Help, Blue Hippo Tang with ich

[Eleni18]

Hi all. I just noticed that my blue hippo tang has about 10 white spots on it. All the other fish, 2 clowns, 2 damsels, a mandarin, a diamond goby, a pyjama fish, a valentini and a royal gramma seem ok. I have lps and soft corals, as well as an anemone and an elegance coral in tank. I have paraguard and cupramine and can only set up a 60 liter tank as hospital tank, which i believe is too small for the tang. I would certainly rather use paraguard if it is reef, coral and anemone friendly. I have never dealt with ich before and I am terrified. What do you suggest I do and how do I do it? Thanks

 

[Big G]

Good reading below for your situation. BTW, Blue Hippo Tangs do a bit better with a "chelated" copper like Copper Power or Coppersafe. And it's best to use a Hanna HL Copper Checker to exactly dial in the copper. Sometimes Blue Tangs will develop a skin condition from copper where they itch a bit. I believe it may be due to overdosing copper. Dosing slowly up to the therapeutic level of 2.0 over 3-4 days in small doses allows you time to observe for a copper sensitive fish.

Ich eradication vs. Ich management

Ich eradication vs. Ich management The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros & cons of ich eradication and ich management, and present the best methods for implementing each. Ich eradication - Simply put, this method means doing everything possible to keep ich out of your tank. That...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Eleni18]

Thanks, but what should I do? Move the tang to the 60 liter tank with hob filter and heater and dose cupramine?

 

[Earthquake]

ELANI18 hit the nail on the head.

 

[Uncle99]

If your diagnosing ick, you must remove ALL fish to the 60l (15g) HT and treat as above or with Hypo.
A bit small, but the alternative is likely death.
There are no medications that are safe (and work on ick) that can be used in the DT.
There are several brands, all of which do nothing.

Just make sure the diagnosis is correct.

 

[Eleni18]

Ok, update. There is no way I can remove the tang from DT. I have been trying to catch it for the last 2 hours to no avail, unless I demolish all corals and rocks. Chasing it around with the net only stresses it out. I tried feeding crushed garlic mixed with frozen mysis. Now my question is this: Supposing it is definitely ich (I attach the best photo I could get), should I try dosing paraguard, starting at 1/4 of the recommended dose? Or what other options do I have?

 

[Eleni18]

Update again. Looking really closely, there are 5-6 pinpoint whitish spots on the dark blue, under the dorsal fin, on both sides. Again,looking very closely, I think I can see some discoloration on the blue and a small part of the yellow on the tail...on the left side. It is more like a bleached spot, purplish rather than electric blue.

 

[fishguy242]

how long have you had hippo ,can pop up with spots and none next day 90% of time if long time resident just stressed for some reason ,it is in their blood don't freak out yet how long has he been in reef

 

[Eleni18]

how long have you had hippo ,can pop up with spots and none next day 90% of time if long time resident just stressed for some reason ,it is in their blood don't freak out yet how long has he been in reef

Three years and I am freaking out because I don t think I can treat this outside the main tank and I have live rock and corals and anemone and elegance and I really cannot find any clue as to how safe Paraguard is

 

[fishguy242]

and you have not added any thing new in last couple of days ,how many days have you seen spots

 

[Eleni18]

and you have not added any thing new in last couple of days ,how many days have you seen spots

i only noticed today, and it eats fine

 

[Eleni18]

i only noticed today, and it eats fine

I have only added a pair of clowns two weeks ago, but they were at the Lfs for more than six months

 

[fishguy242]

imo stay calm feed w garlic do not treat tank,try to avoid stressing him more by looking at him constantly see what tomorrow brings

 

[Eleni18]

imo stay calm feed w garlic do not treat tank,try to avoid stressing him more by looking at him constantly see what tomorrow brings

Really? I dont panic? They don’t exactly eat the garlic....
just taste it and spit it out

 

[fishguy242]

chop it up mash it into food let soak little while feed small amounts couple times today

 

[fishguy242]

Really? I dont panic? They don’t exactly eat the garlic....
just taste it and spit it out

sorry just trying to help some people just start putting meds in reef in haste ,wasnot meant personally

 

[Eleni18]

chop it up mash it into food let soak little while feed small amounts couple times today

Thank you so much.....I will try this ....how long should I wait before panicking or doing something drastic?

 

[fishguy242]

tomorrow morning he will prob wake up with spots,by midday poss all clear ,or if any other fish show spots ,i am not an expert on diseases ,but have experiencend with hippo many times best wishes

 

[fishguy242]

hopefully some others will jump in here to help

 

[Roachbeef19]

They are notorious for ich. Hopefully it dont spread