ick or tiny air bubbles?

[richard g]

I have a reef tank 2 months old. 3 days ago I added a brown tang. I was shocked this morning when I turned on the light and saw many tiny white spots on the tang. I .kept looking and after ten minutes all the spots were gone. Could ick disappear so quickly? The skin on the fish is slightly bumpy but have to look closely to notice. I used a magnify glass. The tank is highly aerated with many small bobbles through the tank. Since this has happened twice and looks the same; could these tiny white spots be bubbles that have collected on the fish over night and then go away when I turn on the light and the fish becomes active?

 

[shrimpy brains]

Welcome to SWF!
Yes, it could be the air bubbles. You really should figure out where the bubbles are coming from and stop them!
Yes, it could be ich, tangs are ich prone, but if it dissapears.........sand??
Also, I'm not sure about the Browns, but some Tangs sometimes appear to have spots.
How about a pic?

 

[richard g]

The bubbles are tiny and most are coming from the protein skimmer and some from the filter pump. Why would I stop them? Can to many harm the fish? It is a 100gal tank. I will see if the same thing happens in the morning.The bubbles are so small they look like a fog in the water. Water tests are good.

 

[mrdc]

I would also think about adding some vitamins to your food also like zoe, vita-chem, selcon, etc.
It might be sand or air bubbles but if it is ich and you can't qt him or dose the dt, I would help boost the fish immune system by adding vitamins.

 

[6stokes]

I'm pretty sure the bubbles can get caught in a fishes gill and kill it. I think larger bubbles may be okay, but someone else should clarify.