Powder blues dying

dr.dator

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 6, 2016
Messages
52
Reaction score
33
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm at a loss currently but here's the story: I have been running my current tank (140 gallons) for almost 2 years now and all the fish in it have been there for over a year. I have 2 clowns, 5 Chromis viridis, 5 Lyretail anthias, 1 Bangaii cardinal, 1 Six line wrasse and a yellow(!) scopas tang. All fish are happy and fat and I have never seen any signs of Ich or other parasites. So 3 weeks ago I decided to get a powder blue tang. I have always liked those and my LFS had a few really nice ones so I got one.

I drip acclimated it for a few hours and then added it to the tank. My scopas tang almost instantly started harassing the powder blue so the next day I bought a bunch of egg create to divide the thank and separate the two for a while. It was working great and the powder blue started eating like the other fish. Unfortunately one morning just a few days later I found the powder blue breathing really hard and not moving much. It died within a couple of hours. I figured it might have been the initial harassment from the Scopas tang or maybe I didn't acclimate it for long enough... Anyway, a week later I was at the LFS again and I told them about the fish dying, so they were really nice and let me buy their last one they had with a discount. This time I thought I should take it real slow, so I put him in a small 15 gallon tank with some live rock from my sump, a heater and a pump for circulation and then added small amounts of water from my main tank during several days. He was doing great for over a week without any signs of sickness or anything so I added him to the tank last Sunday.

Yesterday I noticed he seemed a bit slow and was breathing pretty hard. This morning he was lying on the bottom of the tank, still alive but breathing really hard. So in a panic i picked him up and freshwater dipped him for five minutes. At first he seemed to recover a bit and started swimming again but after just an hour or so he also died. I could not see any flukes or anything in the bucket of freshwater i dipped him in. Only thing was some slight whitish coloration on his pectoral fins but it didn't look like ich to me. Now I feel terrible and I'm not sure if I ever will buy another fish... Anybody had any similar experiences or any clues to what could have killed them?
 
Last edited:
Sorry for your losses PBT are known ich magnets. A lot of people use copper when they are quarantining them whether they are showing signs or not because they almost always have it. The stress of moving them almost always brings a outbreak. Can't say for sure that was what wrong with yours, but just something to think about.
 
Sorry for your losses PBT are known ich magnets. A lot of people use copper when they are quarantining them whether they are showing signs or not because they almost always have it. The stress of moving them almost always brings a outbreak. Can't say for sure that was what wrong with yours, but just something to think about.

Thanks! Ok I figured since I never saw any signs of ich there was none... Can ich be present only on the gills? and therefore not externally visible? And will it kill a fish like that? I've always been more into the corals and this was sort of my first attempt at a more advanced type of fish, which I failed miserably...
 
All you can do is watch your other fish for signs of disease, as there is not enough to go on at this time to make a proper diagnosis. I don't think it's acclimation stress because you used rock/water from your DT in the 15 gal and he was fine. It could be ich (or even velvet) in the gills, as Acanthurus tangs are especially susceptible/sensitive to external parasites.
 
Symptoms sound more like Velvet to me and with that rapid of death from onset of you noticing the symptoms. Ich usually doesn't kill that fast.
 
Can ich be present only on the gills? and therefore not externally visible? And will it kill a fish like that?

Yes to all questions. Acanthurus tangs have virtually no mucous coat (even inside the gills) to shield them from attacking parasites. When trophonts latch on inside the gills, fluid builds up around the insertion points and can literally suffocate the fish to death if there are too many trophonts. This would explain the heavy breathing and rapid demise you saw. So, ich or velvet are both strong possibilities here. But it's impossible to be confident about that diagnosis without more to go on.

However, just in case this is velvet I would read this so you are prepared: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/defeating-marine-velvet-disease.217570/

Articles below are about ich -

Understanding Ich: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/understanding-ich.188770/

How to Treat Ich: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-treat-ich.191226/
 
Thanks guys. Well I hope it's not velvet then... Is it possible that I've had ich in my tank this whole time without knowing it and my current fish were able to handle it without even showing?
 
Thanks guys. Well I hope it's not velvet then... Is it possible that I've had ich in my tank this whole time without knowing it and my current fish were able to handle it without even showing?

Very possible. Most people can't keep Acanthurus tangs (long term) in an "ich management" tank due to their susceptibility. The other fish you listed are much more resistant, even the Zebrasoma.
 
Very possible. Most people can't keep Acanthurus tangs (long term) in an "ich management" tank due to their susceptibility. The other fish you listed are much more resistant, even the Zebrasoma.

Ok It feels like this might be the case as the second PBT was doing fine in the QT for over a week and then died within a few days after he put him in the DT.

I guess there is still no reliable ich cure that is reef safe, right?
 
Ok It feels like this might be the case as the second PBT was doing fine in the QT for over a week and then died within a few days after he put him in the DT.

I guess there is still no reliable ich cure that is reef safe, right?
Correct.
 
I am no expert by any means but I have encounter something similar with a few fish I have bought over time and at one point or another I see a tank mate being aggressive towards... at this point I have a BPT and it was introduced last and is the king of the tank... may be it's happening in your tank...
 
Another possibility is there's a low level toxin in your water. Something your other fish have built up a resistance or even immunity to, but any new fish will succumb to. That theory would also line up with the heavy breathing, once the toxin hits their gills.
 
I've been inspecting my other fish closely, and I think I can see some very small white specks on the Scopas tang. I tried to take a picture and it's really hard... I know the white dots on his face are not ich but look at his body. Is this Ich?

scopas.jpg
 
Looks very much like the beginnings of ich to me.
 
Looks very much like the beginnings of ich to me.

Thanks. I really appreciate your help.

I guess I'll have to go with "ich management" then as I don't have space for another tank big enough to hold all my fish atm. :(
 
What tank size do you think I would need to treat all my 15 fish in one go?
 
What tank size do you think I would need to treat all my 15 fish in one go?

Most of them are small, so you might be able to get away with using a 40 breeder. However, it is absolutely imperative that you use a HOB filter that utilizes bio-media capable of housing nitrifying bacteria. And seed it well in advance before dumping copper in - you can use one of those bacteria in a bottle products like Bio-Spira, Seachem Stability, Dr Tim's Nitrifying Bacteria. An Aquaclear 70 or even 110 would work well for you. Or a Bio-wheel powerfilter.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%

New Posts

Back
Top