sick tang

[daisysmom]

I have a yellow tang that is relatively new (just a couple weeks) and it has developed brownish/red dots all over it's body. It has lost much of its color and although it is still eating it's not swimming much or very well. I took the fish back to pet store to see if they could tell me what is wrong and they thought it has a fungus. (didn't know what kind) I bought PimaFix and am using it for 3 days now. Tang hasn't gotton worse but hasn't improved at all. Is there any hope for him?

 

[who dey]

red dots or reddish color on the skin. If it's a reddish color on the skin then it's safe to say he has a bacterial infection and can take over and kill very quickly

 

[daisysmom]

That's what I was afraid of since it looks like he won't make it till morning. Thanks for your input

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by daisysmom
I have a yellow tang that is relatively new (just a couple weeks) and it has developed brownish/red dots all over it's body. It has lost much of its color and although it is still eating it's not swimming much or very well. I took the fish back to pet store to see if they could tell me what is wrong and they thought it has a fungus. (didn't know what kind) I bought PimaFix and am using it for 3 days now. Tang hasn't gotton worse but hasn't improved at all. Is there any hope for him?
I was told it was a fungus on my Kole tang, sounds like the samething, brownish/red dots all over. I set up the QT tank for it and fed it high quality food and treat the tank with some sort of fungus meds, can't remember what it was. I also did the freshwater dip on him, lots of parasites fell off of him. He begin to improve over 3 weeks period then on the fouth week I move him back to his original tank and he got the samething all over again, not sure why, no one else in the tank had it but him. Try to treat it the second time, but he didn't make it the second time. Hope yours would do better then mine. Good Luck! :happyfish

 

[daisysmom]

I'd like to try a freshwater dip for my tang but don't know what to do. Can you please advise? Thanks much

 

[aquapro_1]

Make sure when using freshwater you treat it to remove unwanted metals!!
Then you place the fish into the water for 2 minutes. Return fish to qt & throw away the water. Most of the parasites would have jumped ships. But not ALL!! Keep treatment up!!
This proceedure does not kill the fish. If he does leave us, the damage was too severe and the parasites did their job, well.

 

[1journeyman]

Use RO/DI water. That way you don't have to worry about metals or any other impurities.
Make sure to buffer pH to that which your tank is at.
Make sure temp. is the same.
Fenner recommends a 5 MINUTE dip. Watch the fish closely for signs of distress and be prepared to rescue it early.

 

[aquapro_1]

I have always read freshwater dips....no salt. That is why the parasites jump ship/fish???
Thus the name itself is a "freshwater dip"???? Freshwater??
I will agree on RO/DI IS better than tap, but most beginners don't access it until later....

 

[1journeyman]

I didn't say not to use freshwater.... I didn't say anything about using salt...
Most beginner's BETTER have access to RO/DI water (you can buy it at any grocery store, Wal Mart, etc.) or else they are in for more problems.

 

[aquapro_1]

Yes #1 you are correct about the PH!!
To prepare a proper freshwater dip, take either dechlorinated tap water or demineralized water (RO or DI), aerate for an hour to maximize dissolved oxygen, heat to match the temperature of the dip water to that of the tank water, and then add buffering compounds to match the freshwater pH to your saltwater pH. The aeration should continue throughout the dip. It is crucial to match temperature and pH and to maximize dissolved oxygen. Most people that experience problems with freshwater dipping have made an error in these critical parameters.
The recommended duration of the dip varies from author to author because different species of marine fish tolerate freshwater to different degrees. Generally speaking, any dip less than two minutes is useless. Many fish will easily tolerate five, ten, even fifteen minutes or more. The least tolerant fish are wrasses, lionfish, pufferfish, drumfish, hi-hats, jackknives, firefish and many of the scaleless fish as a rule (Calfo, pers. comm.). I also choose not to dip lionfish, foxfaces, or any other venomous fishes because I don't want a flying torpedo of spines to come shooting out of a dip bucket at me. A lionfish has stung me before, and it is not an experience I ever wish to relive
I spoke to a lot of beginners & they spend so much money on the set up & etc, they use chemicals instead of RO/DI....
I bought the RO/DI right after my tanks & setthem up....But I had an endless money...

 

[1journeyman]

Thanks for agreeing with me. I try to be right as much as possible

The problem is dechlorinating water doesn't remove metals. It also doesn't remove all forms of chlorine. RO/DI water is a must...

 

[bunnyl99]

I heard freshwater dips are a last ditch effort & normally end up w/a dead fish anyways. I thought you were supposed to treat w/pimafix for 7 days??