Can I save my yellow tang?

[guitarfish]

No visible ich on any fish. The only one with it was the flame angel, who was covered with the stuff. She died almost immediately when put in the QT, presumably she was very weak as it is. She was removed immediately.
THIS is a picture of the QT itself - 20g, lots of PVC, back, bottom, and sides all covered with black vinyl to give that closed in feeling. HOB 170GPH biowheel filter, heater, and normal output flourescent lighting.

 

[beth]

So, you never saw ich on the tang? How long has it been since you saw ich on the other fish?
What about the other fish? What is their status?

 

[guitarfish]

Nope, never saw ich on the tang.
The others:
Clarkii clown - has been subdued, not easting as much as normal, not swimming as much as normal. I attribute this to the different environment.
Psuedochromis fridmani - behaving normally, that is, hiding most of the time, darts out and grabs some flakes when they appear, that's about it.
Blue yellowtail damsel - behaves normally - cautious, stays near PVC, but eats normally.
In the display, I saw a spot or two of ich on the chromis and the damsel, but nothing more. They've been ich free for over a week now.

 

[guitarfish]

Well, here are some tang pics. Between the camera not liking the glass when trying to focus, and the fish moving, it ain't easy. You'll see some discoloration on the sides of the fish. This, plus heavy breathing, and listing to the side from time to time (not constant) are the symptions. Anything that appears like a white spot in the fish is likely something on the glass, not the fish.
TANG1
TANG2
TANG3

 

[beth]

He has a significant bacterial infection. See if you can start treatment with Maracyn Two for saltwaterfish ASAP. Use double dose the first day. Just before each redose, do a little water change, then redose.
Hopefully, you'll be able to begin treatment early tomorrow.

 

[guitarfish]

I happen to have Maracyn 2 in my fishie med cabinet, and I know my wife is very capable if I tell her what to do. I'll get right to it.
THANKS !!

 

[beth]

If you can add surface circulation to the tank, that will be great. Antibiotics degrade water quality, which is why I suggest doing a little water change just prior to each redose. Maybe add another small PH there.
Let us know how the tang is doing. Sure wish you could have posted those pics sooner. Hopefully, the tang will respond well.

 

[guitarfish]

OK here's what I did...I removed the carbon from the filter cartridge and put the cartridge back in. I added an airstone to increase surface movement and oxygen level. I added the meds.
The fish seem the same as they did 48hrs ago, they don't look or behave any worse. My tang was very fat before this occurance, so I'm hoping she has enough reserves to make it. She still looks much better than she did when I first acquired her, she was emaciated then.
Time will tell I guess. Thanks so much for the help Beth, I'll report back any news, hopefully good news.

 

[beth]

Airstone is worthly. See if you can get a small powerhead.

 

[guitarfish]

My powerheads are MJ 1200s, the fish freaked.
Instead I hooked up a spare HOB filter (125GPH) - there's lots of surface movement and air bubbles now, and the fish aren't going postal.

 

[beth]

Take off the airstone, that might cause more problems then helping. The added filter should work.

 

[guitarfish]

It's been almost 48hrs since the meds were added. The dark patches on the tang have almost all receded. Unfortunately she's still tends to float sideways or upside down on occasion, and she is still breathing fairly rapidly, and of course won't eat.
The clown hasn't eaten in days. He looks perfectly normal, breaths normal, swims normal. I toss in flakes, he goes right up to them, takes a buit, spits it out, and that's it. This is another fish that is real fat and used to eat ravenously.
The chromis and damsel continue to eat & behave normally. All water params look good.

 

[beth]

Sorry to hear this, Guitar. The tang was so long with out the treatment. What a difference just a picture makes. Are you doing the water change just before each redose?
Can I take the pics of your tang for the Diseased Fish Thread?

 

[guitarfish]

I didn't do a WC last night when administering dose #2, as the parameters looked good, but I plan to do one tonight.
You may use any of the pics I've posted, certainly.

 

[beth]

Do you have a grounding probe in the QT? If not, put one in.

 

[guitarfish]

Well, I've lost the battle, I'm sorry to say, my tang is now more. Lessons learned on my part for sure. Thank you for your help Beth, I will learn from this experience, that's for sure. When I'm ready for my next fish, they will go through a 30 day QT, then into an ich-free tank. Any new additions will be QT'd from now on, including snails, macros, corals, etc.

 

[beth]

Sorry to hear the bad news, Guitar. Too long without the antibiotics.
Your future plan is the way to go, believe me. How are the other fish doing?

 

[guitarfish]

The clown hasn't eaten in 4 days or so. Strange, he was eating, but now just takes a flake, spits it out. The chromis and the damsel were eating up until Thursday, now all of a sudden, they too - take a flake, spit it out.
Ammo-0, trites-0, pH 8.2, temp 80, salinity 1.009. Very stable for the last week. Lots of filtration and water movement going.
I've had all these fish for almost 2 years.

 

[beth]

How long have they been in hyposalinity? And how long has it been exactly since you have seen ich on the fish?
Of course, stop treating with antibiotics at this point.
Do you have any hiding places for the fish in that QT?
What are you using to measure salinity?
Flakes are not the best choice for food. Can you try some brine shrimp, frozen or live.

 

[guitarfish]

I put some carbon in last night to remove the meds. The fish have been in hypo for 10 days. I haven't seen ich on them since about 2 weeks ago when they were in the display, and even then it was only a spec or two. I use a refractometer, calibrated with RO water, to measure salinity.
I have 6 pieces of PVC of various sizes for them to hide, in addition to the back and sides being covered. I tried some frozen formula 1 yesterday, same response. Puzzling. They were eating fine, now they aren't.
The display has been fallow for 16 days, it's premature to think about returning them yet or taking them out of hypo I think.