Please ID what is affecting my blue tang

[Neptune 555]

I added new fish to my 180 reef - they were QT for 4 weeks no TTM this time b/c one of the fish was a mandarin. (I know and am sick to my stomach)

My blue hippo tang has a few spots… at first I thought it was not ich just the spots that sometimes show up when the fish is stressed and needs better nutrition. Now I do not know b/c a few more showed up? No other fish has spots for n the tank. The blue tang is still ruling the tank.

I need to know b/c if ich - it means introducing new fish will be next to impossible moving forward. With a 180 I will never go fallow…. did I just cross the chasm not managing ich versus have nh an hour ch free tank ??

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Tough to say for sure. Some of the spots are pretty large and are probably mucus spots. Some of the smaller ones could be ich. With ich, the spots will change in number and location over a day or two.
That said, if the hepatus tang wasn’t one of the new additions it is less likely to show ich before any of the new inhabitants.
Jay

 

[Neptune 555]

Tough to say for sure. Some of the spots are pretty large and are probably mucus spots. Some of the smaller ones could be ich. With ich, the spots will change in number and location over a day or two.
That said, if the hepatus tang wasn’t one of the new additions it is less likely to show ich before any of the new inhabitants.
Jay

 

[Neptune 555]

Jay

thank you!! I will watch the spots and see what happens to my blue hippo tang. He was not one of the new fish - I have had him since 2015. The new fish no signs of ich - 2 purple fire fish, one spotted mandarin, one Sasha goby. Passed away in the first 24 hours of being in 180 reef - 1 purple fire fish - I think he was the odd man out. One orange spot goby- no spots I removed from tank… I have a sand sifting goby they might have fought? I thought a 180 could handle a few gobies… ??

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Jay

thank you!! I will watch the spots and see what happens to my blue hippo tang. He was not one of the new fish - I have had him since 2015. The new fish no signs of ich - 2 purple fire fish, one spotted mandarin, one Sasha goby. Passed away in the first 24 hours of being in 180 reef - 1 purple fire fish - I think he was the odd man out. One orange spot goby- no spots I removed from tank… I have a sand sifting goby they might have fought? I thought a 180 could handle a few gobies… ??

I would watch very carefully but have an action plan ready in case it is ich,
Jay

 

[Neptune 555]

Jay - It is ich. my blue tang has more spots and my yellow tang now has a few spots. Both are still eating. Lets talk action plans (please)? My options are few...

Eradicate ich: I don't have enough space to QT these fish for the necessary 70 day fallow period. My reef has never looked better. I feel like leaving the hobby. My reef has never looked better AND my mandarin is easting all the pods I just cultured for her. I need a therapy session!

Do nothing: What are the chances my fish pull through? I do follow Paul B and feed live foods... All the fish in my tank did do TTM but I did not offer meds of any kind. I added a mandarin, 2 purple firefish, and a sasha goby and didn't do TTM b/c they are fragile. I think my tank is mature as I have 50 pounds of LR that is 20+ years old. My sand is 5 years old. I read a survey on this forum previously it seems that most hobbyists do NOT have 100% ich free tanks? More like 70% don't QT with a method that eradicates ich? Do those hobbyists just not have tangs?

Dose peroxide: I am hesitant to try peroxide dosing b/c it is seems to challenging and you still end up with ich and you kill your inverts and ruin the flaura in your tank? I don't think I get how this works?

UV Sterilizer? Hmmm I am thinking this might be my only option? Looks liek 500 bucks tho and I am not sure how effective.

Advice? Experiences? Is the UV sterilize effective in practice? Do nothing and keep the my hands out of the tank to reduce stress? Let em recover on their own like paul b?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Ich management (i.e. not using copper) is always risky. We've had some people diligently try peroxide and it failed.

It sounds like you need to go that route though. A powerful UV, Ployp Lab Medic peroxide additions and siphoning the bottom of the the sand each night (as well as the best diet and water quality possible) is really the only course of action, but it will fail if the parasite reaches a "tipping point" and the fish become overwhelmed.

jay

 

[Tamberav]

I just want to point out Paul used to or maybe still does use Ozone and he has a huge rock wall which he DIY some rock which is hallow which gives even more hiding spots.

His tank has about a billion more hiding spots then yours from what I could find. Paul B's tank is very interesting but it is also more then just feeding the fish live foods and being old. Most tanks do not look like his. He just posted a new FTS in his thread.

Ich management is a crap shoot and works for some and not others. Bigger the UV, the better if you try that.

 

[Neptune 555]

What is the differnce between UV Sterilize and Diatom filter for ich management?

Does a UV sterilizer kill copod population and ich?

Does a diatom filter kill copods and ich?

I want to help my fish win the battle...

 

[Tamberav]

UV shouldn't kill copepods, they are large unless they sit inside of it for awhile, then they will likely die. A UV has to be large and flow correct to reduce ich numbers, it will not eliminate it. If properly set up, it will kill what flows through it, not all ich will flow through it... plenty will find the sand bed/rock > cyst and make their way back to fish. It is just to try and reduce the numbers.

Again, a improperly set up UV will not help at all. If the flow is too fast or the UV too small then ich flows through it without being harmed.

Diatom filter will catch basically everything. A diatom filter will clog very quickly as it is catching so many tiny particles. It is not something you can feasibly continually run. It may clog in literal hours depending on the tank.

I would go with a UV but it is a large investment of money and please be aware, it may not be enough to help the fish. Some people have good luck and others do not.

I do run a large UV on my tank as it can have other benefits such as water clarity and killing certain species of dino/algae that are in the water column (does nothing for algae on the rock).

Again just please know, the UV may not be enough to save the fish. It is a crap shoot.

I wish disease was as simple as adding a UV. I wish it worked 100% of the time. That would be amazing.

 

[Neptune 555]

What if I feed seachem metroplex? Will that help the fish be comfortable while it fights ich?

 

[Tamberav]

What if I feed seachem metroplex? Will that help the fish be comfortable while it fights ich?

no, you have so many posts, I answered in that other thread. lol

@vetteguy53081 I think has experience with polyp lab and ruby reef rally for in tank stuff.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have used both medic and Ruby rally Pro for treatment of velvet but a couple of persons have approached me with ich and gave it a shot and succeeded. I started with Medic until Ruby Rally arrived and dosed both. Til today . . . . . I still wonder if it was the ruby Rally that was more effective, was it medic, or both.
They ARE safe to use together.
I did with treatment raise temp to 80f and added air stone for added oxygen.

 

[Jay'sReefBugs]

Just chiming in on my personal experience my tank had ich at the beginning. My treatment was to do absolutely NOTHING ! I kept my hands out of the tank and made sure the fish got fed well . Haven't seen another spot in 5 years ! it's my understanding that fish become susceptible to ich when stressed or malnourished. Trying to do to much could potentially make it worse . Just my thoughts happy reefing