Lemon peel tang scratching

[juanmanuelsanchez]

Hello all!

So I got some new fishes. Along with those there is a lemon peel tang.

They all went through QT with cupramine for 2 weeks, no signal of scratching / flashing, etc.

Move them to the DT and now the peel tang is scratching against the sand or rocks. No white spots can be seen. It's not swimming against the power heads. No other fish are scratching.

It's also eating a lot.

Should I be worried? I already had a ich outbreak 3 months ago and had to leave the DT fallow for that time.

I will try to get pictures.

Thanks in advance.

 

[EmdeReef]

How bad is the scratching? Non stop of occasional? You should probably see some spots if ich or velvet - perhaps may take some time to show up. You could do a FW dip to check for velvet.

Even though the recommendation on the bottle is 2weeks the most successful treatment is 30 days in copper. Sometimes works to transfer to a different QT tank after ~2wks and observe another 2-3 wks.

 

[juanmanuelsanchez]

The scratching is ocassional. I didn't see anything that could worry me so I transfer them to the DT. Treatment was done...

During the whole time in QT it didn't display any strange behavior.

 

[EmdeReef]

Let's hope it's nothing but some weird behavior. Observe closely and spots will appear if ich or velvet. Is the scratching targeting gills? A fw dip will help figuring out if possibly velvet. Ich, even though a major pain, won't kill the fish fast and gives you more time to react.

When it comes to velvet, 2 weeks Cupramine will kill the free-swimming dinospore but trophonts and tomonts are resistant to doses that are far beyond toxic to the fish. A 2wk cupramine bath will deal a blowback to the cycle but trophonts may continue the cycle when taken out. The treatment or observation thus must last for as long as it takes for all trophonts and tomonts to become dinospores which can take ~20 days.

Many LFS treat their systems with low non-therapeutic doses of copper which especially in combination with lower salinity and lower temperature arrest the disease to some degree. Then we go home with a seemingly healthy fish that develops ich or velvet in ~1-6 days.

 

[juanmanuelsanchez]

So I have to take that fish out now along with everybody again? Or should I wait until I find evidence of ich?

Could there be another explanation that's not ich or velvet?

 

[Humblefish]

Was the fish dewormed with Prazipro whilst in QT?

 

[juanmanuelsanchez]

Yes

 

[juanmanuelsanchez]

Normally it tried to scratch the belly. I think I saw a white spit in the fin. I will keep observation and see if any other fish starts to change behavior.

 

[juanmanuelsanchez]

Well the fish have not changed since I posted this thread.

I'm using metroplex mixed with food in order to treat whatever attaches to the fish.

There is some ocassional scratching here and there, it's not worse. I can see some white spots on some fish, the ones that were already affected, but for me this spots are bigger than ich.

The rest seem un affected.

Thanks for the help.