Tangs dying

FreedomLantern · Nov 7, 2019

The Hippo Tang just died. Here are post mortem images. She has no obvious outside signs except slight discoloration and a few white dots.

FreedomLantern · Nov 7, 2019

We just ordered the Hanna Copper checker. On track to making sure this doesn't happen again. Thank you soooo much everyone for your advice, especially pathot984!

LAReefer4Life · Nov 7, 2019

Sorry for your loss! At least you'll be prepared to handle this moving forward. Happy to help in anyway, good-luck!

Big G · Nov 7, 2019

FreedomLantern said:
Final request: We took scrapings from the heater and examined them under the microscope, first at 10x then at 40x. Here is a video where you can see different types of worms or worms at different stages. The worms are very long relative to their diameter. But at the 3:00 minute mark I switched to 40x and you can see smaller creatures that appear not to be the same as the long thin ones. Are these dangerous, part of our problem? As you can see they are living in a structure that appears fuzzy. Picture attached of fuzzy stuff under microscope and regular picture. Here is the video: Salt water worms Here is the link to the video:

Sorry for the losses of your fish. The worms are bristle worms. Great scavengers in your sand. Some can stick you and or your fish with small "bristles" not unlike a cactus when brushed against. One form, "Fireworms" have bristles that outright burn when you are stung. Some of these types of worms get get extremely long. Some reefers like them; some don't like them in their tanks. Just be aware they are there. If treating the tank with Prazipro or some other meds, a die off of them can wreak havoc with your tank's water quality.

Sashaka · Nov 9, 2019

FreedomLantern said:
The Hippo Tang just died. Here are post mortem images. She has no obvious outside signs except slight discoloration and a few white dots.

I'm so sorry for your loss. It always hits me hard when I lose a fish. It's great that you are preparing by getting supplies now. I always keep antibiotics, copper, and CP on hand. CP has a shelf life about 1 year I think. It's a proven one and done treatment for ich and velvet and it even eradicates brook & uronema! It can't be used on tangs or wrasses though. I believe CP has fewer long term side effects than copper, which is a poison. It's hard to get though as a prescription is required. You can get CP on the Internet from different sources, but it is not pure, so dosing correctly can be challenging and it is not recommended buying it this way as there is no way to test levels. The good news is CP has a wide 'safe' medicinal range, so there is some wiggle room to prevent over or under dosing and most species of fish tolerate the treatment very well.

Salty Lemon · Nov 10, 2019

Keep in mind, that although your fish have died, you still have the ich etc. in your tank. You still need to have your tank go fallow and quarantine (QT) your fish. The clowns can handle a smaller location unlike the tangs that need big tanks, so you can place them in a 10 or 20L gallon QT tank -- even if they aren't showing signs and treat them. The next new fish you get could die quickly in a tank full of that stuff. I'm not certain what other fish you have, but by the photo it looks like they can handle a smaller QT tank for now. Good luck. I'm glad you joined us. I hope you keep coming back.

FreedomLantern · Nov 10, 2019

Thank you everyone for your replies. We are working on it. The Cupramine and PraziPro has arrived already, but we are still waiting Hanna copper checker before beginning any treatment.