Lost 5 blue tangs over 2 years

Saltwada · Apr 25, 2019

MnFish1 said:
I have 2 yellow tanks and a purple tang in my current tank - all from the same source. I think I answered the part about whether I QT - the answer is 'no'.

ohh okay so you just buy quartined fish. where is the site for them?

MnFish1 · Apr 25, 2019

Frtdrmrose7 said:
Coppersafe will work also and it’s cheleted, just watch your levels and fish as I think there may have been a consistency issue at one time. Was it coppersafe that had that issue? @HotRocks @4FordFamily ?

I think there are multiple reports of problems with chelated copper - here and scientifically.

MnFish1 · Apr 25, 2019

Saltwada said:
ohh okay so you just buy quartined fish. where is the site for them?

The site is a store about 8 miles from where I live. I would never buy a fish online again - after what I experienced

Frtdrmrose7 · Apr 25, 2019

MnFish1 said:
I think there are multiple reports of problems with chelated copper - here and scientifically.

I’ve never had a problem with copper power, but I also use a Hanna so I can dial it in and hold a consistent level without guessing.

Saltwada · Apr 25, 2019

tvu said:
Blue tangs tolerate copper very well. I’ve QT’ed several for myself and friends.

Most fish purchased from LFS will come with something. I recommend to QT all fish. I’ve learned the hard way over 20yrs in the hobby.

I now keep my favorite and the infamous Powder Blue Tang with no problems due to QTing.

Good luck y’all.

Hi! Can you share with me your qt process? I’m just so nervous I love asking all of you what your qt process is

Saltwada · Apr 25, 2019

Frtdrmrose7 said:
I’ve never had a problem with copper power, but I also use a Hanna so I can dial it in and hold a consistent level without guessing.

How do you feel about sponge filters for oxygen and help with ammonia

Saltwada · Apr 25, 2019

MnFish1 said:
The site is a store about 8 miles from where I live. I would never buy a fish online again - after what I experienced

Oh what’s the store called?

HotRocks · Apr 25, 2019

Coppersafe is safe to use. It's just inconsistent as far as concentration. So if using it, the best thing to do is run a baseline test. Dose exactly 1ml into 1 precisely measured gallon of saltwater. Mix well and run a test with Hanna checker. Then you at least know the concentration of your bottle and are able to dose accordingly.

Frtdrmrose7 · Apr 25, 2019

Saltwada said:
How do you feel about sponge filters for oxygen and help with ammonia

Yes, add biospira or fritz9000 Bacteria in a bottle to your QT with just a basic filter sponge in the hob filter. I would also recommend a seachem ammonia badge to monitor ammonia

MnFish1 · Apr 25, 2019

Saltwada said:
Oh what’s the store called?

You can PM me - are you in the midwest - they do not ship as far as I know lol

.

4FordFamily · Apr 25, 2019

Frtdrmrose7 said:
Coppersafe will work also and it’s cheleted, just watch your levels and fish as I think there may have been a consistency issue at one time. Was it coppersafe that had that issue? @HotRocks @4FordFamily ?

Yes it was coppersafe

FrancineJ · Apr 25, 2019

I have not read through all of the comments but it’s likely to me that If you have kept adding a new fish right away is your problem....
ich or velvet will remain in a tank for over 70 days (76 I believe) so what happens is the ich is likely falling off your fish (the little white spores) and as long as a fish is in the tank it can remain “in there” to totally rid your tank of ich or velvet (it could be either as tangs are susceptible to both) you need to leave your tank fallow for the 76 days.... to get rid of the total life cycle of it... (fallow means NO fish at all in the tank) you can keep your corals and cuc and shrimp and such as they are only carriers of ich and it will not effect them.... you will need to ghost feed the tank every now and then to make sure your snails and such have some food...

To treat your tangs in a qt/hospital tank you should do up to 2 weeks of copper... when you set up a hospital tank DO NOT put any rock or sand in it... you can use different shapes PVC pipes in the bottom for your fish to use as caves but rock and sand will absorb the copper and it’s too hard to keep it at therapeutic levels....
Also, it’s very important that when your tank is fallow if you add ANYTHING... coral, snail, shrimp ect you must start your 76 days back at 0 as all of those things can be carriers of diseases....

So my best guess (without reading the 3 pages of posts) is that you have kept fish in the DT after ich being in there... therefore it has always had a host to feed on (ich and other diseases can lay dormant for a while in the rock and sand but if there is no fish host it’s life cycle will end)

If you are treating to TREAT a fish with ich you may also need to do other treatments after the copper or CP treatment... ich can cause secondary infections in fish so I use the copper or CP at therapeutic levels for 2 weeks (you must test EVERY day because if it’s too low it won’t kill everything off and if it’s too high you will kill you fish... it’s a very fine line) Then I use the trifecta of meds... furan 2, metroplex and kanaplex... and do the water changes on the proper days (I believe it’s 25% every 3 days because of the way furan 2 works) and then that will kill off any secondary gram negative and positive infections.... I have had ich and velvet and done this regime in a hospital tank and all the fish have lived and are fine....
But again I think the most important part is you must go fallow for 76 days and rid your tank of any diseases that may be lingering....
People don’t qt and get away with it but it’s really better to just do it and then you can feel better about having a healthy reef.... that’s just again my best guess of what’s happening without reading the 3 pages lol

Ferrell · Apr 26, 2019

Here’s some reading material to chew on and digest. It helps to understand the process and is from one of the qt gurus, is there a badge for that?
As others have said and most all have experienced, velvet and ich should be treated in hospital qt and display left fishless for 10-12 weeks.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-current-qt-process.483371/

67chevellemalibu2 · Apr 26, 2019

MnFish1 said:
This is ridiculous. No offense - If you have properly qt'd fish its not a problem there are lots of articles suggesting that tangs - including blue tangs are at no higher risk of CI than others.

Who are you to tell someone to quarantine! There's many people on here that don't quarantine. How about this. The wholesalers and LFS take more responsibility on the health of the fish they sell to us, instead of putting everything on our shoulders. We pay to have healthy fish! That's ridiculous!

MnFish1 · Apr 26, 2019

67chevellemalibu2 said:
Who are you to tell someone to quarantine! There's many people on here that don't quarantine. How about this. The wholesalers and LFS take more responsibility on the health of the fish they sell to us, instead of putting everything on our shoulders. We pay to have healthy fish! That's ridiculous!

Um - I never told someone to quarantine. I dont quarantine - so why would I tell someone else to do something I don't do. . I buy my fish from a trusted source. Just for the sake of discussion - the point here was that tangs are not at a higher risk of CI than other fish: lots of articles suggesting that tangs - including blue tangs are at no higher risk of CI than others. Hopefully this clarifies what I think.

MnFish1 · Apr 26, 2019

67chevellemalibu2 said:
Who are you to tell someone to quarantine! There's many people on here that don't quarantine. How about this. The wholesalers and LFS take more responsibility on the health of the fish they sell to us, instead of putting everything on our shoulders. We pay to have healthy fish! That's ridiculous!

BTW - there is a difference between 'QT' and 'Prophylactic treatment'. So - if you're saying 'who am I to suggest that people who buy fish keep them separate from their display tanks until its documented that they are ok' - I would say every major zoo and aquarium in the world (ok - nothing is ever certain). But - again - people here use abbreviations/words here - that may have multiple meanings. So - there's that.

additionally - this is what I was replying to : Blue tangs are the worst for ich. STAY AWAY! Leave dory in the ocean. I have failed with that fish even when I quarantine. Sorry for your losses.

Meaning - you cant have Blue tangs in a tank - that is RIDICULOUS - as there are many tanks here - that keep them without problems.

Saltwada · Apr 27, 2019

Frtdrmrose7 said:
I’ve never had a problem with copper power, but I also use a Hanna so I can dial it in and hold a consistent level without guessing.

hanna has a tester for copper well?

jpcrash1 · Apr 27, 2019

67chevellemalibu2 said:
Who are you to tell someone to quarantine! There's many people on here that don't quarantine. How about this. The wholesalers and LFS take more responsibility on the health of the fish they sell to us, instead of putting everything on our shoulders. We pay to have healthy fish! That's ridiculous!

Amen brother!

jpcrash1 · Apr 27, 2019

MnFish1 said:
BTW - there is a difference between 'QT' and 'Prophylactic treatment'. So - if you're saying 'who am I to suggest that people who buy fish keep them separate from their display tanks until its documented that they are ok' - I would say every major zoo and aquarium in the world (ok - nothing is ever certain). But - again - people here use abbreviations/words here - that may have multiple meanings. So - there's that.

additionally - this is what I was replying to : Blue tangs are the worst for ich. STAY AWAY! Leave dory in the ocean. I have failed with that fish even when I quarantine. Sorry for your losses.

Meaning - you cant have Blue tangs in a tank - that is RIDICULOUS - as there are many tanks here - that keep them without problems.

Yes,a lot of people keep blue tangs without issue. I call these the lucky ones. If read the ich posts on here,most start with I bought a blue tang yesterday. They are a pretty fish but seem to get ich more than any other fish. This causes people to get discouraged and leave the hobby.