[anthias]

one of my new fishes is this achilles tang,yesterday start to show some white pen size spots during night it is not white spots (parasite) it seems like it is small galands rises in the night ,I saw it on many other tangs in the pet shop but I do not know what is it exactly,and another thing I can see that one of the lateral fine is not clear but the fish looks fine and its behavior normal.
what do you think lee if there is potential ellness .
my water is 0NO2 0NO3 0amonia ph 8.3

[leebca]

The fish in the photo isn't close enough for me to see anything out of the ordinary. I would need a close-up of the fish -- the fish needs to fill the frame of the photo.

However, I could get more information while waiting for the next photo:
1) Was the fish quarantined?
2) Was the fish given a freshwater dip? For how long? Was anything found in the dip water?
3) How long have you now had the fish?
4) Why buy the fish if you noticed other fish at the store had the same condition?
5) Did the store say what condition the other fish had? What do they call it?

Thanks!

[anthias]

ok Ill try to have another phoptos
the fish came from singaphor directly to me ,my agent told me it is already QTanked.
but the same case I saw here in the pet shop ,they dont know any thing they take the information from me ,and I am taking it from you

[leebca]

I'll wait for the photo. But I recommend that you no longer trust anyone that says the fish has been quarantined. As you can easily see, it was not quarantined and rid of disease or affliction. This fish has potentially brought a problem into your display tank that could harm the other fishes you have so carefully taken care of and acquired over the last few months.

The dealer, seller, and LFS all have a difference concept of what quarantine means and none of them really perform a proper quarantine according to the hobbyist standards. I'm afraid when a dealer, seller, or LFS claims the fish has been quarantined it just plain hasn't by traditional means. Most of the fish tanks share the marine system with other tanks and these are not left 6 weeks without the addition of new marine life. Thus, the fish never actually have been isolated for the full 6 weeks.

You might want to read these links:
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

A Fish Quarantine Process

[anthias]

yes lee you r right , I take care look at this room I have 5 QTs but it was all full when I received the tang .
I m at work now that is why I cannot take pics ,but Ill do as soon as I can.
I ll make fresh dip for the Tang to day.

[anthias]

It was very hard to catch the tang cause he hide fast between the live rocks,so I came slowly at night the room was very dark then with a LED light of my mobile I catch him with a net it was easy because he was a sleep (I think) then I but him in fresh Dip with MB for 30 mints, and I watch him closely the white spots became larger and larger then became white flat area ,I think it is aparasite cycts and exploded in the fresh dip.
I return him to the tank and he looked scared but in the morning he was fine with out any spots, and spend his time as usual eating from the life rocks with anice rate of breathing.
the question is when can I do another fresh dip for him?
I know you prefer to but him in QT but it is not possible at the time .
and this pic for the tang in his dip ,you can see the spots, the problem that I have to compress the pic befor I bost that is why it is not very clear.
the tang was fine in his dip but he is a bet trecky .

[leebca]

I would wait and see if another dip is needed. If the display tank is infested with these parasites, you may never totally get rid of them. But the fish may have been cleaned of them and resistant to any additional re-infection, thus not displaying any need for further dipping.

[anthias]

is it ok to switch on my UV ,I didnt use the UV because I want to keep natural biological balance in my tank with out interferance .
some one told me that the UV not good for the anemones is that right??
is it ok to use UV 24 hours aday??
I have 2 filtration systems one is closed fillter with UV and the other is the sump with skeemer that will not be affected with the UV.

[leebca]

As long as the UV light does not light on the marine life you want to keep, it should be okay to use it. The UV light disrupts the protein molecules, including those that contribute to the life processes of microbes, such that either the microbe dies or is unable to reproduce.

I have not heard of an ill effect using a UV keeping Anemones. You might want to post that question in the Reef Aquariums Forum to see what they think.

[anthias]

what about the free parasites are they affected with the UV?
THANX

[leebca]

Free swimming parasites that pass through the UV can be killed by the radiation, or made unable to reproduce, or made unable to infect. There are two requirements for the UV unit to do this. One is that the energy of the UV is set high enough to kill the target organisms, and the other is that the flow rate allows enough exposure time for the radiation to affect the organism.

In general, the flow rate is relative to the bulb strength and the microbes to be killed. In general the target energy and flow rate should be set to kill amoeba-like organisms.

You'll get some more information about sizing and flow rate from this commercial site:
marineandreef.com/ UV Sterilization Overview

[anthias]

thank you lee,
the tang start to show some white spots but the strange is the spots only showed eveningtime and mybe two or three spots during the day time , this parasite has ashort cycle I think, I will take action to night I prepared QT
the rest of the fishes r fine no spots .

[anthias]

the tang is under CU treatment 4 days ago ,but today I note the color of the tang became lighter is it normal??
he doesnt show white spots any more but he look like undergo ableeching .
I do Cu test 2 times daily at lest it is 2mg/L

[leebca]

Not normal.

What copper medication are you using? Are you sure the test kit hasn't expired, been contaminated, or just plain old? Are you sure you're reading the test results properly? Tell me also how much medication you added to what volume of water.

[leebca]

Oops! Forgot to ask. . .What brand of copper test kit are you using?

[anthias]

Hi lee
1- I m using Reef care copper plus (chelated copper remedy)
2-the test are from two companies the first is Sera and the other one is JBL company.
the thing is the test of JBL it is written that I have to wait for 15 mintues to read the result the color is light blue but if I wait for one hour the color will be dark blue ( high copper)
the test is not expire .
I m using 5ml for each 10 gallons.

[leebca]

Sounds like there is a potential for a copper overdose. I would perform a 60%+ water change immediately (assuming the fish is still alive). Copper Plus and others were first used as freshwater treatments, then carried over to the saltwater hobby. I would go with the medication that is 'higher up' the pharmaceutical chain of inventions (see reference link below).

The test kits don't seem proper for the medication. The chelated copper will show one number then another number with time (as you've seen) when the test kit isn't particularly setup to measure chelated copper. I would stick with the safest copper medication -- Seachem's Cupramine -- and use a Salifert Copper Test kit. I know these things may be difficult for you to obtain, but you should try to stock these meds.

Make sure you read this: Copper - Treatment, Use, Problems

[anthias]

ok I ll read it , I forget to tell you I saw this morning some black spots on the tang what might it be?

[leebca]

If the spots are blackish and very tiny, it could be Black Ich. A photo would help.

[anthias]

ok I did the change of water the tang is still lighter but he dont have any white spots ,the black spots gone also but again this morning I saw some black areas I ll do some photos for him .
the fishs in my show tank also looks very good no white spots but I m sure thet I have the parasite in my show tank I think the other fishes have the immunity against the parasite.
if I wait for 45 days and none of the fishes in the show tank showed white spots does that means the tank is parasite free or still some parasite but not acative?