[Virginia Reef]

Just received a Blue Hippo from E-Tropicals on Tuesday. By Wednesday night, it had numerous small white spots on it (ich?). It has remained in hiding for the most part. It generally stays in and under the LR. Its color is excellent and it has not shown any scratching behavior that I have seen. The fish is in a 55g with 70lbs LR, Astrea Turbo snails, Blue Leg hermits, and assorted things growing on the LR such as a few zooanthid polyps and featherduster-type worms. Blue Hippo was placed in this tank (rather than q-tine) to help cure hair algae problem. I was planning to wait 30 days before moving the fish to my 90g display tank. The LR was going to eventually follow into the display when the hair algae problem is cured.

I have a 20g that I can set up to run hyposalinity at 1.009. Should I do this immediately or wait a few days to see if the “shipping stress” takes care of itself?

[allykahn]

I also had a Hippo Tang that had ich (they are notorius for getting it) along with my Sailfin Tang. You will as I did receive very different methods of treating the disease. Since you have a reef, you will have to move it to another tank to treat with medications or the hypo salinity.
I tried the garlic extract, but I am not sure if it worked. I did give a freshwater dip, and I also have two cleaner shrimp that were picking constantly at the infected fish. I was informed that ich can be fought off naturally, but it depends on the health of the fish. My fish are ich free now so something worked. Maybe other board members could offer more advice.
Good luck!o

[Virginia Reef]

Thanks. The fish seems to have fewer spots now than it did this morning. It is not eating yet so the garlic may not have a chance to do anything for a while. I am leaning toward just monitoring (and continuing the garlic extract) for a while. If I do the hypo, it will be in a separate 20g tank-just the fish and a few pvc hiding places.

[Mikeman]

I think you would stress it out more if you seperate the fish, i'd really try and start getting it to eat, do you have any seaweed select or better yet live caulerpa for it? You Could also and try to feed, mysis shrimp and brine shrimp.

[Virginia Reef]

There is both caulerpa and hair algae growing on the LR in the tank (plenty for the tang to eat). I have Formula One flakes and frozen brine shrimp. Stopped at the LFS yesterday to ask about buying some other food. I was told that the tang would not need anything other than what was growing in the tank. Imagine that-they passed up a chance to sell me something.

I fed Formula One yesterday and the tang rose to check out the food but didn't eat anything. Has not displayed any interest in the brine shrimp.

[golfish]

Tangs need the best water conditions. Your tanks are way too new to have any fish in them let alone tangs. IMO, you should remove all the fish and let the tank cycle for a few more months

[Virginia Reef]

I appreciate the comments. Golfish must have read my other post re: pH to know that my tanks are new. The thing that I am most curious about is the thought that my tanks are brand new rather than looking at it as a tank that has been moved. I think that there are some characteristics of both. In the 90g tank I have 90 lb of LR and 50lb of LS that came from other established tanks. The 55g tank has 70lb of LR that came from another existing tank.

I realize that these tanks are nowhere near the stabilized environment that they will eventually become but they also have much in common with tanks that have been moved-either across the room or across town. There was virtually no die-off with the move. Everything was transported underwater.

In any event, I am monitoring the water on a daily basis. All fish (other than the issues with the new tang), inverts, and corals really look great. Keep the comments/suggestions coming.

[Ritteri&Bubbles]

bump

[Ritteri&Bubbles]

Dont do anything like "hyposalinity dips" chemicals etc etc. All it does is stress the fish out even more. I have found that through the years that "quarenteen tanks" are a complete waste of time money and energy. The fish have already gone though the stress of being caught, then shipped to the wholesaler, then shipped to the LFS, then shipped to you. Just putting a fish into another tank, only to remove him and put him into a new tank just starts the cycle all over for him. I only suggest doing a proper drip acclimation with your tank water in low lighting environment for an hour, then add him into your tank. As for Ich,lateral line erosion, you name it, the best cure is a stable environment with proper diet. Also full strength sea water of around 1.025 helps out fish and their immune system. Lowered PH also lowers fishes ability to fight disease and stress related sickness. I in all my years of keeping reefs have never lost a fish from any disease or stress related sickness. One thing I do have in all my coral breeding tanks and fish breeding tanks are pairs of red striped cleaner shrimp. The natural reef doctor. I did once get a pair of Big Long Nose Butterfly fish that were literally covered in snow from shipping. After doing an extra long 2 hour drip acclimation, I released them into one of my passive reef tanks. Literally within seconds they were at my cleaner shrimps "station" where the shrimp within a few minutes literally cleaned off all the ick from their fins and scales. By the end of the day they were eating like mad, and by the end of the week they fattened up and gained all their natural color back. I still have them to this day and they are perfect specimans.

[Penguin]

I disagree with your LFS about feeding. Hippo tangs need meaty foods in their diet in addition to algae.

I'm with Mikeman, I would focus on getting the fish to eat and monitor the ich for a couple days. And consider adding a cleaner shrimp to help control the parasite.

[Joaco]

Originally posted by allykahn
I also had a Hippo Tang that had ich (they are notorius for getting it)

Often tangs are called ICH magnets. Stress factors that affect the immune system of the fish lowering it, makes them easier targets for Cryptocarion (ICH).
So when a tang gets ICH before other fish in the tank, it's more likely because its stressed easier and before the other fish.

Joaco

[Joaco]

Originally posted by Penguin
I disagree with your LFS about feeding. Hippo tangs need meaty foods in their diet in addition to algae.

I agree with that. Plus I have never seen a Hippo helping fight hair algae problems. I have a small Hippo in a 200 gallon tank. I left the tank with my wife for a month because I had to travel on business, and when I came back I had small patches of hair algae because she overfed the tank. The Hippo never even touched the hair algae, and from the 6 types of macroalgae I grow in my algae tank it only touches one or two.

Joaco

[Joaco]

Originally posted by Penguin
And consider adding a cleaner shrimp to help control the parasite.

I would also consider adding one. Better two, since they will pair up and if well fed will release fry into the water column each two weeks or so (nice plankton addition ) . It doesn't matter which two you pick, they will form a male-female pair.
I have 3 cleaner shrimps in my tank, they never clean any of the fish though. Not even the Hippo when it was added but I DID have it in a Q-tank for 45 days, even when it looked great at the LFS and was eating like a pig.

Joaco

[Joaco]

Originally posted by Virginia Reef
Has not displayed any interest in the brine shrimp.

Try to get Selcon and add it to the live brine 24 hours before feeding the brine to the fish. Brine shrimps (Artemia salina) are filter feeders, so they will feed on the Selcon and it will be bio-encapsulated in the shrimps. Selcon is rich im Omega-3 and HUFA (Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids). You can also add Selcon to the mix of food in the blender, if you make your own fish food. It sells for about $10 online, will also help with the immune system of the other fish, even after the ICH problem you are having right now. Healthy and strong fish are more disease resistant of course. HLLE (Head and Lateral Line Erosion) is often seen on tangs that don't live in the proper conditions, and IME is strongly related to a poor or wrong diet. Selcon will help you to avoid that too.

Just for the record, I'm not a Selcon salesman

Joaco

[Joaco]

Originally posted by Ritteri&Bubbles
Dont do anything like "hyposalinity dips" chemicals etc etc. All it does is stress the fish out even more. I have found that through the years that "quarenteen tanks" are a complete waste of time money and energy. The fish have already gone though the stress of being caught, then shipped to the wholesaler, then shipped to the LFS, then shipped to you. Just putting a fish into another tank, only to remove him and put him into a new tank just starts the cycle all over for him.

Sorry, I don't agree with the statement that Q-tanks are a waste of time. From what you just said above, you are only considering the shipping stress. That's fine, but that only part of the stress the fish is exposed to.
How about change in diet from the ocean to captivity?
How about the fact that fish are sometimes not fed since they are caught till they get to our tanks, to prevent that they foul the water they are transported in?
Tangs graze the whole day, if you have them without eating for some days their digestive tract is affected, and of course they get weak if they don't consume what they need to produce energy. With low energy levels their immune system gets low as well.
So to the stress of transport you mention, add for example the adaptation period to new foods. Or to food if the fish was not fed since capture. Add that new fish to a tank with established tankmates, and he will have to compete for food that he is not used to in the first place, compete with tankmates that are probably (should at least) be better fed and are not shy in a new environment.
The new fish usually hides looking for protection until he gets used to the new tank. He is weak, is not used to new foods, has to compete with the older tankmates, and might be even chased by some of them for territorial reasons or else.
So just considering on the surface the nutritional part of stress, I'm in favor of Q-tanks. In a Q-tank the fish can get used to the new diet without having competition for the food, without the need to hide, etc. This will give you a strong and well nourished fish, that will boost its own immune system and will be able to fight back for example external parasites that are only waiting to get a hold on a weak fish.
And I only considered the nutrition part of stress, add the water condition factor for stress (parameter stability, etc), then you have another stress factor to consider.
And in case the fish has to be treated on a separate tank (because sometimes fish CAN'T get rid of ICH by themselves, and you have to help them with hyosalinity), you don't have to stress it further to try getting him out of a reef (one less move from tank to tank).
And in case the reef was healthy, you don't risk the hole system by adding a fish that might spread ICH to the other fish that didn't show signs in the first place. Because lets not forget that ICH itself is a stress factor for the fish. Having to spend energy trying to fight back the parasites: repairing the wounds caused by the parasites on the skin, producing more slime and mucus on the skin, etc, stresses the fish even more than it was in the first place.

Joaco

[timjoemak]

Hi i have just started a small pico marine tank with just small corals... it has beeen running for the past 9 weeks and my blue tang was fine until last week when suddenly there are many white spots covering it... now the white spots seem to turn black... the size of the tang is about 1.5" its still feeding though... so what do you guys suggest?? does a doctor shrimp do any good??? i have been trying out garlic and freshwater dips but no results though.... Suggestions??

[Ninong]

Hi timjoemak,




I read in your other post that your "tank" is two gallons. If so, and if you're serious in asking for help, then I suggest you find a new home for your fish. You can't keep a tang of any size in such a tiny "aquarium."

Good luck!