blue tang problem

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big pete

Guest
hey, i just got a beautiful small(3 1/2 inches) blue tang yesterday. he was perfectly healthy before i put him in the tank. i noticed he got a little stressed while he was floating in his bag and when i finally put him in he went straight into a crevice. i know blue tangs will hide when they are stressed so it was no suprise(oh yea i also gave him a freshwater bath b4 i put him in!). anyway, he finally came out later that afternoon and was doing fine until my blue damsel saw him. he kept swooping and nipping at him. i finally got the damsel out of there, it wasent worth losing a 40$ fish to a 2$ damsel....anyway....here is my question.... today i noticed he had some white sratch marks underneath his pectoral fin. it looked like whitespot but i cant be sure. i dont know how he got it, because i know it wasent in the tank already. is there anything i can do? is this preventable? will it go away on his own if he gets used to my tank??? arg i love him i cant lose it! please help:nervous: :confused:
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Are you talking about ich? Or injuries from the attack by the damsel?
 
B

big pete

Guest
its def. not ich i have seen that before. he has about 3 small white sratch marks. it may be from the damsel or it may be from stress im not sure. does white spot go away?
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Can you post a pic? Keep an eye on it and post status if things start developing. Where are the marks?
 
B

big pete

Guest
most of the marks are gone. i can see one small one underneath his pectoral fin and there aree about 3 tiny tiny tiny ones up by his tail. ill try to post a pic, i dont know how though. they look like scratches not ich. i have seen whitespot online, but they were all extreme cases. i dont know what it is. probably just a scratch from my damsel(who went back to the LFS!)
 
muskyhunte

muskyhunte

Member
A couple of questions to try to help you out
1. Do you have other fish in the tank?
2. Do you have a QT tank to use to treat the fish for ich?
3. Is this a reef or non reef tank?
Has far as the way you add your fish to the tank. You should float your fish for about 20 to 30 min. then drip your fish for about 1.5 to 2 hours before adding them to the tank. It is best to set up a QT tankk and keep the fish in there for 2 to 3 weeks befor adding them to your main tank. This will insure a healthy fish and if the fish does have ich it is easyer to treat.
But I do agree with you on one thing I would rather lose a $2 over a $40 fish. Even though I dont like to see any fish lost of killed.
Good Luck
 
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big pete

Guest
yes i have other fish: maroon clown, flame angel, yellowtail damsel(he is nice), and a snowflake eel. we used to have a QT but we sold in in order to get a lil extra $ for the 200 we are setting up. the tank is not reef although i only have live rock in it. i did float him in the bag for 20-25 minutes but i only dripped for about 15...i guess all i can do now is wait and see if it goes away. i havent seen him yet because i am at school right now but i will check as soon as i visit home(which will be tonight hah im a townie!) thanks for all the help guys
 
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big pete

Guest
is there any kind of food out there that i could give my fish that is medicated to treat ich/whitespot or garlic based fish foods? i would really appreciate the help thanks! cant be too careful
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Just soaking food in fresh garlic. You can not really use dried foods with this, though.
 
B

big pete

Guest
how do i soak my food in garlic? could i soak it in formula one/two??? mysis shrimp?:notsure:
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
You take a little garlic clove, fresh!. Mince it in a container, put your food in their with the minced juices, then put all of this in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hr [covered]. Then feed the food soaked in garlic to your fish.
You can use frozen foods, yes.
 
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big pete

Guest
WOAH! the garlic method worked wonders! ALL of my fish went crazy for the food! Im so stoked. I think the marks are completely gone, but how long should i be doing the "garlic mixing" in my food for...in other words, how long should i be feeding them the mixed garlic food(days,weeks,months?) thank you guys so much
 
B

big pete

Guest

Originally posted by big pete
WOAH! the garlic method worked wonders! ALL of my fish went crazy for the food! Im so stoked. I think the marks are completely gone, but how long should i be doing the "garlic mixing" in my food for...in other words, how long should i be feeding them the mixed garlic food(days,weeks,months?) thank you guys so much

Forgot to tell ya...even my snowflake eel went after the food! crazy i tell ya:jumping:
 
biggie18

biggie18

Member
garlic has a chem called alicin in it and it basically is "steriods' for the immune system. Even if you dont't have ich or disease is not a bad idea to feed them some just to prevent more outbreaks:D
 
biggie18

biggie18

Member
get a lil container and mix the food and garlic and leave it in fridge. I mix about a 1 week supply everytime. If they have ich then you should feed them 2 or 3 times a day with garlic.
 
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