Advise Needed - Please help. White Spots on Tangs

[yankee26th]

Hello and Thank you to all that can help.

I just recently purchased over the past month and a half and added one at a time a Sailfin, Kole, Tomini and Mimic Tangs. The Tomini and Kole Tangs died within 2 weeks of each other. Now the Mimic is losing its color and has white spots on its body and fins. I think the Sailfin is the start of the problem. Would this be a sign of stress which is then causing ich?

Please let me know.

Thanks

 

[sfboarders]

Sounds like ich to me. Ich is common in tangs. Get em out and QT them. Do a search for ich in this forum. It's talked about every other day in here. Good Luck!

 

[yankee26th]

Sounds like ich to me. Ich is common in tangs. Get em out and QT them. Do a search for ich in this forum. It's talked about every other day in here. Good Luck!

The Mimic probably won't make it through the night. The Sailfin might hang in there because their won't be any other tangs he can bother. I should try to remove him, add other tangs then reintroduce him back into the system. I found out from a reliable source that I should have added the Sailfin last.

Thanks ---
Chris

 

[RegalAngel]

It appears from your information that the tank you have your fish located in is infested with marine ich. You should not add any more fish to this tank to avoid any further spread of the disease.

You need to place the fish in a separate tank that medication can be added to in order to treat the ich. What type of aquarium display do you have? Reef, Fish Only with Live Rock(FOWLR) or FO?

 

[yankee26th]

It appears from your information that the tank you have your fish located in is infested with marine ich. You should not add any more fish to this tank to avoid any further spread of the disease.

You need to place the fish in a separate tank that medication can be added to in order to treat the ich. What type of aquarium display do you have? Reef, Fish Only with Live Rock(FOWLR) or FO?

Reef, which makes it very difficult to catch the fish. Unless you know of a trick and a way to get around LR and Corals without doing alot of damage.

Thanks ---
Chris

 

[Alcedok9]

you could try and use a fish trap. It takes tons of patience and even more good luck.
Our sailfin is a nice guy and doesn't seem to really bother anyone.

 

[wooden_reefer]

Hello and Thank you to all that can help.

I just recently purchased over the past month and a half and added one at a time a Sailfin, Kole, Tomini and Mimic Tangs. The Tomini and Kole Tangs died within 2 weeks of each other. Now the Mimic is losing its color and has white spots on its body and fins. I think the Sailfin is the start of the problem. Would this be a sign of stress which is then causing ich?

Please let me know.

Thanks

Do you QT? Are you adding all these tangs into DT directly?

Besides QT and Ich problems, you may also have an ammonia problem.

How did you cycle for your tank, be it QT or DT?

If you had cycled for a tank correctly, you can in theory and in practice (if you are good at disease control) add three tangs in six weeks after cycle.

If you had not cycled for the tank correctly, you will have even more problems.

Chances are that you are doing many things incorrectly.

The correct procedure to start is to cycle for both QT and DT very well.

Qt well and then add fish. When you are really good at disease control and you cycle very well, you can add fish more quickly. It seems that your are not skillful at this time.

 

[yankee26th]

Do you QT? Are you adding all these tangs into DT directly?

Besides QT and Ich problems, you may also have an ammonia problem.

How did you cycle for your tank, be it QT or DT?

If you had cycled for a tank correctly, you can in theory and in practice (if you are good at disease control) add three tangs in six weeks after cycle.

If you had not cycled for the tank correctly, you will have even more problems.

Chances are that you are doing many things incorrectly.

The correct procedure to start is to cycle for both QT and DT very well.

Qt well and then add fish. When you are really good at disease control and you cycle very well, you can add fish more quickly. It seems that your are not skillful at this time.

Hello wooden reefer ---

Thank you for your input.

I don't think cycling has anything to do with it. My reef tank was up and running for 6 months before I decided to add fish. I use fresh seawater, not synthetic. So I don't think cycling has nothing to do with this particular problem.

No I don't have a QT and I don't know what a DT is. I make sure that the fish I purchase are eating and have been with the LFS for more than a week before I purchase them.

The first fish I added was the Sailfin Tang. Then I added a Yellow Eyed Kole Tang, then a Mimic and finally a Tomini. Observing them all I noticed the Sailfin was picking on everyone. Then the Kole was irritating the Tomini until it died. Next the Sailfin stressed out the Kole until it died. Now the Sail is picking on the Mimic and I'm sure eventually it will die.
I think I have a nasty Sailfin thats stressed out everyone.
Talking to people they felt that, because of its species, I should have added the Sailfin last.

What I think I'm going to do is set-up a QT. Especially for Tangs. Put them in all at the same time to see what happens before I introduce them to my main tank.

Thanks

 

[IridescentLily]

In my experience Mimics are less harranging than the other tangs, and therefore usually get the brunt of aggression amongst other tangs in a tank.

DT means Display Tank.

 

[sfboarders]

Hello wooden reefer ---

Thank you for your input.

I don't think cycling has anything to do with it. My reef tank was up and running for 6 months before I decided to add fish. I use fresh seawater, not synthetic. So I don't think cycling has nothing to do with this particular problem.

No I don't have a QT and I don't know what a DT is. I make sure that the fish I purchase are eating and have been with the LFS for more than a week before I purchase them.

The first fish I added was the Sailfin Tang. Then I added a Yellow Eyed Kole Tang, then a Mimic and finally a Tomini. Observing them all I noticed the Sailfin was picking on everyone. Then the Kole was irritating the Tomini until it died. Next the Sailfin stressed out the Kole until it died. Now the Sail is picking on the Mimic and I'm sure eventually it will die.
I think I have a nasty Sailfin thats stressed out everyone.
Talking to people they felt that, because of its species, I should have added the Sailfin last.

What I think I'm going to do is set-up a QT. Especially for Tangs. Put them in all at the same time to see what happens before I introduce them to my main tank.

Thanks

DT = display tank

Cycling a medium for your QT for bacteria. If you can't do that get some filter medium and throw it in the sump for bacteria. If you don't have any bacteria you're going to be battling ammonia in the QT which can stress and even kill the fish.

 

[RegalAngel]

Hello wooden reefer ---

What I think I'm going to do is set-up a QT. Especially for Tangs. Put them in all at the same time to see what happens before I introduce them to my main tank.

Thanks

For a quick QT cycle, use Seachems Stability. Just add the fish, add Stability and presto! your cycled. It even works with Seachems Cupramine.

I noticed another post that had discussed this and think it is the best route for you to take in this situation.

 

[westwind1124]

I have had good luck with a fish trap. As far as the ich goes since it has been introduced into the main tank it will always be there unless you remove ALL the fish and have NO fish in the tank for atleast 6 weeks (I would go 8 just to be sure). Put them all in a QT and treat with coppersafe...or whatever you like for ich treatment. It takes 6 weeks or so for ich to die and as long as their is a fish in there it will be alive. It sucks I know but welcome to reefing:spin2:

 

[wooden_reefer]

Hello wooden reefer ---

Thank you for your input.

I don't think cycling has anything to do with it. My reef tank was up and running for 6 months before I decided to add fish. I use fresh seawater, not synthetic. So I don't think cycling has nothing to do with this particular problem.

The extent of nitrification activity is not decided just by how long you wait.

First, the medium in the tank must have experienced enough ammonia during the cycle.

Second, if you had cycled the tank very well, immediately and within a length of time, the nitrification activity will remain high.

THird, nitrification activity will start to diminish for extented period without bioload.

The nitrification activity peaks after the medium has experienced enough ammonia and for long enough time. After that, the nitrification activity may well decline the longer you wait.

 

[wooden_reefer]

As far as adding two or three tangs in two weeks, for many people this would cause ammonia surge.

In fact, this is not necessarily true. If you add the fish quickly right after a very robust cycle you will not have ammonia.

It is not a matter of waiting and waiting, it is about waiting for the right moment when nitrification activity is very high after a robust cycle, using sources of ammonia to cycle.

Many people still cycle using the gradual method with livestock, cheap ones. This is not a good way but if you do so the way to minimize exposure to ammonia is to add livestock slowly. This is a compromise that is completely unnecessary but many people do so.

 

[Lobb4920]

I have a sailfin tang and he picks on and kills every other tang I have put in. On my second powder brown tang he made it 2 weeks developed white spots which was probably ich then died suddenly the sailfin also developed them but went away 2-3 days later. In my expierence if the sailfin is dominating the other tangs try introducing a small one. Right now I have a small regal tang that is getting along great with him. If you want to catch him wait until he is in the open and turn the lights off and you will have a few seconds that he is stunnned that is the only way to catch mine.