Sick tang, is this ich?

[TARHEEL78]

My girlfriend just texted me that her tomini was acting weird. She says he is hiding in the rocks, staying out of the light and that he was chasing one of her puffers which is very out of character for the tang. This is the best pic she could get but it looks like it may have ich or is this something else? All I can see are some white spots on around the eyes smaller than its normal white spots.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Tough photo to identify but it looks more like fluke to me. Ich looks like raised raised salt crystals on the body and fins. I'd try and take a better photo and post it.

Worse case you can always fresh water dip for 5 minutes with same water temp, PH, airstone, and dose of amquel for ammonia control. If it is flukes you will know. They will fall off the fish and look like clear sesame seeds.

Check out this link. It talks about freshwater dips and flukes.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/

 

[TARHEEL78]

I'm on my way there now and will try to get a better picture. She doesn't think she can catch him alone so she is waiting on me to get there before she does anything.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

I'm on my way there now and will try to get a better picture. She doesn't think she can catch him alone so she is waiting on me to get there before she does anything.

Good luck. Read the thread I sent you and watch the video. If you can get a good picture even better. We can go from there and figure out how to treat asap.

 

[TARHEEL78]

Ok, I gave the first post a quick read but haven't watched the video yet. She doesn't have a quarantine tank. Will it be ok to move the tang back to the DT after the dip?

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Ok, I wave the first post a quick read but haven't wat had the video yet. She doesn't have a quarantine tank. Will it be ok to m ok very the tsng back to the DT after the dip?

If we are dealing with flukes, the dip will provide the fish temporary relief to buy you time to setup QT. It doesn't take a lot. Worse case get a cheap 10 gallon tank or big plastic bin, sponge filter with airstone or HOB filter, heater, and ammonia badge. You'll need to 50% water changes daily, which isn't so bad for a 10 gallon tank. I know its a pain but should cost you less than $75. Great to have especially if you intend on adding fish down the road too.

Question, is he still eating?

 

[TARHEEL78]

He was eating fine when I was there last night. I'll be there in 5 minutes so I'll be able to give more updates then.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Okay. If he is still eating, feed generously to help keep his immune system high. Very important!

 

[TARHEEL78]

I just got this pic, he's picking at rocks as usual.

 

[TARHEEL78]

There are only a few small spots on the body. They are most prominent on the face/head area.

 

[TARHEEL78]

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Thanks. Okay a couple questions. How long have you had the fish? Did you add anything new to the tank recently?

 

[TARHEEL78]

She has had the tang for longer than I've known her, so over a year. There was a sailfin blenny np a yellow tail damsel added to the tank while back, maybe a month ago. The blenny hides in the rocks and hardly ever comes out, the damsel is fine.

 

[Tyler Bullock]

I am no expert identifying ich. But there are white spots on it. Mine looked similar and I took him out and he is in QT with Copper Power right now.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

It is possible that the new additions are the cause. Parasites can even come in on coral, LR, inverts, etc. Did she add anything else besides fish recently?

The best way to approach this is by conducting a FW dip. If they fall off, well then process of elimination. If the spots are still present than you're most likely dealing with ich and the larger white cotton/cauliflower spot by his eye looks like lympho, which is a non life threatening virus and it will resolve itself as long as water and living conditions are good.

Fresh water dips are easy (hardest part catching the fish) but you need to make sure that:

- The PH freshwater matches the same as your tank
- Airstone
- Temp is the same as your tank
- Add small dose of ammonia reducer
- Time 5-7 minutes depending on how your fish is responding.

 

[TARHEEL78]

I believe the larger white spots by the eyes are normal for that tang. I've never seen it without them and when I Google image search tomini tang they all have them. I'm setting up a QT and will do a freshwater dip asap. I'll report back later with updates. If anyone else has an opinion I'm happy to listen. Thanks!

 

[LAReefer4Life]

I believe the larger white spots by the eyes are normal for that tang. I've never seen it without them and when I Google image search tomini tang they all have them. I'm setting up a QT and will do a freshwater dip asap. I'll report back later with updates. If anyone else has an opinion I'm happy to listen. Thanks!

Perfect. Glad to hear about the larger spot is just the type of tang. Hard to tell by the photos.

Do the fresh water dip and keep us posted. If nothing drops off then you need to treat for ich.

 

[TARHEEL78]

Ok, after fighting for a while she finally decided to pull some rock out so we could catch the tang. Unfortunately we managed to get a good bit of sand in to the dip water so I really can't tell if anything dropped off or not. Everything is a huge mess right now but I'll try to get some new pics up soon. Thanks again guys.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Glad to hear. How long were able to FW dip? Are spots still present? If so then you're dealing with ich and you will need to move into QT to fully eradicate the parasite.

There are 2 methods in the bobby and they are ich eradication vs health management. See thread below.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/

 

[TARHEEL78]

I still haven't been able to get a pic but I got a good look at him and he looks much better. Also, when I emptied the dip bucket some of the bits in the bottom looked like sand but some looked "more clear" according to my girlfriend. We dipped him for a full 5 minutes and he did pretty well during the dip. He never played dead and just swam around the bucket.

ETA: When I say he looks much better I mean there doesn't appear to be any spots on him now.