Flukes? My fish are sick!

[irish cream]

Hi all! Well, I have a 37 gallon eclipse tank. currently, it holds a yellow tang, panther grouper, and 4 porkfish. i have had the fish about 3 weeks, but the tank is about 3 months old. my original fish all died off about a month ago from what i originally thought was ick. one at a time they went, it started as small little white growths (barely visible), and within a day, grew over the whole body, and then they would die. i lost them one at a time, while the fish store told me it was ick all along. i treated, but it didn't work. went to a better store for my new fish, they said it sounded like flukes, and to change my filter (i did) and treat the tank (i did), then change at least 50% of the water (i did) wait a week or two, and then get more fish. Well, i did and now a few of those fish are showing the white specks real small on them (2 porkfish and 1 tang). i treated tonight, but how long will it take to cure or is this even my problem? i am new to this hobby this year, and i feel bad for my fish, what can i do? thanks everyone!!
marty =)

 

[irish cream]

any ideas?

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by Irish Cream
any ideas?
Yes.
Just my opinions.
I believe the tank is way too small for any of those fish. They are getting stressed which disables their immune system. They they get sick as parisites take advantage of the supressed immune system and kill the fish.
I repeat... I believe your 37 gallon tank is too small to house even one of those fish let alone the combination. I suggest you try to take them all back and let the tank cycle again. Then get a pair of Clownfish or similarly sized fish.
Guy

 

[itchy]

Bang guy you couldn't have said it better.
Irish I know the fish you have are beautiful and we all want them however the size of tank you have is not large enough. Tangs need lots of room to swim and when they become confined they become stressed which weakens their immune system making them prone to diseases. Of course most LFS will not tell consumers this as they want to make the sell. The tank you have would be great for a pair of Clowns or some Firefish...firefish are very colorful and have a great personality. They will also school together so please keep this in mind. If you are dead set on having these other fish please upgrade your tank to accomidate them.
As for the parasite the best thing to do would be to let the tank go fallow(empty) for 6-8 weeks. This will give any parasite time to die off as there is not host for them to thrive on. You can do a search on thsi board for hypo or parasite treament and get some great info from the experts.