help please

[dicemanj]

First of all I have a55 gallon, 35lbs live rock, all water paramaters are fine, nitrate is about 10-15, salt, 1.021. My yellow tang has what I believe is ick. White bumps on his face and body. The best thing to do is probably put him in a QT. I do not have one as of yet. I have 10 gallon that is not set up. I could take water from my display tank to fill it and do a water change in my 55 gallon. Will this work. What do i need in the QT. Heater, CC, filter? How long should he be in the QT, what should the salt level be in both tanks? As you can see I want as much information on this.
Another question, what is the best way to mix water, I am currently adding salt in a bucket with a small power head to mix the salt. Is there a better way to do this.
If the tang is the only fish to show signs of ick, will the rest of the fish be okay, or do I need to do something with them also?
Thanks in advance

 

[007]

I think that putting your tang into a 10 gallon QT will do more harm than good based on the sheer size of the tank.
All hope is not yet lost . . . start by soaking your foods in garlic before you add them as this will help to boost the fish's immune systems. And feed them often as well to help them fight off any disease.
What exactly are all the other living things in the tank?
As for mixing salt, add the RO water to the bucket, throw a powerhead in the bottom aiming up for maximum circulation, and SLOWLY add salt. The slower you add the better to avoind precipitation of Ca and buffer supplements, but yes this method works very well for mixing salt.

 

[dicemanj]

Thanks 007, the rest of the fish look good, actually the tang looks better now than it did this morning. Not to ask a goofy question, but how do you soak food in garlic? Is there garlic juice, or what. The garlic I am used to is dry, or fresh garlic. Do I take the frozen food and let is soak in the garlic? I want to make sure I am not doing any harm. I was also going to do a small water change today, should i hold off on this until the tang is looking better?
Thanks

 

[007]

water changes can be beneficial at this point. They will help remove some of the parasites in the water column.
For garlic, there is a product available at most LFS or online that is a liquid form of garlic extract that you can soak foods in.
It is also helpful for getting picky fish to eat. I know that Kent makes one for sure, but other companies I am not sure.
Here is an example

 

[shrkbait]

if your tang is only 2"-3" you could get away with putting him into the 10 gall...problem is it would need to cycle first.
To get a real quick quarantine up...
-Use a mesh bag used for media and place some Live Sand from your display into it=instant bio filter. You can take a small piece of LR from your system as well.
-Next add a internal,submersable filter with sponge media=will colonize with bacteria in a week or two=increase bio filter
A quarantine will need a heater to keep the temp same as your display. The quick filter should handle the fishs bio waste. You may want to think of getting a hang on mini filter with bio wheel.
An air stone and a good place to hide will be necessary.
Identify the disease...it could be marine velvet or a tumor type growth that is similar to ick. Go to the disease forum and get info.
Once you got your emergency quarantine up you can place your tang in right away...msaybe wait a day or two.
IF you leave it in your display, it may infect the other fish and their is no way to treat it. Once in the QT you can dose it with copper or something to get rid of the disease. If your lose your fish...its only one fish and not the whole batch.(Once you dose the QT=all items in contact with water will need to be steralized with vinegar or bleach and the LR and LS will need to be thrown away when you are done).
Consider acclimating the tang to a low salinity QT with the above recomendations for the QT. Low salinity= 1.005 I think??
Otherwise, take you chances and hope for the best.

 

[birdy]

If you are going to QT your tang and treat it for ick, you need to do it for all of the fish in your tank. because the life cycle of the parasite includes a free floating form of larva. so even if you take the tang out and treat it, when you put it back in your tank it can just get re-infested, The best thing to do is take all your fish out and put them in a adequately sized QT tank, treat it with hyposalinity treatment (SEE DISEASE AND TREATMENT FORUM FOR SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS ON THIS) it is 1.009 not 1.005. But anyway, if you want to try garlic first and get a liquid form.