Not Sure What to Do...

[corallo]

Hi, I just bought a Kole Tang three days ago and it looked completely healthy in the store. It almost died during acclimation as it was lying on the bottom of the bucket. But it went into the tank fine and immediately started eating. I just noticed a couple of white spots on him. The strange thing was that none of them were near the gills or fins. He did not seem to be scratching on the rocks and he is still eating all day long. It looks like he may have ich but he doesn't show any symptoms. We do not have a QT at the moment and we have inverts in the tank. I cant treat the tank with copper and I cant move him to somewhere else. What can I do?

[twisted]

if you want to get rid of the ich, get a qt tank and treat it. then keep your tank fishless for 8 weeks to get rid of what came off the tang and made itself at home in your tank. thats the only way its done

[corallo]

I'm a kid and my dad does all of the finance. There is no way that he would go out and buy a QT tank. Will freshwater dips help a little?

[twisted]

I'm a kid and my dad does all of the finance. There is no way that he would go out and buy a QT tank. Will freshwater dips help a little?

then why are you buying a tang? you and your dad should have done research so that you can take care of your purchases. i also have a feeling you dont have the proper size tank for the fish you have. how old is the tank?

[Parrothead]

all you really need for a qt is a 20 gallon(Wal-mart = 20.00) an air pump, and a sponge filter, adds up to less than what the fish probably cost.

Fresh water dips will be pretty much useless as after the dip you are putting him back in the infected tank, these dips also stress out the fish, making things worse.

Sorry I couldn't help you more but the qt/hospital tank is pretty much your only opt. then as twisty said, leave the display tank fishless for about 8 weeks so the parasite can go through it's life cycle and be gone.

Also post a pic if you can, it might not be ich.

[leebca]

corallo,

I'm not sure who's advising you for the hobby, but I don't think you're getting very good advice. I don't care what age you are -- I think it's great that younger people enter the hobby. But they have to enter the hobby with wide eyes and knowledge. This is a good post to get the feel for the hobby: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

Part of good marine fish husbandry is understanding the need for and using a quarantine process.

There are many posts in this Forum that will help you with keeping marine fish, however it takes time and patience to read everything; then time and patience to be successful in the hobby. Going slow is something that young people find the hardest thing to do, but in this hobby, the slower one goes the better the results and in some cases, going fast is disastrous.

Here are some other links you should read: ;)
A Quarantine Process (step-by-step)
Fish Stocking Limit - for FO and FOWLR
What is Water Quality
It Was Acclimation, I know. . .
Regarding having the parasite Marine Ich:
Curing Fish of Marine Ich

This link takes you to a list of other links on various subjects:
Table/Contents - Link List

Be patient; read for the correct information; take and look for no shortcuts.

Good luck!

[rluix]

What size is your tank?