Powder brown vs powder blue

[Flame2hawk]

Is the powder brown less susceptible to ick than the powder blue? They are both beautiful and I plan on adding the less ick vulnerable one with some other tangs together into a 625g tank in the next month oR so. Welcome feedback.....

 

[nereefpat]

I would say about the same. Acanthurus genus tangs are very susceptible. Powder blue, brown, Achilles are even more sensitive to skin parasites in my experience.

If you are keeping those fish, you should think about prophylactically treating all incoming fish for ich, either by tank transfer method, copper, chloroquine...in my opinion.

 

[Seanislav]

+1 on ich...virtually all "powders" are "ich magnets." Beautiful fish, but can be very sensitive to parasites, due to their having a much thinner slime coat than many other species. I'd say choose the one you like best, quarantine well, and keep it fat and happy. That worked well for me with a powder brown a few years ago.

 

[ihavecrabs]

I ordered my Powder Blue from Humblefish Aquatics already quarantined. Best decision I made. Since I ordered multiple tangs, Bobby also paired up the ones that got along the best. Today, my YT and PBT get along still.

To answer your original question, definitely prophylactically treat them for velvet and ich.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Are you starting a build thread for the new tank?

 

[Terri Caton]

I just acquired a 139 gal tank that was being broken down in a Drs office. It was overrun with tangs. When deciding which ones to keep I observed their behavior. The Powder Brown was definitely more passive than the Powder Blue.

The day after I saw the tank it broke out with Ich. 3 days later when moving the tank I was able to see which fish showed the worst signs of it. The Powder Brown had no visible Ich. The Powder Blue definitely did. So did the Black Longnose. The yellow did not have any visible but it was very skinny and hid in the corner. I think it was overwhelmed by the amount of large tangs in there. The Desjardins Sailfin did not have any visible. The Dory did. The Purples did not.

Anyway, don't know if that means anything overall but just my recent experience.

All fish are in quarantine and all doing fine. The Powder Blue is "pouting".