Help: Tang in distress

[fedelokura]

My blue hippo tang suddenly out of nowhere has appeared like this.... ive noticed he scratches himself against the rocks, and he has 2 tiny white spots right by its tail, but since its had them since i got it i kind of ignored it, he seemed very healthy... ive had it for about 2 months.








He was blind from that eye when i got it but now i dont know whats up with him...

any ideas?

[fedelokura]

anyone?

[leebca]

If you are referring to the cloudy eye, then it would likely be a bacterial infection.

How do you know the fish is blind? Are both eyes clouded over? Why did you acquire a sick fish?

Cloudy eyes (more than one) is best treated with an antibiotic. You'd move the fish to a hospital tank and treat with a fish antibiotic.

[fedelokura]

I did a job for some guy there and he didnt have any money so he paid me with a salt water tank. I got a 55 gallon tank, 2 skimmers, a carbon filter, a power head, 3 clownfish, a blue damsel, and a rather big blue hippo tang (about 4 to 5 inches in length). So basically it came with the tank. I believe it was blind from that eye because his right eye was dark black and the other eye seemed to be hollow. It was the right size and stuff but instead of being black it seemd like it was just full of water. idk if i explain myself.

Anyways, all the fish were in very bad shape and according to the previous owner they had been surviving like that for about a year. The tank only had about 6 pounds of live rock and a bunch of plastic ornaments, and the water he used was made with instant ocean. All the fish survived the trip to my house and they werent affected by the stress. I feed them twice a day mainly those little frozen shrimps and algae. The blue tang has always been shy but in the last 2 weeks hes been really dareing and hes been swiming around like its all good. They all have adquired really nice coloring and seemed very healthy until this happened.

Now the tang's eye's swelling has gone down a bit, but more white spots have appeard in his skin, so i think he has the ich. The guy gave me this product Rid-ich+ by Kordon, which he used to get rid of the ich before but it says it might kill the live rock.

Should i apply it directly to the tank? Do u know of any good ich medicine? How can i set up a hospital tank? What antibiotic would u recomend? I work at Vetamerica so i have full access to any antibiotic out there.

Thanks for your help.

[leebca]

The story is sad. The fish has been ill for quite some time, I would say. To complicate matters, the Tang has outgrown that tank and now belongs in no less than a 180 gallon aquarium.

You set up a hospital tank much the same you set up a quarantine tank. Step by step info here: http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine...e-process.html

You will need to improve the fish's diet to help it recover: Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition

You'll need to treat the fish for Marine Ich, if you believe you have the correct diagnosis. These three things need to be read by you:
Marine Fish: Care, Health and Disease Treatment - Reeflands Forum
and
Copper - Treatment, Use, Problems
and
Hyposalinity Treatment

You can use the antibiotic Maracyn Two for Saltwater fish during the treatment for Marine Ich.

It seems like you got another 'bill' out of this compensation.

The recovery of a marine system that hasn't been properly maintained is time consuming and somewhat expensive. The curing of fishes left to remain ill is also time consuming and somewhat expensive. I can only say that I hope you will try and help the fishes.

As an aside, there are no other cures for Marine Ich other than those listed in that first link. Reef-safe medications usually don't work and when reported they did work, I suspect the fish are still infected but the owner doesn't see it (either intentionally or from ignorance). When I've examined fish treated with reef-safe meds or by alternative methods, I still find them infected with Marine Ich.

Good luck!

[fedelokura]

thanks for your help, i found a guy that works at a marine store to aid me in lowering the salinity to deal with the problem so i think its going to be ok, after that i will give that tang to my boss that has a 200 gallon tank... he knows how to deal with them properly.

again, you;ve been very helpful, thanks a lot.