blue tang scratching

sh4n

sh4n

Member
just looked over at my fish tank and saw my tang acting extremely weird. he was scratching along the bottom of my tank and against the rocks in my tank. ive been looking around on the net and it sounds like the start to ich. ive had him for 6 months now, he lives with a red corris wrasse, 2 clown fish and a blue starfish.
i feed him nori and thawed out frozen mysis shrimp (soaked in garlic extract) and also pellets. He eats like a pig :) no fish have been added to my tank in months, recent thing added was an anemone 2 weeks ago. i have a UV steralizer that i havent used in a few months (moved my tank and couldnt get it working) but now i have it working. is there anything else I can do to prevent ich? :(
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
First off sometimes fish do this. Secondly you need to look at all of your fish carefully to see if there are the white spots on them that are the ich parasite. Keep watch for a few days to see if anything pops up. Especially check the gills and fins for spots, gonna be hard to see there perhaps but do have a close look.
 
lynnly

lynnly

Member
Invest in a cleaner Wrasse.I had my first one for about 4 years before I found him on my carpet(jumped). I bought 2 others which died within 2 weeks,the 3rd is active and well!
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
I think it's Ick. Many tangs, including the blue tang, are prone to it.
About what lynnly said, I think a cleaner wrasse might be a poor choice.
They are kind of harder to keep, but I guess you could keep one if you do the proper research.
About the scratching. Moniter it for a week and tell me what happens.
Sometimes my hippo tang starts to randomly scratch on rocks for a couple of days, and usually within a week it just stops.
Good Luck!
 
sh4n

sh4n

Member
Thanks for all your replies. he has not scratched again this morning, but i will keep watching him and report here. thanks :)
 
sh4n

sh4n

Member

ive noticed a white spot on him today. but i dont know if its actually the disease or if its just a bruise. does this look like it? does it normally come in a few spots? sorry i guess im freaking out :Z
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by lynnly http:///forum/thread/385981/blue-tang-scratching#post_3387543
Invest in a cleaner Wrasse.I had my first one for about 4 years before I found him on my carpet(jumped). I bought 2 others which died within 2 weeks,the 3rd is active and well!
Please do not do this. Those that think a cleaner wrasse are a cure for Crytocaryon are misinformed. Here is some information for you all from Steven Pro.
"While probably not able to affect a cure in a full-blown infestation, the use of cleaner shrimp may help with a mild problem. I wish to express my dismay when seeing cleaner wrasses, Labroides species, offered for sale. The vast majority of these are doomed to waste away as they are obligate feeders of marine ectoparasites (Fenner, 2003). There are many other effective cleaners available with a much better survival rate. Please leave these fish in the ocean where they can live long, happy lives and help maintain the health of the other reef fish.
The other argument against the use of Labroides wrasses is, being a fish, they are just as susceptible to infection as the fish they are "treating." In a closed, contaminated system, the cleaner wrasse will, in time, become infected too. As a result, it will eat less and become useless for combating Cryptocaryon. This same argument also rules out the use of other cleaner fish such as the various Gobiosoma species. While these make excellent aquarium residents, they are not an effective cure for parasitic diseases of fish. The cleaner shrimp, on the other hand, are not susceptible to Cryptocaryon and could therefore help to bring about a cure, while not being a complete cure in and of themselves.
One last note on Labroides wrasses, contrary to popular opinion, they do not consume Cryptocaryon parasites. They have demonstrated a strong preference for gnathid isopods, which make up between 77 and 85% of their natural diet (Grutter, 1997 & 2000). The remaining prey items are composed of scales, parasitic copepods, and non-parasitic copepods. So, regardless of whatever conscientious objections one may or may not have regarding their availability in the marine aquarium trade, they are not going to help in the battle against Ich. Also, since Cryptocaryon irritans is known to be rare in the wild (Bunkley-Williams & Williams, 1994), it would follow that it is unlikely that Ich makes up any significant portion of any cleaner organism's diet. This, coupled with how deep the trophonts embed, throws into question the effectiveness of any cleaner against Cryptocaryon irritans."
 
kiefers

kiefers

Active Member
Ola! we do have a cleaner wrasse and bought it under the "assumption" that it would or may help with this same problem however, we were wrong. "Moby" is indeed a beautiful addition to our tank and does get along with EVERYBODY in the aquarium, we fear that he may not eat enough to sustain him. Please keep in mind though that every fish is different. What works for one individual may not work for the other. Moby has adapted and does eat frozen mysis and brine and sometimes flake however, he hangs around the bigger fish in the tank. these cleaner wrasses are best kept in large community tanks with larger fish.
as the name states they are cleaners, groomers, but will end up starving. Please make sure, as stated above, you have worms, pods, and large fish. don't get this critter merely for the parasite.
also, it should be known that these fish like the slime coat off these bigger fish, Tangs, Angels and when they barrow for the night they secrete a slime coat tent as a defense against pr editors. Actually pretty cool because he looks dead with all this slime surrounding his barnacles at night.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Can you mention slime surrounding a Cleaner Warsses's barnacles on a family site?????
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///forum/thread/385981/blue-tang-scratching#post_3387780

ive noticed a white spot on him today. but i dont know if its actually the disease or if its just a bruise. does this look like it? does it normally come in a few spots? sorry i guess im freaking out :Z
I'd keep monotoring this...Hippos <usually> sleep on their side, usually wedged under a rock, and it's pretty common for them to wake up with sand/stuff stuck to them. I'd keep looking for signs though, espically just at lights on and over the following hour or 2. Ich can be more visible during different parts of the day, and I think they show up better in the AM. Also be sure to check any tank mates too, but the tang is likely gonna be "prime feeding" for any ich.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
My hippo tang does this all the time. Sometimes she has the spots on her, too.
SH4N, please don't worry about it. It'll go away.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
To me, it does look like ich, which Hippo's are prone to. Do you quarantine your fish?
If your fish are healthy, which it appears that this hippo is, the ich might just pop up from time to time for one reason or another. It can be controlled by diet, but it will always remain there if left untreated. Until recently, I was unable to treat all the fish in my 155, and I know there is ich in there. It will pop up from time to time, usually if the temperature drops below 76 or if I forgot to feed for the day. My hippo is a tattle tale and is the first way for me to see if something is going on in the tank, or remind me that I forgot to feed. He'll pop up with spots. Although it's not gone, keeping him healthy has made it rarely show. He's about to be treated now that our new tank is ready to go.
Keep an eye on this fish, it may pop back up again. Ich has stages, so you might not always see it on the fish, but it will pop back up again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top