Help!! Powder Blue tang!!

4FordFamily · Mar 20, 2017

Humblefish said:
It sounds like your tank has either ich or velvet. Either way, I highly advise QT'ing all your fish, treating them with copper and going fallow in the DT for 76 days.

If you like, I can move this thread into the fish disease forum for more attention.

X2. Sorry I missed this.

Maritimer · Mar 20, 2017

So very sorry that you've lost this beautiful fish, KTaylor . . . but hopeful that you've acted decisively, and in time to save the rest!

You've had excellent advice above . . .

~Bruce

melypr1985 · Mar 20, 2017

I agree with the rest. You'll want to get all the fish into QT and treat with copper. Leave the display fallow (fishless) for 76 days especially if you want to keep tangs like acanthurus tangs (powder brown and others like him).

Cary Hover · Mar 21, 2017

I would do a 50% water change, wait and see. Seen many YouTube videos and freshwater dips, garlic, copper, all that hardly seems to work. Medicate only as a last resort. Just because one fish got sick doesn't mean they all will. I lost a powder blue tang, yellow eye tang and one or two other fish due to ick when my son stressed out his powder blue catching it and putting it into my 450 gallon mixed reef tank. All I could do was water changes, wait and see. I did get a 3,000.00 UV that will kill free floating ICK parasites. The remaining tangs, angels, wrasses, foxface, cardinals, etc survived rather well.

4FordFamily · Mar 21, 2017

Cary Hover said:
I would do a 50% water change, wait and see. Seen many YouTube videos and freshwater dips, garlic, copper, all that hardly seems to work. Medicate only as a last resort. Just because one fish got sick doesn't mean they all will. I lost a powder blue tang, yellow eye tang and one or two other fish due to ick when my son stressed out his powder blue catching it and putting it into my 450 gallon mixed reef tank. All I could do was water changes, wait and see. I did get a 3,000.00 UV that will kill free floating ICK parasites. The remaining tangs, angels, wrasses, foxface, cardinals, etc survived rather well.

Your situation is definitely the exception and not the rule. Also it will flat out fail if velvet is a component here.

In addition, a 450 gallon system is vastly different than the much smaller closed loop systems most readers have.

sanchoy · Mar 24, 2017

Off topic a bit, but I have not seen, in person,a reefer successfully keeping a powder brown tang alive for more than 1 year. I tried over 10 years ago, died within 3 months. The browns are hyper sensitive

Humblefish · Mar 24, 2017

sanchoy said:
Off topic a bit, but I have not seen, in person,a reefer successfully keeping a powder brown tang alive for more than 1 year. I tried over 10 years ago, died within 3 months. The browns are hyper sensitive

I had one for over 10 years before Katrina killed it. LFS I know has had one in their DT for at least 5 years now.