Powder Blue Tang has Ich!!

[sfboarders]

Ich comes and goes. It's part of the lifecycle. My blue hippo and purple tang have ich on them and I'm leaving them in there. They swim and eat fine. Occasionally I see the blue hippo getting tickled by the cleaner shrimp. I don't see them brushing on the rocks or the sand so that's a good thing. I'd only remove the fish if they were seriously plastered with ich or if all my fish had a good amount of ich on them. If they are breathing rapidly or sitting in the same spot would be a bit more concerning for me.

 

[Thales]

I just realized the new moonlights I put in the other night were really stressing the tang out. All the other fish don't seem to notice the moonlights much, but the PBT doesn't calm down unless the tank is completely dark at night. Now that the moonlights are off, the tang has seemed to calm down and the spots are going away again.

Mike -
Like Gresh says, what you are doing is classic. Post hoc ergo procto hoc - it happened after therefore was caused by. Almost every reefer goes through this because they want to feel like they are helping. Spots coming and going have nothing to do with the infection clearing up or not clearing up.

The parasite has a complex lifecycle and looking for reasons is fruitless. Its not your moonlight, its the ich - as it comes and goes it annoys the fish differently. If he is twitching, I would pull him and treat him in QT. The twitching is indicative of a deeper infection that is most likely to get worse as the parasites mature.

This is the first part of a five part article about Crypto:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2003/mini1.htm

I would read all 5 parts to get a good feel for what is actually happening in your tank.

All 5 parts are really good.

 

[177ike]

Mike I fear your getting caught in a typical reefer thing to do. Just because you change one factor doesn't equate to the being the real issue, or has any real effect at all. Your posts are very indicative of this. One day bad..change something, next day improving. To me this all looks like the natural ebb and flow of the parasite. I hope to be wrong and tomorrow it won't rear it's ugly head even harder.

That being said, too much light at night does disturb them but you'd be very surprised at just how much light the real moon casts on the tropical reef. It can get very bright.

I understand what you are saying and I certainly do feel like I am shooting blindly at a problem I don't fully understand. That being said, everything I'm doing and explaining is only meant to share information about my experience with ich and receive opinions from others on this board. As we all know, there are many different variables in this hobby and also many different ways to skin a cat.

The moonlights I rigged up were from eBay. Look here: http://cgi.ebay.com/42-24-LED-Waterproof-Coral-Aquarium-moonlight-light_W0QQitemZ250606479863QQcategoryZ94940QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D20%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8868761223837451380

These moonlights have clusters of 3 blue (470 nm) LEDs. There are a total of 8 clusters, or 24 LEDs that were illuminating my tank. I must say, the tank and coral looked amazing under this light, but it was REALLY bright and the PBT instantly started acting scared and avoiding the strange shadows the moonlights put into the tank. I allowed the lights to remain on throughout the night during the first night I installed them, and this is when the PBT's ich problem came back the following day. The next night, I let the moonlights turn on again and oberved the same behavior of the PBT acting very skittish. I then turned the moonlights off and went to check out his behavior with only the illumination of my iphone screen. He instantly looked more peaceful, swimming around calmly, and ultimately going behind the rock where he usually sleeps.

I'm not saying moonlights will cause stress ----> ich in everyone's tank, but for my situation, my PBT definitely does not like the moonlights. BTW, I pretty much see no signs of ich today, so I'm hopeful.

 

[Thales]

I understand what you are saying and I certainly do feel like I am shooting blindly at a problem I don't fully understand. That being said, everything I'm doing and explaining is only meant to share information about my experience with ich and receive opinions from others on this board. As we all know, there are many different variables in this hobby and also many different ways to skin a cat.

Gotcha - I think the issue is that these ways to skin ich serve to perpetuate myths about the parasite. I have seen these things spin out of control quickly - ginger anyone - and animals end up paying for it.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Mike, it would be best if you just read the links that we've posted on these last 2 pages and proceed from there.

 

[177ike]

Mike, it would be best if you just read the links that we've posted on these last 2 pages and proceed from there.

Will do.

 

[177ike]

I understand what you are saying and I certainly do feel like I am shooting blindly at a problem I don't fully understand. That being said, everything I'm doing and explaining is only meant to share information about my experience with ich and receive opinions from others on this board. As we all know, there are many different variables in this hobby and also many different ways to skin a cat.

Gotcha - I think the issue is that these ways to skin ich serve to perpetuate myths about the parasite. I have seen these things spin out of control quickly - ginger anyone - and animals end up paying for it.

I can understand how home remedies can make things get a whole lot worse if applied improperly.. It is truly unfortunate for the living organisms in our little glass boxes as they are the ones that must suffer and pay the price.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

I have seen these things spin out of control quickly - ginger anyone -

Ginger works really well on groupers.

You have to add crushed garlic and red pepper flakes though.



Stir fry on high heat. But don't over cook. Toss some green onions and cilantro on top, and serve.

 

[GreshamH]

make sure it's an aquacultured grouper though...

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Didn't I see some in Berkeley?

 

[177ike]

I have seen these things spin out of control quickly - ginger anyone -

Ginger works really well on groupers.

You have to add crushed garlic and red pepper flakes though.



Stir fry on high heat. But don't over cook. Toss some green onions and cilantro on top, and serve.

Sounds delicious other than the fact that I'm not a ginger fan. I hate when my sushi even touches the stuff. I hear your point tho.

 

[GreshamH]

I like ginger but I as well don't like it contaminating my sushi. I want fish to taste like fish!

 

[177ike]

Okay, I've read the gory details of ich and now understand what I need to do... The only problem is I don't know how to do it. Any suggestions on how to get my PBT out of my display? There's a lot of rock for him to hide..

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Some of the folks have done pretty well with some kind of fish trap.

Hopefully they can post some tips.

Good luck!

 

[177ike]

The good news is I already have a hospital tank setup and very easily will be able to go the hyposalinity route since my ro/di lin is connected to the tank via solenoid valve and ATO float switch. All I'll have to do is slowly siphon out saltwater until I get to the lower salinity level needed for ich to not be able to survive.

First things first, I need to get my PBT out!! I have made a trap in the past to get my dottyback out using a water bottle with inverted endcap. I am going to try to make a new one out of a 2 litre bottle, using nori attached to some rock rubble. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know! Thanks.

 

[Thales]

Are you coming on the tank tour? I can lend you a trap.

 

[177ike]

Are you coming on the tank tour? I can lend you a trap.

Thanks for the offer but I already picked one up from another local reefer nearbye my house, however; I've had no such luck whatsoever with the tang going into the trap. I've tried pellets and now nori. Any suggestions on how to bait the tang to actually go inside?

 

[Thales]

Leave the trap in there for a day or two. Try to bait it with a turkey baster pushing a little of the food into the back of the treap without removing the trap. Live brine is good too.

I only see one string in that pic, and that kind of trap really needs two. One to hold the door open and one to pull it down when the fish is inside because the door won't close fast enough on its own.

 

[177ike]

The string is not actually holding the door open. The door slides open and closed and is being held open on its own. I've tested the door and if I yank the string to close the door rather than pull the string, it will close the door. The water weight is enough to hold the trap in place so the door will slide shut. I just hope the tang will go in there.. The trap has been sitting in my tank for pretty much the whole day today. He shows some interest, but not nearly enough confidence to go in at this time.

 

[sid700]

Assuming you've fed the tang nori before. You can leave the trap, and let him eat. Then don't feed him for a day or two. Re-install the trap.