Yellow tang has black ich
- Thread starter loopy
- Start date
lefty
Active Member
Black ich can be cured early on with freshwater dips. I believe if you QTed all of your fish while doing occasional freshwater dips, your fish will be just fine. Black ich only has a life cycle of about ten days, but it can be passed directly from fish to fish. If the FW dips don't work, a series of three formalin dips will take care of the problem.
If the QT has traces of copper (that got absorbed into the silicone seals and such) your tang will be fine. It's just the prolonged exposure to the medicinal amounts that would harm your tang. Are you sure your fish all have ich? I was extremely paranoid many times throughout the past weeks with my firefish. At one time, I could've swore he had swollen gills, brooklynella, a variant of ich that could survive a salinity of 12 ppt, a worm, and swim bladder. Of course, he had none of those mentioned. This is what you get when you have knowledge on all of those things. It freaks you out. I think ignorance really is bliss sometimes.
Don't worry though. If they do have ich, that can actually be a good thing compared to what they might've had instead. At least you know how to effectively cure ich and what it is. This hobby can be very trying at times, but when everything is going smoothly, it makes you feel pretty darn good. :happyfish
-lefty
If the QT has traces of copper (that got absorbed into the silicone seals and such) your tang will be fine. It's just the prolonged exposure to the medicinal amounts that would harm your tang. Are you sure your fish all have ich? I was extremely paranoid many times throughout the past weeks with my firefish. At one time, I could've swore he had swollen gills, brooklynella, a variant of ich that could survive a salinity of 12 ppt, a worm, and swim bladder. Of course, he had none of those mentioned. This is what you get when you have knowledge on all of those things. It freaks you out. I think ignorance really is bliss sometimes.
Don't worry though. If they do have ich, that can actually be a good thing compared to what they might've had instead. At least you know how to effectively cure ich and what it is. This hobby can be very trying at times, but when everything is going smoothly, it makes you feel pretty darn good. :happyfish
-lefty
loopy
Member
well, I just read a fresh water dip is not the answer, only a last restort.
I could buy a tank, but I would still need a heater and a filter. Not now, can't afford it. 60 people to dinner here in a couple weeks for daughter's confirmation....all my money is going for that.
Any meds that will help that I can use with the live rock and inverts?
I just don't know what to do here. Don't need this stress.
There must be something.....the fish are getting their food soaked in garlic btw...have been for several days.
thanks.
I could buy a tank, but I would still need a heater and a filter. Not now, can't afford it. 60 people to dinner here in a couple weeks for daughter's confirmation....all my money is going for that.
Any meds that will help that I can use with the live rock and inverts?
I just don't know what to do here. Don't need this stress.
There must be something.....the fish are getting their food soaked in garlic btw...have been for several days.
thanks.
lefty
Active Member
A freshwater dip is effective for black ich if you do it while it's in its early stages. Most people on this site would only recommend a FW dip as a last resort with regular ich in the instance where it's impairing their breathing. But black ich isn't just a black version of regular ich. It's a flatworm that is transferred through bodily contact of one fish to another. But if you're unwilling to go this route, formalin dips will work as well.
Doesn't your current QT have a heater and filter you could use? There really isn't any effective medicine you could add to your tank to make it all go away. I wish that weren't so, but as it is, a QT is a must. What fish do you have?
-lefty
Doesn't your current QT have a heater and filter you could use? There really isn't any effective medicine you could add to your tank to make it all go away. I wish that weren't so, but as it is, a QT is a must. What fish do you have?
-lefty
loopy
Member
lefty, I am just afraid to do the fresh water dip....sounds risky....if it's my only option, I guess I'll have to do it.
Lefty, I have a tang...can't put her in the qt as their is copper in their and I have read here, that copper is bad for tangs. Also a coral beauty, a clown, a lawn mower blenny and a blue damsel. All these fish can't go in a ten gallon at once. I am cleaning the bottom today, hopefully getting rid of any young worms if they have developed. Any more advice is welcome!!!!!!!
(Lefty, you said 'can't you get a larger qt tank,' and then said I could use the filter and heater from my qt tank now....they are only good enough for a 10 gallon, wouldn't heat any more water than that, or filter it. Stuck between rock and hard place and really frustrated at the cost of this stinkin 'hobby'/stress inducer....I just am in one of those stinkin binds right now where I need to choose the most cost effective method cuz I am stinking broke. lol.
thanks for all your attention Lefty!!
Still need help!!!! Thanks.
Lefty, I have a tang...can't put her in the qt as their is copper in their and I have read here, that copper is bad for tangs. Also a coral beauty, a clown, a lawn mower blenny and a blue damsel. All these fish can't go in a ten gallon at once. I am cleaning the bottom today, hopefully getting rid of any young worms if they have developed. Any more advice is welcome!!!!!!!
(Lefty, you said 'can't you get a larger qt tank,' and then said I could use the filter and heater from my qt tank now....they are only good enough for a 10 gallon, wouldn't heat any more water than that, or filter it. Stuck between rock and hard place and really frustrated at the cost of this stinkin 'hobby'/stress inducer....I just am in one of those stinkin binds right now where I need to choose the most cost effective method cuz I am stinking broke. lol.
thanks for all your attention Lefty!!
Still need help!!!! Thanks.
lefty
Active Member
FW dips, in my humble opinion, aren't necessarily risky unless you have a fish that's weakened to the point of being near death, thus being unable to handle the dip. You may as well just go with the formalin dips then. Many people say they are less stressful than freshwater dips. Copper IS bad for tangs if and only if they are exposed to the medicinal amount for a prolonged period of time. That said, many people have treated their tangs with copper and the tangs suffered no side effects. Therefore, I have concluded that a tank with a very minimal amount of copper (meaning it was just left over from a previous dose) will not harm the fish in any way (courtesy of Bob Fenner).
Do you know anyone who might perhaps loan you any supplies for a larger QT? In terms of frugality, you could, theoretically, get by with the filter you already have if it is coupled with more frequent/larger water changes. If you did end up having to buy another heater, you could get by with one for a 10g (they're cheaper) and use it along with the one you already have, thus having enough heat for a 20g. I don't know how well your fish would get along in a 20g, but tank dividers are very cheap (we're talking maybe four bucks). If you're real desperate for cash and you have a lot of change lying around, you could go to one of those machines (I think there's one at the Albertson's here) that'll exchange your coins for bills for 5¢ for each dollar. If I were real desperate, I would probably resort to that. But my house does seem to have a lot of loose change.
-lefty
Do you know anyone who might perhaps loan you any supplies for a larger QT? In terms of frugality, you could, theoretically, get by with the filter you already have if it is coupled with more frequent/larger water changes. If you did end up having to buy another heater, you could get by with one for a 10g (they're cheaper) and use it along with the one you already have, thus having enough heat for a 20g. I don't know how well your fish would get along in a 20g, but tank dividers are very cheap (we're talking maybe four bucks). If you're real desperate for cash and you have a lot of change lying around, you could go to one of those machines (I think there's one at the Albertson's here) that'll exchange your coins for bills for 5¢ for each dollar. If I were real desperate, I would probably resort to that. But my house does seem to have a lot of loose change.
-lefty
scubadoo
Active Member
Whatever you decide to do stick with one treatment protocol and do not jump around. Complete a protocal and evealuate...do not jump from one to the other before completion...unless a fish is totally unrespnsive to the protocol.
If you decide to freshwater dip ...... freshwater dips need to be done daily. You need to put the fish in a bare bottom tank and vacuum daily with 10% daily water changes....8-10 days straight. Simply dipping a fish in freshwater does little without the other steps.
Another option is to do freshwater dips with 50% daily...yes daily water changes in your display tank. THis removes some of the free swimming parasites.
Did you ever get your salnity back up and stable?
If you decide to freshwater dip ...... freshwater dips need to be done daily. You need to put the fish in a bare bottom tank and vacuum daily with 10% daily water changes....8-10 days straight. Simply dipping a fish in freshwater does little without the other steps.
Another option is to do freshwater dips with 50% daily...yes daily water changes in your display tank. THis removes some of the free swimming parasites.
Did you ever get your salnity back up and stable?