Marks on Blue Tang?

[modernmagic]

I just noticed these black marks on my Blue Tang. Does anyone know what these are and how to treat it?

My tank:
40 gal, yellow tang, clown, 5 chromis, 40 lbs rock, lots of coral, 442 MH w/ blue PCs.

[Reefing Madness]

So, lemme get this straight.....You have a Yellow Tang and a Hippo Tang in a 40g tank?

Black Ich:

Black Spot or Tang Disease - Black Ich Diagnosis and Treatment
Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

[modernmagic]

I have had a blue and yellow and clown together in a 24 gal for 4 years with zero issues. I now have a blue and yellow and clown together in a 40 gal for 1 year with zero issues between the tangs.


Thanks for the answer to my original question. I assumed that it was ich because of the infrequent water changes during the holidays.

[Reefing Madness]

Doesn't have anything to do with the Tangs not getting along with each other. It has to do with the swim room and the size when fully grown.
Swim room for the health of the fish.

Blue Tang

Minimum Tank Size: 180 gallons

Care Level: Easy

Temperament: Peaceful

Reef Compatible: Yes

Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.020-1.025

Max. Size: 1'

Color Form: Blue, White, Yellow

Diet: Herbivore

Compatibility: View Chart

Origin: Kenya, Maldives

Family: Acanthuridae Yellow Tang Minimum Tank Size: 100 gallons Care Level: Easy Temperament: Semi-aggressive Reef Compatible: Yes Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.020-1.025 Max. Size: 8" Color Form: Yellow Diet: Herbivore Compatibility: View Chart Origin: Hawaii Family: Acanthuridae

[modernmagic]

Unfortunately, I can't afford a 180gal setup nor have the room for it. And unfortunately, the store I bought the fish at did not say anything about needing such a large tank.

IMHO, I doubt everyone that owns a tang has a 180gal tank. I guess we will keep them till they need to be sold/given away or die. Thanks for the info.

[chrisfont23]

I will tell you from experience, RM is correct. While you can house a BHT in a tank as small as 29 gallons, you will have to make a choice to upgrade or trade the fish in at some point. I used to have a BHT in a 29 gallon. It worked fine for a year. But they need swimming room. So I upgraded to a 90, which is still on the smaller side for it but the layout provides a large "track" for swimming. Two tangs in a smaller tank - or too many of any fish - will definitely create more territorial battles, especially as the fish grow larger. Both these Tangs will exceed 8 inches in captivity at full size. So the choice is really simple - try to get a LFS to trade when they get to big or keep them and risk stressing them. The latter may lead to diseases, such as ich, due to stressing the fish out. And since Tangs are notoriously ich magnets, your propensity goes up.

Good luck.

[modernmagic]

I am not disagreeing with the growth of a BHT per your experience in your tank.

My experience is that I have had a blue and yellow and clown together in a 24 gal for 4 years with zero issues. Unfortunately, I had a cucumber die and I didn't know how toxic it was until I saw the total fish wipeout in the morning. Who knows how long or how large those tangs would have gotten. I bought the tangs at about 2" and in 4 years, when I pulled them out dead they were only 4" each.

So I will keep it in mind that the tangs might need to be sold to a LFS. My new lighting is making my corals grow out of control, so I hope to start selling frags too.

Thanks again for everyones help.

P.S. Just like I always say, in the surf line up when an obvious barney paddles up, "Everyone had to be a beginner." And that is what these forums are for....

[modernmagic]

Update:

I did a 40-50% water change and the next day the black spots were gone. Now, in place of the black spots is white hair about 1/16-1/8" long coming from where the black spots were.

Does this mean its getting worse or better?

[Reefing Madness]

Now that one I've not heard of.

[leebca]

These kinds of burrowing parasites are very rare. Are you sure these 'hairs' are in fact coming from EACH and EVERY of the black holes you previously saw? I'm asking just to be sure of the EACH and EVERY part. If it truly is EACH and EVERY, then this is a parasite attack.

How long have you had this fish and where did it come from? (I mean, did you get it from your LFS, mail order, friend, or ?). Parasites, whether Marine Ich or Black Ich do not display because the water quality went off. These kinds of parasites just wait for a handy fish and if the fish is stressed enough, they will flourish. But they don't infect only stressed fishes. The original black spots were too large for being Black Ich. Sorry I didn't respond sooner.

These parasites are of a group that are not highly contagious, but you still want to catch this fish and move it to a quarantine tank. The best treatment will be a formalin treatment as described here: Formalin Treatment - Marine Fishes

A FW bath/dip will usually have little effect on these since they are protected by the skin of the fish. Formalin however, does penetrate somewhat. Another group of these parasites are more susceptible to certain types of organophosphates. However Formalin treatment usually work on them too.

As previously mentioned, this sized tank is not right for Tangs regardless of how well they may appear to be doing. They are stressed and more susceptible to diseases and disorders, even if they cannot convey this to the hobbyist.

Good luck!

[modernmagic]

I decided that the QT/Formalin method was too much for me.

Since this all started after the holiday in which there was a lack of water changes I thought I would make one last simple try. So I did one 8 gallon waterchange then a week later another 5 gallon waterchange.

Well, so far the Tang's black specs and white hairs have all gone away.

[leebca]

That's good news. These kinds of parasites are 'fragile.' In the wild they do marginally well, but in captivity they do poorly. It's one group we usually don't have to deal with. Just watch the fish for any signs of this returning.

[modernmagic]

will do.

thanks for everyones help.