Tang Question??

[fst4wrd]

180g fowlr:
Have an Atlantic Blue roughly 4in. I have read that it is difficult to keep and they do not do well in captivity and they prefeer another tang over being solitary.
So considering a Chevron or Kole to add to the tank, is this a good idea????
Also any other info on the atlantic blue would be great, 1st tang Ive ever had.
Other tank mates include:
paired maroon goldstripe clowns, bluejaw trigger, niger trigger, foxface, and dogface puffer.

 

[mr llimpid]

Chevron is a great tang, I have one myself and the kole is nice too and cheaper. Both are timed tangs and will do great with the Atlantic. They are different spices but similar body shape, so add with caution and have back up plan. I hope you have a QT this fish is prone to getting ick. As for feeding feed plenty of nori and veg. food. Good luck .

 

[fst4wrd]

TY,
Is it the Atlantic that is very prone to Ick or all tangs in general ? I have read the kole and cheveron are very hardy.
LFS said the Atlantic was hardy when I purchased him and everything was great until he experienced his first maintanence in my tank, since then I'm pretty sure he has ick and my puffer has some traces also. Both are eating very well and showing no signs of stress. Going on 9 days now.
LFS did not want me to treat to just keep them fat and healthy, said QT tank would stress them out even more. Have 2 UV's that have been running and still no signs of ickless fish.
No QT tank or sump or anything, the tank is all I have.
Feeding schedule =
Formula one flake, SF bay mysis freeze dried, & green garlic seaweed daily.
SF Bay Krill every other day with the above included.
Water =
Temp 79
Salt 1.022
PH 8.0
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 10

 

[mr llimpid]

Quote:
Originally Posted by FsT4WrD http:///t/395857/tang-question#post_3525438
TY,
Is it the Atlantic that is very prone to Ick or all tangs in general All tangs, they have very thin slim coat making it easy for ick to penetrate? I have read the kole and cheveron are very hardy.
LFS said the Atlantic was hardy when I purchased him and everything was great until he experienced his first maintanence in my tank, since then I'm pretty sure he has ick and my puffer has some traces also. Both are eating very well and showing no signs of stress. Going on 9 days now.
LFS did not want me to treat to just keep them fat and healthy, said QT tank would stress them out even more. They are wrong. Ick will continue multiple until the fish are dead. Have 2 UV's that have been running and still no signs of ickless fish. UV will only kill what passes thru it and you never pass 100% of your tank water thru it.
No QT tank or sump or anything, the tank is all I have. I would place all your LR in a plastic tube with a heater and power head and do Hypo on your tank. Ick will never go away on its own it will only multiple with every cycle.
Feeding schedule =
Formula one flake I would switch to spectrum mine are doing great and colors have improved, SF bay mysis freeze dried switch to frozen better for them, & green garlic seaweed daily.
SF Bay Krill Krill is no good switch to plankton better for there diet.every other day with the above included.
I would also add the nori on a clip (roll it like a cigarette) tangs like to graze.
Water =
Temp 79
Salt 1.022
PH 8.0
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 10 Prams look good for fish only tank.

 

[fst4wrd]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr LLimpid http:///t/395857/tang-question#post_3525447
TY again

Will switch the food up, ditch the krill all together? My puffer and triggers go crazy over it. (have to hand feed the puffer so he can even have some)

 

[mr llimpid]

Quote:
Originally Posted by FsT4WrD http:///t/395857/tang-question#post_3525449
TY again

Will switch the food up, ditch the krill all together? My puffer and triggers go crazy over it. (have to hand feed the puffer so he can even have some)
Forgot about that you said you had puffers and triggers definitely ditch krill, but do add raw shrimp with shells and you need to add claims or mussels(from the market, try to get the ones that are open or close when touched) they are still alive. Add the hole claim to tank(for puffer) other will eat it too. Puffers will need hard shell foods to keep its beak filled down. Triggers need hard foods as well but not as hard as puffers.

 

[fst4wrd]

Busy day, just started the hypo, raised temp to 81. Went out and bought a 20 gal tank and have that started to put my LR in and my anemone hermit in so I can treat the big tank. (Yes I have a hermit with a dogface, think my dogface is part of the mastiff breed...he is pretty dumb and the anemone hermit kicks his butt everytime he comes close)

 

[deejeff442]

hey i have a mastiff and he is far from dumb.imo raising the temp really dont help.it is supposed to make the life cycle of ich go faster but it dont. you still need to hypo for 4-6 weeks.

 

[fst4wrd]

No offense to the mastiff

, TY for the temp info. I am also using cupramine.

 

[deejeff442]

i gets a little tricky useing both. i would just do hypo. over the years i have done it both ways and hypo is easier and safer.i have a friend who has a tank in hypo for 3 years with fish and no problems. i wouldnt do it myself but a neat experiment

 

[mr llimpid]

Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///t/395857/tang-question#post_3525532
i gets a little tricky useing both. i would just do hypo. over the years i have done it both ways and hypo is easier and safer.i have a friend who has a tank in hypo for 3 years with fish and no problems. i wouldnt do it myself but a neat experiment
Second on the copper & hypo should do both. As for the hypo for 3 years, not good for fish, long term it put a strain on there kidney's. Salt water fish drink water because there body salt is lower than the water. When you lower the salt now there body is higher than the salt so water is absorbed through the body tissues and they also drink water because nature tells them to, this make there kidneys work harder and long term puts strain on them.

 

[fst4wrd]

OK this is starting to suck, seems like my Atlantic blue tang has gotten worse since starting the hypo and cupramine. All others: Maroon clowns no signs acting normal, same goes for foxface, bluejaw trigger and niger trigger.
Dogface is acting normal nothing has changed with him, still has ich spots on 2 fins. This really sucks 1st SW tank, 6 months in, add a tang and seems I am going to lose everything now.
Pics of Tang (out of the display tank and in to the 20gal)

 

[deejeff442]

you really are not supposed to use copper on puffers. that on the tang is stress. when i do hypo i always up the water flow. just something i do not really a reason but you dont want any dead spots in the tank.also with you leaving live rock didnt you get an ammonia spike?how deep is the sand? imo over 1 inch and hypo or copper dont work as well. sand and rock will absorb the copper making the keeping of levels right very tough.

 

[mr llimpid]

I second deejeff442, the tang is being stressed, moving to smaller tank and the hypo/copper treatment. You need to remove the live rock and sand, all living creatures on or in those items will die causing ammonia spikes. Add some PVC to tank so he and others can hide.

 

[fst4wrd]

Well, 4 weeks later and down 4 fish. Foxface & Niger trigger swimmin and eating, dogface swimming but not him self (not the normal puffer excitment and not eating) for about a week. Not moving anything to the QT it seems like the QT is the place to die. Copper has been removed from the tank, just using metronidazole. Its been a great hobby for 6 out of the 7 months but really at a loss on what to do. Everything I have tried seemed to just kill everything off except for the ich. Now have no idea if it will ever go away, if I will ever be able to add fish again and if the 3 I have left will survive. Offered to pay LFS's to help but seems like there only interested in doing maintence and stuff (No fishtank doctors in Vegas I guess). Sucs love the SW tank but at the point to just give up because I hate to lose fish especially given the price of SW fish. Guess I should have started with a Nano instead of going for the gold with the 180.

 

[geridoc]

DO NOT GIVE UP!!!! We all have been where you are right now, and have gone on to enjoy this amazing hobby. Have you checked the pH of the qt? Hypo lowers the buffering capacity of the water, so that very commonly the pH is altered, and that is very stressful to the fish. Most hobbyists who have an ich outbreak in their tank panic when the white spots don't go away immediately, but this is normal. The drugs or hypo don't kill all the ich organism in all of its lifecycle stages - they are very specific, so you can expect to see continued infection for a period of time as the organisms already on the fish complete their cycle and appear as white spots. Eventually, they will mature, fall off of the fish and die in a later stage of life. Just stay the course with your treatment and monitor water parameters.

 

[mr llimpid]

Also to add if you are using copper you must test for copper with the manufactures test kit and keep the level at there recommended dose or it wont kill ick. Note some fish do not respond well to copper.

 

[fst4wrd]

Sorry for the delayed response, was in AZ all week working. Very cool thing tho, the puffer loves my wife (fish must think im the grim reaper with everything thats been going on) he finally started eating again. Started coming out for her and she hand feed him all week. I flew home today to see that all 3 are out swimming, eating and I was shocked to see the puffer will now swim up to my wifes hand and rub against it. I have seen the petting dogface puffer videos but never thought I would see ours that outgoing and turn into a cuddler in a week. (not petting him tho, Ive read human contact is not good when they are fighting off ich)
Still crossing my fingures tho, I figure this is just part of the cycle. Foxface and niger are clean.

 

[mr llimpid]

After all fish free of white spots for a week then the ick is actual gone and safe to raise salinity back to normal. Then I still wait a week to see if they stay ick free. Then it will be safe to return to DT, as long if its been fish less for 6 weeks.