can eel get ick?

[beth]

The brown-rust thing is likely diatoms.
Also, while a tang can live in a smaller tank, it won't do as well as it could in a "longer" tank. Tangs are hard swimmers and need a lengthy tank to swim hard and fast. Obviously, in a 4' tank, they can not get going much. For tangs, the longer your tank, the better for the fish. Thus, it is established that the smallest tank size for tangs is 125.

 

[oyam1]

good news on the fish.
ask others, but if the stuff is brown and dust-like, could just be an algie bloom. if it is should pass on its own (week or so). could be do to change in tank related to taking out the fish (water quality change).
if the stuff is more slime and reddish with air bubbles on it, could be cyano bacteria (SP.) if so most say cut back on lught and feeding. if still not going away after some time (4 weeks), then you may need medication.:happyfish

 

[btieu]

thanks beth and oyam1...i appreciated your time in responding so quickly. it had to be either diatom or algae. but let say if its diatom, is it dangerous to the tank?? what do i need to do about it? change my water? and if its algae, what is the best possible way to do to prevent that from breakout?

 

[oyam1]

diatom/algie i call it te same.
if it is, i see lots of people get blooms with changes in bio-load.
adding rock, cycling, food/light changes, etc.
should pass in week or so.
just keep up good water quality and reg. h2o changes.
keep asking see what othrs say.:happyfish

 

[beth]

Diatoms are actually not algae at all; they are single-cell shelled organisms with cell walls containing silica. They eat common nutrients in aquaria to build its silica-based shells. Thus, the more nutrients in the aquaria, the more diatoms. These microscopic colonies are brown-tan films that you see form on the aquarium glass, rocks, sand. Less nutrients in the water, particularly nitrate, phosphate, silica, will reduce the populations of diatoms. However, in FOWLR and reef tanks, these organisms are actually a viable food source for desirable snails. If you are having a serious problem, test your water to make sure the source water is devoid of nitrates and phosphates and even silica. You can always get snails that prey on diatoms.
Cyano is another storey. Again, not exactly an "algae". Cyanobacteria tends to form sheets. Thus, if you have colonies on your substrate, you will note that they come off in sheets. Almost like taking a layer of skin off the surface or where it is growing. If the colonies are thick enough, they may also grow in to long stringy strands that wave in the current. There are very few predators for cyano. It is up to the hobbyists to find out why it is out of control in their tank and fix the problem. There are many topics here on this that you can do a search on.

 

[btieu]

yes beth, what you describe is diatoms. its not that serious in my tank yet, but enough to bother me. so these diatoms are not hazardous to then tank? what kind of snails eat these stuff?
i shall change my water tomorrow and see any result. what are the percentage of water i should take out when i changed it?

 

[oyam1]

are the fish still alive.
diatoms (OK they are not algie) should pass.
keep up the good water quality

 

[btieu]

well....2 fish have die from not eating. what is the casue of that? the other 6 are still doing great. i check my salinity last night and it was reading high. so i decided to changed out the whole water system in my hypo tank. what is the cause of that?
im going to do the same thing with my display tank as well over the weekend. is it best if i change the whole water system or should i do half/half? thanks for your concern oyam1

 

[oyam1]

stress is the killer
did the tangs make it?
check evaporation, do you have a top on the tank.
are you preping the water 2 days before adding to tank?
if you mix and add, the salinity will be off.
i would not dump all my water, if hi Na is the only problem.
just add water (with no salt) 1gal at a time till you get good salt level. do you use tap or RO/DI water.

 

[oyam1]

stress is the killer
did the tangs make it?
check evaporation, do you have a top on the tank.
are you preping the water 2 days before adding to tank?
if you mix and add, the salinity will be off.
i would not dump all my water, if hi Na is the only problem.
just add water (with no salt) 1gal at a time till you get good salt level. do you use tap or RO/DI water.

 

[oyam1]

any up-date?
tangs?
other fish?
did the eel jump yet? LOL
let us know....

 

[xenomorph]

From my research on tangs, the most common problem I have heard is that they stress easily. Pick up some garlick and start soaking your feed in it before you give it to your fish. Garlick is a imuno booster and a great preventative. One my LFS feeds garlick regularly and has yet to get ick that I have seen. I have also seen a fish ick free after only two days treatment. Added to your water works but even better if you get them to ingest it. good luck, and remember, in this hobby, there is no one set way. just imagine trying to explain some of todays techniques to hobbiest ten or twenty years ago and they call you a fool. Just be prepared if you do need to jump to a larger tank and allow it to cycle completely first.

 

[btieu]

thanks for the info XenoMorph. i do have some garlic extreme from kent. and boy, that is some strong accent. i appreciated that you sharing your research with me!!
and as for my updates. one of my tang and a goby did die from not eating. and the eel havent jump out yet. hehe...but everytime i come home, the first thing i do is look for the eel. and if hes hiding in caves that i dont see, i look on my floor.
i have replace all of my water from the display tank. so the only thing thats in there are my eel, star fish, shrimp, cleaner crews and corals. i will put the rest of my fishes back into the tank maybe at the end of this week. they all seem healthy and ick free.:happyfish

 

[oyam1]

to bad you lost 2, but it my help the others.
less fish will = less stress.
think about adding the 2 tangs first (for a week) to see how they do. also if your doing hypo you are going from 19SG to a reef with 28SG. i would ask beth about bringing SG up slow.
dont need to add more stress.:happyfish

 

[btieu]

yeah, it sucks that 2 of my fishes died. and you are right oyam1, it will reduce the stress for my other fishes. and what you mean by going from a 19SG to a reef with 28SG. ehhe...not familiar with these "so call" term
ok, what should i do in this situation. my ht salinity is reading 1.018, and my display tank is reading 1.022. should i mix another bucket of salt water in between those salinity and replace half or 2/3 into the ht tank and leave the fish in there for another week then put them back into the display tank one by one? :notsure:

 

[btieu]

SG = Salinity Gravity?

 

[oyam1]

thats what i was talking about.
going low salt to hi salt.
dont wana stress the fish out.
.018 to .022 is not so bad.
do as you would a new fish comming in for the first time.
.022 is low for a reef .028 IMO.
good luck:joy:

 

[btieu]

oh, ok then. thanks oyam1. i will raise the salinity up in my reef tank. what is the easiest way to do that?

 

[oyam1]

keep asking others.
i have had good luck at .026-.028.
other local reef keepers, also like .026-.028.
see what others say on SWF.com.:yes:

 

[btieu]

yeah, i did ask around about the salinity on reef tanks. they suggested around 35 :happyfish