Yellow Tangs and Ich

ItsAName · Jul 2, 2017

So I went to buy a yellow tang and the person at the store said if I don't have a UV sterilizer I should not buy a tang because they are Ich magnets. Couple of questions

1. Is he right?
2. Do you recommend having a UV sterilizer if I want a tang and does a UV sterilizer work to prevent Ich?

Thanks in advance!

aykwm · Jul 2, 2017

Dont listen to him, proper quarantining the fish will eradicate ich. UV will not cure ich. Don't trust LFSs because they will try to sell you anything.
UV is usually rated to clear algae and bacteria from water. So if UV is rated for 100 gal/hr and you have 100 gal/ht flow through it, it will just give you crystal clear water by killing bacteria and algae. It will do nothing to parasites. To be effective on parasite (again managing them and not eradicating/curing) you will need to almost divide the flow by 5 or 8, so a 100 gal/hr rated uv will reduce the parasites if run at 15-20 gal/hr.
Some people love it and swear by it, but I believe by proper quarantining you will not need it, especially its an added cost of running and maintaining it.

madweazl · Jul 2, 2017

No UV sterilizer on my setup and my yellow tang is just fine. I don't QT either but that is another bag of worms LOL.

ItsAName · Jul 2, 2017

Thank you for the advice. Do you agree that tangs are ich magnets

aykwm · Jul 2, 2017

Yes, they have relatively thin slime coat compared to other fish, so ich will be happy to infest them. That is ofcourse assuming that ich exist in the tank, or the fish has been exposed to it.

Humblefish · Jul 2, 2017

A UV will help you manage the presence of ich (and other diseases) by keeping their numbers low, but relying upon that in lieu of QT can be a risky proposition. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes you're safe only for a period of time.

All tangs have mucous coats which are reduced in composition and this makes them more vulnerable to parasites. However, the slime coat on a Zebrasoma (Yellow Tang's genus) is nowhere near as thin as Acanthurus (e.g. Powder Blue Tang, Achilles). Meaning, it can be very difficult to keep an Acanthurus in an "ich management" system whereas it is done all the time with Zebrasoma.

More info and a good read on this subject: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/ich-and-acanthurus-tangs-years-of-experience-and-ich-management.106/

4FordFamily · Jul 2, 2017

aykwm said:
Dont listen to him, proper quarantining the fish will eradicate ich. UV will not cure ich. Don't trust LFSs because they will try to sell you anything.
UV is usually rated to clear algae and bacteria from water. So if UV is rated for 100 gal/hr and you have 100 gal/ht flow through it, it will just give you crystal clear water by killing bacteria and algae. It will do nothing to parasites. To be effective on parasite (again managing them and not eradicating/curing) you will need to almost divide the flow by 5 or 8, so a 100 gal/hr rated uv will reduce the parasites if run at 15-20 gal/hr.
Some people love it and swear by it, but I believe by proper quarantining you will not need it, especially its an added cost of running and maintaining it.

I could not have said it better!

melypr1985 · Jul 2, 2017

aykwm said:
Dont listen to him, proper quarantining the fish will eradicate ich. UV will not cure ich. Don't trust LFSs because they will try to sell you anything.
UV is usually rated to clear algae and bacteria from water. So if UV is rated for 100 gal/hr and you have 100 gal/ht flow through it, it will just give you crystal clear water by killing bacteria and algae. It will do nothing to parasites. To be effective on parasite (again managing them and not eradicating/curing) you will need to almost divide the flow by 5 or 8, so a 100 gal/hr rated uv will reduce the parasites if run at 15-20 gal/hr.
Some people love it and swear by it, but I believe by proper quarantining you will not need it, especially its an added cost of running and maintaining it.

Humblefish said:
A UV will help you manage the presence of ich (and other diseases) by keeping their numbers low, but relying upon that in lieu of QT can be a risky proposition. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes you're safe only for a period of time.

All tangs have mucous coats which are reduced in composition and this makes them more vulnerable to parasites. However, the slime coat on a Zebrasoma (Yellow Tang's genus) is nowhere near as thin as Acanthurus (e.g. Powder Blue Tang, Achilles). Meaning, it can be very difficult to keep an Acanthurus in an "ich management" system whereas it is done all the time with Zebrasoma.

More info and a good read on this subject: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/ich-and-acanthurus-tangs-years-of-experience-and-ich-management.106/