sick hippo tang

[calvindo]

okay.... i have a week old tank, still cycling... i know i know.. what the heck am i doing with a tang, only a week into cycling. make a long story short, he hitched hiked along with a bunch of lr i purchased last week. I asked the lfs to baby sit him for awhile, but their store policy will not allow it.
he's showing signs of ick! kinda look like small salt grains on this body and fins. he's eating fine and swims around most of the time.
my question is... since my tank is only a week old. how the heck did my tank got infected with ick? Unfortunately, i dont have a quarintine tank set up, yet.... what can i do to help the poor guy?

 

[beth]

The ich came in on the fish itself. To treat the fish, you will need a QT. Treat with hyposalinity. The procedure is explained in the FAQ thread above. Alternatively, you can use a rubbermaid holding tank and a PH to hold your LR while you treat the fish in the main tank. For setting up QT tips, also look in the FAQ thread above.
Its rare to get such a nice hitchhiker. Perhaps its a good sign. Take care of him.

 

[calvindo]

i just dont have the time to set up a quarantine tank at this point. I'm okay with him dieing, i'm just worried in the future, if i add fish to my tank, are they going to get infected? can ick stay in my tank and infect the next healthy fish i introduce into my tank?
thanks!

 

[beth]

Ok, with him dying....? That is too bad. This is a nice fish. You will need to leave your tank fishless for a month. Why don't you just GIVE the fish back to the LFS instead of asking him to babysit. I'm sure they will take it.

 

[buzz]

I have never heard of such an awesome hitchhiker, and am surprised it fit in a rock, nevertheless lived through transportation.
That is the best find I have heard of yet! My biggest find was some mini brittle starfish...
Don't let it die if you can avoid it. That would be a shame after all it has all ready gone through. Like Beth said, try giving it to the LFS instead of having them babysit.
How small is this fish?
My hippo was mauled by my emerald crab. Had a gaping wound in it's side, and lost a fin. But it's a fighter, and despite the fact I couldn't catch it to QT it, it healed up completely, and now is just minus one fin. After watching it go through all of that, I could never let it die without a fight...

 

[calvindo]

the lfs will not accept ANY fish, other then the ones they order. not to mention the poor guy has ick.
he looked worst last night before i went to bed. watching him die is the last thing i want to do. but there is really not much i can do... he still eats and swim around a lot... he's about 1 ich long, so i guess he's a baby still? i really hope he'll fight through this... I will check his status when i get home tonight and keep you all posted.
thanks!

 

[buzz]

I know it isn't the method of choice by far, and it works hit or miss, but Kick Ich worked for me, and I know it has worked for some others. It is 100% reef safe, and will not harm anything.
You have to follow the instructions exactly, and it isn't cheap to buy, but you can use it in your display tank.
If you can't get the fish out (I know what that's like), you may want to try that.
But then again, your tank is still cycling...I don't know how that will affect things.

 

[beth]

I will agree that the reef safe med is better than nothing, espeically when the option is letting the fish die off. That is a shame.
Also, feed the fish food that is soaked in fresh garlic.

 

[calvindo]

beth,
i feed him fresh chopped garlic the first day, he ate it. the second day, he wouldnt eat it.

 

[calvindo]

hey you guys... my tang is looking a little better.... i dont see much white spots on him anymore. hope he lives...

 

[azonic]

I doubt he was a hithchiker. My guess would be that you bought him yourself.
No LFS keeps blue tangs in their live rock tanks.

 

[tyr-sog]

Originally posted by Azonic
I doubt he was a hithchiker. My guess would be that you bought him yourself.
No LFS keeps blue tangs in their live rock tanks.

My LFS keeps plenty of fish in their LR tanks. Chill out.

 

[azonic]

Originally posted by Tyr-Sog
Chill out.

I wasn't aware that my post was in any way "heated" or angry...

 

[tyr-sog]

Originally posted by Azonic
I wasn't aware that my post was in any way "heated" or angry...
Not so much this thread but the other thread calvindo started on the same issue.

 

[scottnj]

not for nothing, but in the pics of my tank thread post in the new hobbiest section, I don't see any signs of a tang in the early pics of the tank. Maybe I am not seeing him, maybe its hiding, but he even posted day 2, no fish yet. Which leads me to go hmmmmm....
I do hope the fish makes it though, they are amazingly beautiful.
_Scott

 

[reefnut]

Originally posted by calvindo
I'm okay with him dieing
I'm sorry calvindo, but I truly hope you didn't mean that. Ya know I'm not a sentimental guy but when it comes to the health of the critters I would do a head stand in the tank and blow bubbles out of my nose if it would help... IMO, any hobbyist should go the length for their critters.

 

[calvindo]

Originally posted by Azonic
I doubt he was a hithchiker. My guess would be that you bought him yourself.
No LFS keeps blue tangs in their live rock tanks.

??? azonic... if you cant help, then please... there is no need for remarks like that. i dont have to prove anything.

 

[calvindo]

Originally posted by ScottNJ
not for nothing, but in the pics of my tank thread post in the new hobbiest section, I don't see any signs of a tang in the early pics of the tank. Maybe I am not seeing him, maybe its hiding, but he even posted day 2, no fish yet. Which leads me to go hmmmmm....
I do hope the fish makes it though, they are amazingly beautiful.
_Scott

sure... he was in the tank, when i took those pictures. again, if you cant help... zip it...

 

[calvindo]

Originally posted by ReefNut
I'm sorry calvindo, but I truly hope you didn't mean that. Ya know I'm not a sentimental guy but when it comes to the health of the critters I would do a head stand in the tank and blow bubbles out of my nose if it would help... IMO, any hobbyist should go the length for their critters.

i apologize... my words didnt come out correctly... i am doing all that i can to keep him healthy... he looks better and better everyday, i will keep you posted

 

[beth]

Ok, here is my position in this particualar forum. I have rarely seen hobbyst come to this forum to BS around. Its just not that much fun to do that here, since its not high traffic; however, even if someone is BSing around, I'd rather hold that judgement here until you are 100% SURE it is BS, else you might scare off someone who genuinely needs help.
That said, a very small hippo can very well lodge in a piece of LR and go totally unnoticed. I had a hippo this size once when I was keeping a FO. One day I took out one of my dead coralheads and forgot to the the usual head count. Yep, the little guy was lodged in the rock and I couldn't even see him. Thank goodness I remembered to do count the fish before I started to scrub down my dead coralhead! Common for these hippos to lodged in rock and go completely unnoticed.
Now, just because this fish's ich seems to be subsiding, don't be fooled into believing that the problem is over. Ich comes and goes....that is a part of its lifecycle. Also, don't feed the fish garlic. Soak the fish's food in garlic for around 30 mins, then feed the fish the food which has been soaked in garlic.