A little write-up about my Powder Blue Tang, "Mary Kay"...
Bought her at a LFS in Kansas City (where I was living at the time) over 5 years ago. I knew the ins & outs of fish diseases back then, but I was still in "ich management mode" so I put her straight into my 120 gal SPS reef. She showed symptoms of ich within a few weeks and while I tried my usual ich management methods, she next started developing these white patches & red sores (i.e. secondary bacterial infection). I would later learn via a FW dip that she also had gill flukes.
I debated what to do. I knew catching her meant busting up my carefully manicured SPS reef. I knew not catching her meant she would likely die. It was just too many things for her natural immune system to overcome. Even if I went through the trouble of QT and treating her, she still might die. I considered just letting "whatever happens happen" with the fish. But it was my wife, my better half, who pushed me to do the right thing.
So, I get my PBT into a 29 gal QT, and start treating with copper, Prazipro and antibiotics. There were so many nights I went to bed after watching her laying on one side breathing heavy. I just knew she would be dead in the morning. She always proved me wrong. I found myself getting emotionally attached to this fish; I would hand feed her nori as she lay in a corner of the tank. That was probably her saving grace; this fish never stopped eating! However, around this time is when I also discovered eating red nori would make her all bloated. You can read more about that here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-discussion/182964-feeding-red-nori.html
In time, all other symptoms cleared but ich persisted. I couldn't figure it out - copper had never failed me before. There were times she was so covered in ich, I didn't see how she could survive. This went on for months. I finally resorted to prayer (I'm not a religious or "spiritual" person). I asked God, "If you will help me save this fish, I will always do everything I can to ensure she lives a long, happy life." I was pretty despondent - it was always this emotional roller coaster whether she was going to live or die.
Shortly thereafter, I started reading about Chloroquine phosphate and it's use for treating ich. I felt stupid... my dad had to remind me that we used CP back in the 1970s to treat fish diseases. I started meeting the right people, those far more knowledgeable than I when it comes to treating ich. Opportunities to expand my knowledge of fish diseases opened, and a good friend helped me obtain some CP. A month later, my PBT was ich free and has been ever since.
It took almost a full year to get this fish completely healthy. And because of her, I realized my niche in this hobby was studying fish diseases. Early on, I started calling her "Typhoid Mary" because of all her disease problems. My wife changed it to "Mary Kay" - because she works for them as a beauty consultant. So, below is my Mary today. And now you know just why she means so **** much to me :wink:.
