Considering a Blue Hippo Tang - Is Ich a guarantee?

[95harley]

I'm kicking around 1 more fish for my 240g and I love the Hippo, but I'm scared to death of putting an ich polluter in my tank.
Is having one of these a sure thing that you will bring it in your tank? Even with a FW dip, QT for a month, and Hypo.
If it is simply a sure thing I will keep looking...Thanks.

 

[m0nk]

I can only say that there is a very good chance you'll have a good chance of one getting ich, though if you QT properly you'll likely see it in the first few weeks and be able to take care of it with hypo before the hippo goes into your DT. They are ich magnets though, mine got it within 2 weeks and after treating with hypo, the poor fish ended up with HLLE from the hypo process stress, and that's even tougher to deal with, imo.

 

[kjr_trig]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but ick is viral correct? If you properly QT him, there is no way for your DT to just get ick out of nowhere...Its just like saying "don't go out in the cold too long, you will catch a cold"..this is not true, if you go out in the cold you will weaken your immune system and make yourself suseptable to catching a cold....Like I said someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I think ick is a bacterial virus, it has to be present for a fish to contract it.

You have a great set up Harley, I think you would be fine.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but ick is viral correct? If you properly QT him, there is no way for your DT to just get ick out of nowhere...Its just like saying "don't go out in the cold too long, you will catch a cold"..this is not true, if you go out in the cold you will weaken your immune system and make yourself suseptable to catching a cold....Like I said someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I think ick is a bacterial virus, it has to be present for a fish to contract it.

You have a great set up Harley, I think you would be fine.
Ich is a parasite that has a set life cycle. Fish can stave off a breakout while ich is present, but if the ich isn't able to attach to a host it will eventually die off. Each stage has a set livespan, so as long as you QT the hippo, with no outbreak, and your DT has none in a 6 week timeframe, you should be safe to assume ich won't be present. The only way to be 100% sure is to QT and hypo all incoming fish from beginning to end, but that is a ton of work and most of the time unnecessary.

 

[95harley]

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
You have a great set up Harley, I think you would be fine.

Thanks bud.
The problem with Ich is even when you don't see it or have any fish showing signs of it that doesn't mean it's not in there.
With that said mixxing in the wrong fish could start a breeding ground that could be disasterous and as stated above Hypoing large fish typically caused worse problems like HLLE and/or death.
I'll keep thinking about my options and won't rush. I'm also considering an Atlantic Blue Tang as well.

 

[m0nk]

Recently I discovered the Mimic Tang, which is an Acanthurus variety. They're really cool; they change colors and almost attempt to change shape to mimic other tangs or angels in the tank. I'm getting one of these sometime later this year...

 

[nigerbang]

If you do decide to get one, QT it for about 4-6 weeks and keep an eye out for any ick. Bout all you can do really

 

[kjr_trig]

Originally Posted by m0nk
Ich is a parasite that has a set life cycle. Fish can stave off a breakout while ich is present, but if the ich isn't able to attach to a host it will eventually die off. Each stage has a set livespan, so as long as you QT the hippo, with no outbreak, and your DT has none in a 6 week timeframe, you should be safe to assume ich won't be present. The only way to be 100% sure is to QT and hypo all incoming fish from beginning to end, but that is a ton of work and most of the time unnecessary.

Thanks Monk...good explanation, I actually thought it was a virus....I have been lucky enough to not ever have to deal with it in a saltwater tank (I am knocking on wood as I type).

 

[ccampbell57]

Harley - here is my opinion on these guys.
PROS:
They are strikingly beautiful, they are VERY active, and when healthy they are some of the most personable fish in trade.
CONS:
Like all tangs, they are ich magnets due to their scale pattern. They are very territorial (especially when they get bigger).
My Hippo is about 8.5" now (maybe bigger) and is awesome, BUT she gets ich everytime I put a new animal in the tank (regardless of how much QT I give them).
Contrary to everyone's fear, ich is not that bad. With a FOWLR system it is easily taken care of. I have had it 3 times now and never lost a fish. I always say that I am going to take my hippo out, but she is a mainstay in my tank and dont think that I ever could.

 

[florida joe]

Im going crazy from all this

can anyone understand that tangs are more susceptible to ick then most fish BUT can anyone understand if there is no ick present there can be no infestation and if your fish comes to you with ick hypo it brake the life cycle and you will have an ick free fish and thus an ick free DT when you introduce it into your DT

 

[al mc]

HArley...I have a Hippo in each of my DTs.(home and work). Neither tang or tank have Ich. I hypoed one for 4 weeks and used copper on the second one when hypo apparently failed. Both are doing well. I have introduced new fish and corals into each tank without seeing Ich on either after Qting corals and hypoing all fish. It is a royal PIA, but Florida Joe is correct. You can have Ich free systems and Ich free tangs. Just takes patience/work.

 

[sxy_kya_06]

Remember all fish are exposed to low levels of ich. Crytpocaryon will only attach itself to fish with low immine systems. if you do come across ich, treat is asap. Ich can also cause secondary infections to. my tank has had it twice, and i do not have a qt yet. everyone is still a live and well.

 

[kjr_trig]

Originally Posted by florida joe
Im going crazy from all this

can anyone understand that tangs are more susceptible to ick then most fish BUT can anyone understand if there is no ick present there can be no infestation and if your fish comes to you with ick hypo it brake the life cycle and you will have an ick free fish and thus an ick free DT when you introduce it into your DT

Thats what I was trying to say FJ

 

[ccampbell57]

I fully agree with what Joe is trying to say, BUT the issue is that you can QT your fish for an infinate amount of time and get them to be disease free, but when you add a new fish into the mix, NO matter how clean they are, if the others are stressed out by their arrival they will get sick. AND with tangs, when they get sick they get ich.
Ich is like humans getting the flu.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by ccampbell57
I fully agree with what Joe is trying to say, BUT the issue is that you can QT your fish for an infinate amount of time and get them to be disease free, but when you add a new fish into the mix, NO matter how clean they are, if the others are stressed out by their arrival they will get sick. AND with tangs, when they get sick they get ich.
Ich is like humans getting the flu.
Well, because ich is a parasite it's not really like humans getting the flu.

As long as the life cycle is broken it can be gone, completely, and if you hypo all incoming fish before putting them in the DT from the very first fish, you can avoid getting ich. Again, that's a lot of work and human error at any point along the way can cause ich to survive and end up in the DT. As long as the life cycle is broken, though, the chances of that little bit of ich ending up causing trouble are small.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by ccampbell57
I fully agree with what Joe is trying to say, BUT the issue is that you can QT your fish for an infinate amount of time and get them to be disease free, but when you add a new fish into the mix, NO matter how clean they are, if the others are stressed out by their arrival they will get sick. AND with tangs, when they get sick they get ich.
Ich is like humans getting the flu.
CC, that's not accurate.
Ich is a parasite. If you keep the parasite out of your tank (with proper QT) then no matter how stressed a fish gets (again provided new fish has been QT'd) it cannot get ich. Ich is not a virus like the Flu, It is a parasitic creature with a known life cycle. It is not airborne.
A stressed fish could quit feeding, die of stress, etc., but not from ich.

 

[95harley]

So that's really the question there....Are Hippos just easy to be attacked by Ich (if present) or do they always carry it and it pops out on them during moves/stress and can infect the rest of the tank.
Seems to me if you Hypo a fish and kill the parasite you eliminate the chance of spreading the parasite. But I hear so much about Hippos and Ich that wonder if it is something else?

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by 95Harley
So that's really the question there....Are Hippos just easy to be attacked by Ich (if present) or do they always carry it and it pops out on them during moves/stress and can infect the rest of the tank.
Seems to me if you Hypo a fish and kill the parasite you eliminate the chance of spreading the parasite. But I hear so much about Hippos and Ich that wonder if it is something else?
Tangs are prone to carry Ich. They are also prone to getting stressed and therefore falling victim more easily to Ich already present.
Rest assured, Tangs are not some kind of dark aquatic sorcerers that summon the parasite to infect your tank late at night

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Rest assured, Tangs are not some kind of dark aquatic sorcerers that summon the parasite to infect your tank late at night

 

[ccampbell57]

Thanks for the clarification Journyman! I QT all my fish for a minimum of 6 weeks and don't move them till I see 0 signs of sickness. I also do preventative copper and other meds like Furan-2 as a precaution. I have still gotten sick fish.
Maybe my tank has been touched by the dark hand of fate, but I nevertheless realize that if you never introduce it to the system, it will not just "magically" appear.
Harley - I think that the reason you hear about Hippos and ich so much is that they are more readily available in trade and most of the people that obtain the tangs are quite uneducated about saltwater fish and how to maintain an adequate system. You rarely hear of people getting these fish and putting them into a 100+ gallon tank. They usually are placed in a 30g when they are small or 55/75g as a medium size.
Also, the majority of people do not QT any fish as they dont have the space or the $ and place them straight into their tanks.