Blue Hippo Tang and there dreaded friends....ICK!!

[moy]

I've had 2 Blue Hippo Tangs in the past in which both have perished due to ICK. I have another one, it seems to be spawning ICK! But ive been giving him Med Food which seems to be keeping everything under control, for the moment atleast.
Just wondering what preventive measures would you guys take with a Blue Hippo Tang! What should i do to ensure health for him and my other fish! Please help!

 

[gobylover]

What do you have in your tank?I use greenex for prevention and I am going to get a uv for extra protection.A lot of people don't like greenex but it works for me.

 

[moy]

I dont really have anything!!???? Should i regularly add something into the water for ICK prevention. I have snaile, hermits, feather dusters and some anenomes! So is there an additive i should add reguarly without harming inverts??

 

[fishfreek]

Have you tried soaking your food in garlic yet? It has really worked for me. I use it now three times a week as a prevenitive mesure. If your fish have it now i would soak all food (exept flake, it just turns to mush) at all feedings for at least three weeks. I and others that have used this method (that i know of) haven't seen any adverse effects in eighter reef or FO tanks. It is also a good idea to use this method in conjunction with a medication(i use oomed, because it is safe to use with inverts and i have had good luck in the past with it) If you want more info i would suggest doing a search on "garlic" on this BB on the disease board.HTH

 

[moy]

what type of garlic do i soak my food in?? I have flake food! So should use something like frozen brime shrimp??? help please

 

[moy]

What type of garlic juice do you use?? Where can i get some?? What type of food should it soak, Flake??

 

[saltwater marauder]

Like fishfreek said, use the search feature for this bb and type garlic....you will get all sorts of info. gl!

 

[gobiodon]

Last year ich wiped up almost all my fish but
two angels and one tang. Immediately I raised
temp. (80~82) and drop salinity down to 1.010
(NO, NO with inverts). Do you have UV sterilizer? It would help with free floating cells - it will not remove everything, oh no; it takes more to work on.
Now coming to garlic: you can get very heavy
garlic oil (stinks like hell)and doesn't want to mix together with H2O; so I found another garlic product - KYOLIC, aged Garlic Extract, no garlic odor), liquid not oil (let's say this way), mix well, and my fish were swallowing brines soaked in this extract much longer than oil's. Where to buy? Any dietary supplement store, COOP... should have it. You know, the places with the healthy food.
Besides, there is "NO-ICH MARINE" - it will not remove totally but slow down the dreadful progress of ich. You can use it with all iverts as well. Once a month I pour in my tank 2 cups just in case.

 

[krustytheclownfish]

You may also want to vary your fishes diet if you are only using flake food. Healthy fish that are fed a variety of foods have the natural ability to fight off parasites. Try frozen, live, flake, freeze dried, or anything else that you can think of. Search this bb for ideas. There was a post not to long ago of what people feed their fish. Should give you lots of ideas.

 

[krustytheclownfish]

One other thing, you probably already know this but tangs need lots of greens. Try Seaweed Selects from your IFS. Sounds like a lot of people use them.

 

[coralbeauty]

I have had a regal blue tang for a couple of years. These fish are ick magnets with high strung personalities. Despite that they are beautiful wonderful fish!
I have not tried garlic, however, I have had great luck with my UV sterilizer, good water quality, variety diet and low stress. Even so I would place all new regal blues in a Q tank. About two weeks ago Trey did a great post on the proper way to Q-tank a fish. You might want to search and find it.
Good luck!
Connie

 

[somethin' fishy]

I'm 2 for 2 w/ Hippo Tangs crashing tanks. Yes...I quarantined 'em and did the whole bit.....but still - I won't buy another.....
My experience has been they are as delicate and feeble as a fish can be.
Just my $.02
SF