Blue Tang with possible ich

[mrbacony]

Woke up to find my Blue hippo tang with what appears to be ich. I have had him for around 3-4 months with no problems. He also seems to be rubbing against the rocks, but I may be imagining that and he just close to the rocks. He is also acting very shy and hiding any time I approach the tank.
First, does this appear to be ich and second, what should be done first? None of the other fish seem Affected yet. I have an empty 10 gallon I could set up and start copper if that would help unless it is too late and the whole tank may already be infected.

 

[fishguy242]

hi,let's call some expert help here, best wishes
@vetteguy53081 @nereefpat @Sharkbait19 @Eagle_Steve @Lost in the Sauce

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Woke up to find my Blue hippo tang with what appears to be ich. I have had him for around 3-4 months with no problems. He also seems to be rubbing against the rocks, but I may be imagining that and he just close to the rocks. He is also acting very shy and hiding any time I approach the tank.
First, does this appear to be ich and second, what should be done first? None of the other fish seem Affected yet. I have an empty 10 gallon I could set up and start copper if that would help unless it is too late and the whole tank may already be infected.

I see six, sort of diffuse spots, plus the eye looks a bit cloudy. Does the fish have any salt sized, sharply defined spots on it? Are there similar diffuse spots on the other side of the fish?

I'm leaning towards this being skin flukes. Some key ways to tell them apart are: the size of the spots, ich will be smaller. The outline of the spots - ich will usually have sharp edges, flukes will look "softer". Finally, ich spots will come and go over a few days - going away and then coming back in different locations on the fish and in different numbers. If these spots stay in the same location and number for more than 48 hours, it isn't ich.

You won't be able to treat ich effectively in your display tank, but you can often use Prazipro to deal with flukes.

Jay

 

[Sharkbait19]

My first guess is flukes given both the cloudy eye and lack of spots on the fins, but I’d wait on a second opinion to confirm this.

Edit: Just refreshed the page. I see you got this one too, Jay!

 

[mrbacony]

I see six, sort of diffuse spots, plus the eye looks a bit cloudy. Does the fish have any salt sized, sharply defined spots on it? Are there similar diffuse spots on the other side of the fish?

I'm leaning towards this being skin flukes. Some key ways to tell them apart are: the size of the spots, ich will be smaller. The outline of the spots - ich will usually have sharp edges, flukes will look "softer". Finally, ich spots will come and go over a few days - going away and then coming back in different locations on the fish and in different numbers. If these spots stay in the same location and number for more than 48 hours, it isn't ich.

You won't be able to treat ich effectively in your display tank, but you can often use Prazipro to deal with flukes.

Jay

It has similar spots on the other side. None are very sharp and defined Or look like salt. Here is a pic of the other side.
So i should wait 48hours and if they don’t go away, I will treat with PraziPro. Would a freshwater dip help at all?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

The hiding behavior of the Tang doesn't worry my. My blue hippo is still quite shy as well. You've been able to get good pics of both sides of the body showing distinct markings. Were these pics taken last night or today?

The size and shape of the spots reminds me more of flukes. Especially the top ones here.

I personally don't use fw dips but prazi has directions on it to be used as a dip.

 

[mrbacony]

Yes, they were taken this morning. I did not notice it until today

 

[vetteguy53081]

The hiding behavior of the Tang doesn't worry my. My blue hippo is still quite shy as well. You've been able to get good pics of both sides of the body showing distinct markings. Were these pics taken last night or today?

The size and shape of the spots reminds me more of flukes. Especially the top ones here.

I personally don't use fw dips but prazi has directions on it to be used as a dip.

I would go highly with FW dip for 5 minutes as I too suspect flukes
You don’t want them in the gills if they’re not already there
Then you can follow up with prazi
Expect this particular fish to play dead in the FW dip- they always do

 

[nereefpat]

So i should wait 48hours and if they don’t go away, I will treat with PraziPro. Would a freshwater dip help at all?

I don't see an advantage to waiting. I would start with Prazi now. FW dips can make some of the worms fall off. It may help if the fish is breathing heavily.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I would go highly with FW dip for 5 minutes as I too suspect flukes
You don’t want them in the gills if they’re not already there
Then you can follow up with prazi
Expect this particular fish to play dead in the FW dip- they always do

I said that I don't fw dip any longer. Not that it isn't effective.

I've done it many times, and had two fish that fw water wasn't perfect on and never made it back out of the dip. One being a seemingly healthy naso for 3 minutes.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Yes, they were taken this morning. I did not notice it until today

Whatever you start with today, attempt to get a good clear pic tomorrow morning at lights on showing each side to compare.

 

[mrbacony]

I have on hand some Safety Stop. Would this be better than the freshwater dip?

Safety Stop - Rapid Fish Quarantine Dip (1 pouch) - BlueLife

Shop The Best Saltwater Aquarium Equipment & Supplies at Saltwater Aquarium. We Carry Everything you will Need for your Fish Tank.

www.saltwateraquarium.com

 

[nereefpat]

It looks like Safety Stop is formalin and methylene blue. So...maybe the formalin is better than freshwater on flukes?

 

[vetteguy53081]

It looks like Safety Stop is formalin and methylene blue. So...maybe the formalin is better than freshwater on flukes?

Praziquantel is more effective
Formalin for ich , uronema and brooklynella

 

[mrbacony]

5 minute freshwater dip did not help. The spots remain.
Unless it would hurt to delay, I may wait and do the Prazi pro tomorrow to see what he looks like. I do have a Carpenter wrasse. I know they are sensitive to copper, but what about Prazi?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

It has similar spots on the other side. None are very sharp and defined Or look like salt. Here is a pic of the other side.
So i should wait 48hours and if they don’t go away, I will treat with PraziPro. Would a freshwater dip help at all?

A FW dip won’t cure flukes, but it can sometimes work as a diagnostic tool for some species and can help buy some time. Don’t try it if you can’t catch the fish easily - you don’t want to beat the fish to pieces trying to catch it.
Jay

 

[mrbacony]

A FW dip won’t cure flukes, but it can sometimes work as a diagnostic tool for some species and can help buy some time. Don’t try it if you can’t catch the fish easily - you don’t want to beat the fish to pieces trying to catch it.
Jay

Thanks Jay. I was able to catch him after about 20 seconds surprisingly. You are right, did not cure him. I will try the Prazipro next.
Just to verify I am using it correctly.... Would you re-dose after 3 days, 5 days, or something different? I assume I need to do a water change before I re-dose?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Jay. I was able to catch him after about 20 seconds surprisingly. You are right, did not cure him. I will try the Prazipro next.
Just to verify I am using it correctly.... Would you re-dose after 3 days, 5 days, or something different? I assume I need to do a water change before I re-dose?

Prazipro has bad instructions on their label. You need to try and time the redose to catch any fluke eggs that have hatched out since the first treatment (prazi doesn't kill fluke eggs). I think 8 or 9 days is best, but even then, I often end up with a third treatment. Increase aeration well during any treatment. I prefer to do a 25% water change prior to the 2nd and 3rd prazipro treatments, not because of the 5% prazi (it breaks down in a couple of days) but because of the solvent they ues.

Jay