Clown Tang with ich or velvet

[Rcfiftyone]

I recently added a 3in Clown Tang to my display tank. I had him in my frag tank for odservation for a week before putting him in the DT. He was not eating anything I offered aside from grape culerpa and his picking algae from the rocks. I could see him wasting away so in an effort to save his life so I foolishly cut short the quarantine time and in doing so, endangered my other fish. I had hoped that a larger swiming area and being in the "feeding frenzy" with my other fish would get him eating. He has started eating a bit more but yesterday I noticed my Hippo Tang showing a few spots of Ich. Today he is completely covered and rubbing on the rocks. None of the other fish are showing any signs but Im sure its just a matter if time. The other fish include a melanarus wrasse, diamond goby, yellow tang, 5" naso tang, two ocilarus clowns and a 6" midas blenny . Removing the rockwork to catch all these fish is not an option. I was considering trying to trap them. Supposing I could get them out some how get them out, would ttm be viable? Basically I would need two tanks capable of housing all these fish. Then the dt would have to be left uninhabited for 2.5months? Is there any use to removing ant treating the visibly effected hippo tang? It bothers me to see it suffering like that. Maybe my best option is to let them try to fight it off without any intervention? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[twreefer]

Removing the rockwork to catch all these fish is not an option..

Is it not an option or do you just not want to do it? Every day you wait, the problem gets worse, and your odds of losing fish goes up. I waited, and the result was losing way more fish. I eventually pulled my rock, and in order to save my hippo tang had to shake him out of a rock over a bucket. TTM and 76 days fallow later, he is one of the few survivors and looks beautiful.

You have to put in the hard work to get them out and treated, or watch them fade away. In a closed environment, there's more ich than luck to go around.

 

[Neptune1707]

My DT is just about done with 77 day fallow period...really sucks!!! DT got ick form a LFS. Bought a piece of coral that had been in a frag tank with a fish that had ick. I put all fish in a 20g QT (2 chromis, 2 clowns, 1 damsel and 1 large hippo) All fish after the first round of copper treatment where good...no further signs of ich. However, every time I would add carbon and do a partial water change....1 week later, the blue hippo would have ick again. I went thru this process 3x. I double checked I was dosing right with a test kit. For whatever reason my hippo kept getting ick. I have to add, that by starting my QT the same time I moved the fish in to add the copper I compounded my problems by also dealing with a cycling tank. With high ammonia and nitrites, I'm guessing this was the culprit in causing additional stress on my hippo. Seachem confirmed that copper will not kill your good bacteria, but it will slow the growth of any new bacteria...hence it was taking forever for my tank to cycle!!! SOOOOO I went to plan B. I left all the small fish in the 20g tank and started a new 2 week treatment of copper. I pulled my hippo out, did a 10 min freshwater dip and then added him to my coral QT. Currently there are no corals in there, but guess what...the tank is fully cycled. It has now been about 1.5 weeks....and no sign of ick on my hippo and he is eating very well. This weekend I plan on doing a final freshwater dip on all my small fish before adding them back into the DT. I plan on cleaning and sterilizing their old QT, refill and move the hippo back into that tank and continue and extended period of QT to insure he doesn't have ick. At the end of any treatment I would advise to fully clean sterilize your tank...be sure to keep any bio media/filters available to put back in the tank so that your not back at square one to cycle the tank.

I know all of this is SOOOOO frustrating. Hang in there. One thing I learned a long time ago in this marine hobby, nothing happens fast...patience is key!!! Just observe and whatever changes you do, do in small steps. Big swings in temp, treatment, additives etc....are all additional stressors. Think...Baby Stepss ))) Good Luck!

 

[Humblefish]

"Completely covered" raises the possibility of velvet, so I don't think TTM is a good option for you. You will need to treat with either copper or Chloroquine phosphate. Here is how I've done it dozens of times now: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/#post-2499437

 

[Rcfiftyone]

Is it not an option or do you just not want to do it?

Its a combination of the two I guess. My rockwork has been epoxied in the tank piece by piece. It would have to be broken apart which Im affraid would stress the fish and would definitely break up a lot of sps coral. Are there any effective fish traps or trapping meathods that could conceivably catch all these fish?

Completely covered" raises the possibility of velvet, so I don't think TTM is a good option for you

I am by no means a fish disease identification expert but from everything Ive seen it appears to be Ich. I guess its really irrelevant since I dont have two additional tanks large enough to implement ttm with all these fish . Im not sure all these fish could coexist in anything smaller than a 100 gallon tank for the 72 days it should take.

It looks like copper is going to be the most logical treatment option. My question is, after the copper treatment protocol I will need to house the fish in this tank for the 72 days while my DT lays fallow. Do I need to remove all the fish and do a 100% water change to remove the copper? Is it even safe after that? Its my understanding that once any equipment is used with copper it can never be put back into regular service. Thank you for all your help. Im sure you experienced folks get tired of answering the same questions over and over so I appreciate your patience as well.

 

[Humblefish]

For ich or velvet, 30 days of copper exposure (at therapeutic levels) typically gets the job done. There are a few strains of ich which can survive encysted for longer than 30 days, so close observation post treatment is required just in case. After 30 days, I would start doing WCs/run carbon to remove the copper. And you can reuse all the equipment (including the tank itself) down the road. You'll just need to wipe everything down thoroughly with a vinegar soaked rag or paper towel to remove any copper residue.

If you have any pics of the affected fish, that might give us a better idea which disease you are dealing with here: ich or velvet.

 

[Rcfiftyone]

Here are a few pics. Hard to get a good one with the fish constantly darting around.

 

[Humblefish]

Those spots are too large to be velvet, definitely ich.

 

[Reefahholic]

Yeah that's ICH for sure.

 

[L.A.]

Are there any effective fish traps or trapping meathods that could conceivably catch all these fish?

If you can get your hands on one of these traps or something similar from your LFS or online, i've found it extremely useful in situations I needed to get one or all of the fish out of the tank. You can drop food in the cylinder in the center and it releases food into the box. It can take a few hours but it's worth it to not have to pick apart your rocks or chase them around with a net.

 

[Humblefish]

^^That looks expensive. Below is a DIY redneck fish trap using eggcrate, fishing line, and zip ties.

 

[L.A.]

^^That looks expensive. Below is a DIY redneck fish trap using eggcrate, fishing line, and zip ties.

hahaha it totally was! BUT, it's basically paid for itself the amount of times i've used it for something or other but you definitely can't beat what you made! So creative

 

[4FordFamily]

Its a combination of the two I guess. My rockwork has been epoxied in the tank piece by piece. It would have to be broken apart which Im affraid would stress the fish and would definitely break up a lot of sps coral. Are there any effective fish traps or trapping meathods that could conceivably catch all these fish?



I am by no means a fish disease identification expert but from everything Ive seen it appears to be Ich. I guess its really irrelevant since I dont have two additional tanks large enough to implement ttm with all these fish . Im not sure all these fish could coexist in anything smaller than a 100 gallon tank for the 72 days it should take.

It looks like copper is going to be the most logical treatment option. My question is, after the copper treatment protocol I will need to house the fish in this tank for the 72 days while my DT lays fallow. Do I need to remove all the fish and do a 100% water change to remove the copper? Is it even safe after that? Its my understanding that once any equipment is used with copper it can never be put back into regular service. Thank you for all your help. Im sure you experienced folks get tired of answering the same questions over and over so I appreciate your patience as well.

I kept 10 tangs, 4 angels, 2 wrasse, CBB, flame hawk, a blenny and a goby in a 55 gal qt twice for 76 days. No problem, just large water changes weekly. Even cycled it with them all in it (80-90% daily water change - not fun)

Tangs were 2-4" mostly 2-3 but still it was packed

 

[Rcfiftyone]

Those spots are too large to be velvet, definitely ich.

Yeah that's ICH for sure.

Well Im glad to have some expert eyes agree that its Ich. Atleast I know where I stand.

I like the fish traps. I made my own with my daughter's little creature odservation box by tying a rubberband to the lid and a stick to hold it open attached to some fishing line that I can pull to let the lid snap shut. It functioned perfectly. Only problem was the cleaner shrimp was the only one stupid enough to go in it . I think the opening is too narrow. Im going to go to work with some eggcrate to replicate the redneck model. The other one looks great but Im affraid Ive waisted enough time already that I cant wait for shipping. My lfs has nothing in stock.

I kept 10 tangs, 4 angels, 2 wrasse, CBB, flame hawk, a blenny and a goby in a 55 gal qt twice for 76 days. No problem, just large water changes weekly. Even cycled it with them all in it (80-90% daily water change - not fun)

Tangs were 2-4" mostly 2-3 but still it was packed

Wow! Thats a barrel of fish! My main concern is aggression. A few of my fish will quarrel now and then but Im affraid the close quarters would make it worse. My Hippo Tang has been extra aggressive lately due to the Ich bothering him. I may just have to see what happens. My friend offered me the use of his empty 200gallon but I really dont have the room for it and thats a lot of water to change. Maybe if I only filled it partially. The only thing I know for sure is I have to start doing somthing fast

 

[L.A.]

I originally bought the trap to get shrimp! I feel like they're always the first to check things out. I literally sat with a couple drinks on my day off for like 3+ hours and trapped everything one by one like that. Once you miss a fish they don't come back for awhile lol

 

[Humblefish]

I forgot to add something: With the redneck fish trap, run the fishing line that controls the trap door all the way over to your couch. Crack open a beer, watch some NASCAR and wait. Once he goes it, pull hard on the fishing line. A littleneck clam at the end of the trap is pretty tempting bait.

 

[4FordFamily]

Well Im glad to have some expert eyes agree that its Ich. Atleast I know where I stand.

I like the fish traps. I made my own with my daughter's little creature odservation box by tying a rubberband to the lid and a stick to hold it open attached to some fishing line that I can pull to let the lid snap shut. It functioned perfectly. Only problem was the cleaner shrimp was the only one stupid enough to go in it . I think the opening is too narrow. Im going to go to work with some eggcrate to replicate the redneck model. The other one looks great but Im affraid Ive waisted enough time already that I cant wait for shipping. My lfs has nothing in stock.



Wow! Thats a barrel of fish! My main concern is aggression. A few of my fish will quarrel now and then but Im affraid the close quarters would make it worse. My Hippo Tang has been extra aggressive lately due to the Ich bothering him. I may just have to see what happens. My friend offered me the use of his empty 200gallon but I really dont have the room for it and thats a lot of water to change. Maybe if I only filled it partially. The only thing I know for sure is I have to start doing somthing fast

I had a pair of PBT in that qt that got along well. In the display tank they did mating displays and then after a month had a horrible break up and needed separation several massive gashes later. My tangs didn't fight much at all in qt believe it or not. In DT they chase a little but nothing too serious, but definitely more than when they were cramped

 

[4FordFamily]

I forgot to add something: With the redneck fish trap, run the fishing line that controls the trap door all the way over to your couch. Crack open a beer, watch some NASCAR and wait. Once he goes it, pull hard on the fishing line. A littleneck clam at the end of the trap is pretty tempting bait.

Gotta love the hillbilly ingenuity!

 

[Rcfiftyone]

Well I woke up this morning to find my Clown Tang clinging to life. About 20 minutes later he was gone. Im sure it was due to a complication with the Ich. I had a hard time getting him to eat and he was getting very skinny. Just in the last day or two he started taking some brine and nori so I thought things were looking up. I guess it was too little, too late.

I just hope this isnt a sign of things to come...

. I literally sat with a couple drinks on my day off for like 3+ hours and trapped everything one by one like that. Once you miss a fish they don't come back for awhile lo

Crack open a beer, watch some NASCAR and wait.

It sounds like theres a common theme here. Guess I need some time and some drinks. Ill pour one out for ol' "stripey-stripes" (daughter's name for the Clown Tang )

Hey L.A. , where did you get that trap? Wouldnt mind having a professional looking one for future use

 

[Humblefish]

Sorry to hear, Acanthurus tangs have a hard time managing ich.