Blue Tang

[bif24701]

My blue tang Ive had for almost a year now, and she has HLLE and I do see white spots from time to time. I have set up a hospital tank and want to treat with copper.

Question

I have many other fish however none seem to be affected by this including yellow tang. I have not lost any fish in this system in its current configuration and the very previous one, so just about a year and that was my fault. DO I NEED TO CATCH EVERY FISH AND TREAT THEM? or just the Tang and let her recover before going back into the DT?

Thanks.

 

[b0bab0ey]

I have many other fish however none seem to be affected by this including yellow tang. I have not lost any fish in this system in its current configuration and the very previous one, so just about a year and that was my fault. DO I NEED TO CATCH EVERY FISH AND TREAT THEM? or just the Tang and let her recover before going back into the DT?

Unfortunately you'll need to QT every fish and treat with copper, hypo or tank transfer method. In the meantime leave your DT fallow (fishless) for 9-10 weeks to starve out any remaining Ich parasites in there. Even if you do all this, it doesn't work 100% of the time. The longer you can deal with keeping your DT fallow (10+ weeks or more) the better IMO.

I'm guessing your "Blue Tang" is either a Powder Blue or a Regal. Both are very susceptible to Ich which is why you are seeing it more on her. But keep in mind just because you don't see Ich on any of your other fish doesn't mean they don't have it. The free swimming stage of Ich is invisible to the naked eye. Ich can also live in the gills. Have you ever seen any of your fish (probably the Yellow Tang) scratch on a rock? That's probably from Ich. Also, IME Regals are the absolute worst when it comes to HLLE.

 

[bif24701]

Unfortunately you'll need to QT every fish and treat with copper, hypo or tank transfer method. In the meantime leave your DT fallow (fishless) for 9-10 weeks to starve the remaining Ich out. Even if you do all this, it doesn't work 100% of the time. The longer you can deal with keeping your DT fallow (10+ weeks or more) the better IMO.

I'm guessing your "Blue Tang" is either a Powder Blue or a Regal. Both are very susceptible to Ich which is why you are seeing it more on her. But keep in mind just because you don't see Ich on any of your other fish doesn't mean they don't have it. The free swimming stage of Ich is invisible to naked eye. Ich can also live in the gills. Have you ever seen any of your fish (probably the Yellow Tang) scratch on a rock? That's probably from Ich. Also, IME Regals are the absolute worst when it comes to HLLE.

I agree with all you said, I do not have room to accommodate all of my fish so Ill have to try to heal her or give up some fish. My set up is a 29 long, with a marineland 400 power filter (a lot of filter), some small LR and many of my fish are juveniles and less than 3". Maybe Ill have to use that 40B Ive been saving for a remote refugium.

Yes, I want her to look well so bad, and she may never recover from HLLE.

 

[bif24701]

Yes, a Pacific Blue Regal Tang. Thanks.

 

[MrTuskfish]

There is still no scientific cause for HLLE, lots of anecdotal opinions, though. It usually goes away with good diet, vitamins, excellent water, and time. I'm just guessing that the presence of a parasite could also prolong recovery from HLLE; a fish with parasites is not a healthy fish and that's the key to recovery from HLLE. I suspect you'll see improvement in the HLLE when the parasite is long-gone. Ich (and other parasites) are deadly, HLLE is just ugly; first things first.

 

[b0bab0ey]

I agree with all you said, I do not have room to accommodate all of my fish so Ill have to try to heal her or give up some fish. My set up is a 29 long, with a marineland 400 power filter (a lot of filter), some small LR and many of my fish are juveniles and less than 3". Maybe Ill have to use that 40B Ive been saving for a remote refugium.

Yes, I want her to look well so bad, and she may never recover from HLLE.

Do you have any corals/inverts in the tank? If not, one option would be to hypo the DT and kill all the Ich that way. Another option would be to copper the DT, so long as you never planned on putting any corals/inverts in there. Both options have downsides... hypo might kill off some (or all) of your bacteria in the LR and uncycle the tank. I've read conflicting opinions on that.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you this and I don't want to preach at you, but you really should have those tangs in a bigger tank my friend.