish are supposed to go back into the DT on Jan 28 after it sat fallow for 76 days.

Any fin damage, heavy breathing, or any spots (dark or light) on the Fish? Flukes are unlikely but some can survive prazi.

More likely than not, the fish is healing and is “itchy”. I suspect prazi kicked some little flukes off and as the holes heal they itch.

If it’s a prazi-resistant strain of flukes, a freshwater dip in a dark bucket would reveal the culprit, as tiny worm-like things would fall off the fish.

 

[LJLKRL05]

No fin damage or heavy breathing, but I think sometimes I think I see bumps on his skin. They are the same color as his skin though. He is so small and fast it is hard to get a clear picture.
He is eating and acting normal though.
I will try a fresh water dip, and maybe I can get a couple of good pictures real quick when I take him out of the water.
The only indication of anything possibly wrong is the scratching, and none of the other fish are doing it.

 

[LJLKRL05]

Well, after the 3rd dose of Prazi I dosed them again 3 days later with no water change, and he has stopped scratching.
I read on the Prazi website it may be necessary to does 3 days apart for stubborn flukes, so that is what I did.
I think it worked.

 

[LJLKRL05]

This was a tough experience for me.
Of all the fish I had, only the Foxface, clowns, blenny, and 3 chromis made it out of the HT.
The powder blue developed a bacterial infection that I successfully treated and put him back in the HT.
About a week before the fallow period was over, he developed the same infection and I was not able to save him.

I posted about this the first time here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/powder-blue-fins-ragged.343823/

The power went out one day, and the little hippo was doing so good, but it swam into the cage of the powerhead and got stuck when the power came back on. This was also about a week before fallow ended.

The Vrolik's wrasse had a huge belly when it went into the HT, and it died of unknown causes. I tried feeding it with metro + kanaplex + focus laced food, but it did not seem to help it's belly shrink.

The beautiful big Blonde Naso made it back into the DT, but for some reason died a few days later. I don't know if it was too stressed from the HT experience or what.

I bought another hippo a little larger than the first one and quarantined him in a 20 gallon tank for a few weeks. I put him through two rounds of Prazi, and observed him after that. While in QT he never scratched and ate well. I never saw any white spots on him.
He stayed hidden in the PVC pipes most of the time, so it wasn't easy to look at him unless I sat there by the tank fro long periods of time.

I put him in the DT and after a month none of the surviving fish are showing any signs of disease.

I now have a 40 breeder I am setting up as a QT tank. No more fish will go into the DT without going through QT first.

I plan to get another Blonde Naso, and then after it goes into the DT I will get another Powder Blue tang. That will be my last tang in the tank.