tangs in trouble

[ackermsb]

I recently had a parasite enter my tank through another fish I added. Or at least, since I added the fish, both of my tangs have been "diseased". My yellow tank is freakin' out, scratching his side and has developed drown spots on the top of his head (he also managed to rip his fin), and now my naso tang is not looking all that great. He has white stuff coming out of his gills. Does anybody know what that could be?
My plan right now is to do two water changes this week but if anyone has any suggestions by all means, I would love to heat them?
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10 - 20+
ph - normal
Salinity - 1.022
Alk - 3.5
Calc - 350
tank: 180G, 110LR, 400LS, yellow tang, naso tang, 2 clarki clown's, frogspawn

 

[sov82]

You have what sounds like Ich. Read the FAQ at the top of this forum (Disease and Treatment). To effectively treat Ich, a quarantine tank running in hyposalinity is the best way to solve the problem.

 

[ackermsb]

This may be a stupid question but if Im setting up a QT and use the water from my main tank, why would there be a cycle?

 

[sov82]

Your QT will lack live rock and sand most likely. While you may not have a full fledged cycle, you may have a mini-cycle which can cause damage to the fish.
I've recently upgraded a 29 to a 45 (not because of Ich). We even changed substrate. There was no cycle because we used 29 gallons of old tank water and we put live rock in there.
I now have a QT up. I used main tank water. Im still fighting ammonia at low levels. I do a 20% water change per day to keep ammonia close to 0.

 

[beth]

Do you see any spots on the fish? Ich spots? Or are they just itching? It sounds like one tang is getting HLLE. What is the nitrate level in your fish tank? Do you have a grounding probe?
Take a look at the Diseased Fish Thread at the top of this forum. Look at the pics on ich and HLLE.

 

[ackermsb]

I don't see any ich spots on my fish like I saw in the pics at the top of this forum. The black ich could be a possiblity for my yellow tang as he has brownish spots on above his eyes and below his fin. He seems to liek to hang right in from of the powerhead as a way to ease the pain.
The naso has a little white string (pretty small) clearly coming out of his gills. I will try to get a pic of it. I have a digi but dont know what settings to use. Any advice?
Thanks

 

[sov82]

Sorry, I misread "brown spots" as "white spots". If the spots are brown, it doesnt sound like ich.