Tangs susceptible to ich

califishdude

califishdude

Member
I was just trying to see why tangs seem to be so susceptible to getting ich in the aquarium compared to other fish? The last time I had ich in my tank was in 1997 with a yellow tang. I just recovered my second battle with a regal tang. I searched and found results like poor diet and scales. I feed my good and he has a nice body and not skinny. Any ideas?
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
You will need to treat this fish, and other fish that have been exposed to the ich, preferably with hyposalinity.
Tangs have little contact with ich in the ocean, therefore, no need to develop natural immunities to the parasite. Mandarins, on the other hand, have constant contact with ich in the ocean, and therefore have excellent, though not total, immunity to ich.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Tangs have a thin slime coat, I don't believe you can build up an immunity to a parasite, I think the genetics of a fish determine if it has scales or not and the thickness of its slime coat. But then again i guess over years a species can develop a thicker slime coat as a way of protection from constant infestations
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3246603
But then again i guess over years a species can develop a thicker slime coat as a way of protection from constant infestations
Exactly right. Tangs have a thinner slimcoat because in nature they don't have much need for it. They can out swim any parasite, and do. A mandarin, on the other hand, does need it to survive, because it is a bottom dwelling animal (as is ich) and it is a sluggish swimmer--an easy target for ich. The mandarin has developed natural immunity to ich as a species for this reason, the tang has not.
Perhaps in a million years, after hobbyist beat the surgeonfish species to death with exposure to ich outbreaks in confined areas, tangs too would have developed this natural immunity.
 
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