Tangs have ick

[bluefish]

I think I caught this early enough, but I'm new to this hobby and would like some advice. I always get different stories at the fish store and would like to become an infomred hobbyist!! My purple tang has a small white speck on him (has had it for 2 days) and I noticed 2 small white specks on my yellow tang. About two weeks ago my air conditioning went out. I kept the tank temp between 78 - 84, however, it did occasionally drop down to 73 - 74 b/c we had a cold front move through. I know this is the reason the tangs have developed ick. I have not started treating them yet b/c I just confirmed this last night. I have been told by the fish store to use cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasse (sp?) and also to prevent further outbreaks, soak their food in something called garlic extreme, that they sell. I do have live rock in the tank as well as invertebrates, so copper is out of the question and I would really rather not do a fresh water dip to the tangs since that would stress them out. Any suggestions would be great, this is the first disease I've had to deal with in my tank. The tangs are very healthy and are eating very well. Thanks!

 

[bluefish]

Ed,
Thanks for your help. I did not know about quarantining the fish before putting them in the main display, I don't even have a "hospital tank." I have had the fish in the tank for about 2 months now, so I don't know if this would have helped with the ich? So, it looks like the route I'm going to need to go is hyposalinity, b/c I really don't want my fish to die. I did a search on hyposalinity and I believe I have enough info to perform this procedure, however, I now need to understand how to set up a "hospital tank." I'm going to do a search on this, however, I may have some additional ques. So, using the cleaner shrimp and wrasse are out of the ques. for curing the ich??? Why would the people at the LFS tell me that this would work? Thanks for your help, it is much appreciated.

 

[beth]

And, in the event that you absolutely can not get the fish out of your tank for standard treatment, then, by all means do go with the biological cleaners [cleaner fish/shrimp] and the garlic extract. You can also use garlic gloves to soak the food in.
This is not a cure all, but if you only have a spec here and there on these fish, and you are lucky, it may work for you. In the future, QT fish before placing them in your tank!
Good luck!

 

[beth]

Apparently we posted at the same moment. I'm glad you're going to try to remove the fish and place them in a hospital tank. This is the better choice.
You can use the cleaners and the garlic. However, if you are going to treat the fish outside of the main tank, then wait on getting cleaners until after this outbreak. No need to introduce another fish to a disease.
In the meantime, you may want to read up on cleaner wrasses and consider some of the effects that removing them from their natural habitat has. Interesting reading and will enhance your knowledge about the hobby.

 

[bluefish]

The only fish in my tank right now that have the ich, or signs of it, are the tangs. Should I put all the fish through hyposalinity? Or should I place the fish that don't have ich in a separate tank and do hypsalinity on those that do have it and then let the tank itself sit fish free for a month? Is it at all possible that the ich could be cured with cleaning shrimp? Might it also help cure it if I did a water change? I have a very light case of ich, so far only one spot on purple tang and two spots on yellow tang.

 

[bluefish]

Thanks for the help, I started the garlic food last night and picked up two cleaner shrimp. I am going to purchase a small tank to set up a HT for possible future hyposalinity. I have been doing some research on here about setting up HT and QT, I am still a bit confused about the cycle method for this tank. Is this a tank I need to set up and allow it to go through a cycle and then just constantly keep it going for a possible need of it in the future. I feel very confident that my fish have a chance to beat this disease, they are all very strong and are eating very well. I bought garlic extreme and put 2 drops of that on their food last night (a cube of brine shrimp). Do you suggest I use more than that for the time being since they are trying to fight off ich? Thanks.