ich!

[fish n ont]

This is becoming increasingly trying, I come home today to see that my tang has white spots on his fin...by the picture ich for sure! ok, what the hell, does everyone go through this??
I know I have to treat him and I read all of Beth's posts, unfortunately it will be almost impossible to get him from the tank. he is way to fast and for me to pull all the rock out of there would be crazy. Anyone have suggestions, I also read about reef safe treatments, anyone had luck?
This hobby is becoming more and more expensive.

 

[beth]

Fish, you ask if anyone else goes through this? YES...just about everyone, unfortunately. Those pictures in the Diseased Fish thread all come from hobbyist posting in this forum.
You can try the reef safe stuff, but they aren't that reliable.
Ultimately, I think you will need to bite the bullet, remove the rock, and treat the fish in a QT, or keep the rock in a holding area while you treat your whole tank [with hyposalinity]. Or, let the fish die.
The ultimate answer is to Quarantine all new fish. That is the only way to avoid this problem in the future.

 

[fish n ont]

Beth, I really appreciate all your time...thanks so much.
Do you know of any examples of reef safe treatments. The picture of the Naso in your post is almost Identical, it seems to be in the early stages..Im going to begin to mix garlic in the food tonight, I've been feeding the tang a small cube of mysis shrimp and some romain lettuce and broccoli everyday. He seems to be doing great...very curious and active, I hate to let him die. If the garlic and reef safe treatment does not work I will definitely "bite the bullet" and clear out my aquarium. Reading someone elses post it says that the life span of Ich without fish in the tank is 27 days....is this true?

 

[beth]

Fish, rid ich or any of those meds. However, these just are not full-proof at all.
Is it totally out of the question to adequately treat your fish?

 

[fish n ont]

I mixed garlic in with the shrimp yesterday, to tell you the truth last night I only noticed a couple specs on his fin. It is inevitable that this will spread?
I will treat the fiah adequetly once i am positive there is no alternative...I really have a lot of rock and coral I would have to move...it would be a real mess.

 

[beth]

Like 99%, but there is always a small chance. Feeding with garlic might up your odds.