Fish of 15+ years suddenly gets ICK??

[jgln]

My one tang appears to have ICK, some tiny white spots, not eating much if at all, swims of and may be breathing a bit harder, that is hard to say because I never paid that much attention.

So here is my question. I have not added ANYTHING to the tank except water and food in years and they have no had ick since when I first set up the tank 15+ years ago. Of 4 fish only 1 has these spots and not eating, other fish look great and happy. So can this possibly be ick?

I have been neglecting my water changes (125G tank) and my nitrates were at the highest level on the chart (160). I have been doing 5G water changes daily and changed out 30G so far. Now it is at 80. Ammonia is 0 and everything else good.

Getting this tang out of the tank is going to be near impossible. We have one small mushroom coral.

What is it and what can I do?

 

[HumbleFish]

You've probably had it lingering in the tank for years, and the recent poor water quality diminished your fishes' immune systems capacity to fight it off naturally.

Just to be sure about something... Have you added any new corals/inverts recently? Those are capable of introducing parasites via tomont stage.

Also, can you post pics of the infected tang??

 

[jgln]

You've probably had it lingering in the tank for years, and the recent poor water quality diminished your fishes' immune systems capacity to fight it off naturally.

Just to be sure about something... Have you added any new corals/inverts recently? Those are capable of introducing parasites via tomont stage.

Also, can you post pics of the infected tang??

Nope, nothing added in many years. My biggest concern is my tang went from eating little to pretty much nothing now. Other fish as I said are eating fine and looking fine. The sick tang is the biggest fish. If he doesn't eat that will do him in before the disease itself. He still swims around though.

Pictures, I could take pictures if he would stay still but even then I would have to figure out how to post. Looks like salt especially on his back but none on his fins which I thought was odd. Is there something else that resembles Ick? I would guess he has maybe 30 speckles on him spread out, tops.

 

[jgln]

….actually he was a pig until a few weeks ago and now last 2 days I don't see him eat anything.

 

[HumbleFish]

Is there something else that resembles Ick? I would guess he has maybe 30 speckles on him spread out, tops.

Velvet resembles Ich, but more fish should be showing signs if you had that in your tank. Virus nodules can look like parasite trophonts in the early stages. The most common is Lymphocystis: https://humble.fish/lymphocystis/

But while Lympho can grow on the body, it is usually found on the fins & spines.

 

[jgln]

Velvet resembles Ich, but more fish should be showing signs if you had that in your tank. Virus nodules can look like parasite trophonts in the early stages. The most common is Lymphocystis: https://humble.fish/lymphocystis/

But while Lympho can grow on the body, it is usually found on the fins & spines.

Doesn't look like that. I am continuing water changes and I upped the temp from 79 to 81.1 currently. Heaters can be touchy and I don't want to boil the fish so I did it gradually just in case the settings on the dial were off.

He ate a few flakes last night, still swimming around like normal so hopefully he will start eating more and get stronger and maybe be able to fight it off.

 

[carrots]

Are these spots raised on the outside of the fish or discolored spots under the skin?

 

[jgln]

Are these spots raised on the outside of the fish or discolored spots under the skin?

He swims by pretty fast so hard to take a good look, when he does rest he hides in a less bright part of the tank. I would say raised from my observation.

 

[jgln]

Any suggestions on how to get him to start eating again? At this point he has stopped unless he is eating algae when I am not looking. He is finicky and only eats flake food and algae growing in the tank. Now he no longer takes any flakes and won't even eat the algae I scape from the glass which always was his favorite.

I know many years ago when I fist got them I tried adding garlic drops to food to get them to eat, it seemed to work. I am going to stop at the pet shop today and get that and a different kind of flake food and algae and hang that on a clip dipped in garlic as well.

Any other ideas?

 

[HumbleFish]

IME; garlic is the best way to get a fish eating. Have you tried nori? Or some frozen food like brine or mysis?

 

[jgln]

IME; garlic is the best way to get a fish eating. Have you tried nori? Or some frozen food like brine or mysis?

I feed the others tang and 2 clowns frozen mysis once a week but he refuses to eat it.

I got the nori sheets and dipped in liquid garlic and hung on a clip down where he would usually graze algae in the corner of the tank. Being a new introduction to the tank nobody touched it yet. I got a different kind of flake food and dipped in garlic and the other fish loved it he didn't touch it. I also got frozen cube food for herbivores and again the others loved it he didn't touch it.

I am getting worried for him. I try to comfort and encourage him, he used to like to follow my hand back and forth the front of the tank. I think the last time he ate it was from my wife's fingers....she has done that daily for the last 15 years or more, now he doesn't even do that. He does seem to be breathing faster, either stress or the assumed ick. Other fish look better than ever.

How long is the expected life span of a Naso Tang in a 125g tank? I know it is now a small tank for him, we got him when he was about 1" long if I remember. He and the yellow tang are very close, partners you can say. One time when I needed to separate them they both panicked until I put them together again and then they both calmed down even though they were in a container.

 

[HumbleFish]

Trying rubberbanding the nori to a small rock. That is a more natural way for a fish to eat macroalgae than being on a plastic clip. I also think Nasos are more partial to brown macro algae (Sargassum and Dictyota). You may be able to find brown nori at a LFS or online: https://www.amazon.com/Omega-One-Seaweed-Brown-sheets/dp/B0037LQPQM


I'm not sure of the exact life span of a Naso Tang, but I have kept many tangs in captivity for at least 10 years.

 

[jgln]

Trying rubberbanding the nori to a small rock. That is a more natural way for a fish to eat macroalgae than being on a plastic clip. I also think Nasos are more partial to brown macro algae (Sargassum and Dictyota). You may be able to find brown nori at a LFS or online: https://www.amazon.com/Omega-One-Seaweed-Brown-sheets/dp/B0037LQPQM


I'm not sure of the exact life span of a Naso Tang, but I have kept many tangs in captivity for at least 10 years.

I'll have to check exactly what I got when I get home. I may have an old piece coral I can tie some to, my liverock is too big to get something around it. This sucks, I really became attached to that fish, he is friendly and not skiddish like the yellow tang is. Probably my fault he got sick and that makes me even more upset. I wish fish could talk. The yellow tang tries to play with him like she knows something is up but he is not interested, still swims though. Thanks.

 

[jgln]

So I have been reading about Ich and some say it is fatal if left alone and others say if the fish is healthy it will be able to get through it. If I don't remove the fish (going to be difficult) and treat by hyposalinity or copper the fish is going to die? Again, my other fish are not showing signs, not yet anyway.

 

[HumbleFish]

So I have been reading about Ich and some say it is fatal if left alone and others say if the fish is healthy it will be able to get through it. If I don't remove the fish (going to be difficult) and treat by hyposalinity or copper the fish is going to die? Again, my other fish are not showing signs, not yet anyway.

It's difficult to say, as every fish/tank is different. Overall, Ich is a relatively mild fish parasite. Some are able to successfully manage it via UV Sterilizer, Ozone, Diatom Filter, Oxydator, herbal remedies, enhanced nutrition, etc. etc. But that strategy can be hit or miss. The larger your tank, the more water volume to dilute the parasites, the easier it is to implement Ich management.

 

[jgln]

It's difficult to say, as every fish/tank is different. Overall, Ich is a relatively mild fish parasite. Some are able to successfully manage it via UV Sterilizer, Ozone, Diatom Filter, Oxydator, herbal remedies, enhanced nutrition, etc. etc. But that strategy can be hit or miss. The larger your tank, the more water volume to dilute the parasites, the easier it is to implement Ich management.

He already stopped eating which I think is the biggest issue now, I assume the ich is in his gills? He seems to be breathing faster too. As I mentioned in the other thread I added an air pump and stone and he seemed to improve some. and started swimming back and forth in the tank again. The food goes right past his face and he does nothing. He will die from starvation so I think I am going to try to treat the ich and see if he will then eat. But my concern is the stress of being caught, removed from the tank from the other fish especially the yellow tang and the added stress and what will the yellow tang do with him gone? Stll no signs of ich on them.

 

[HumbleFish]

He already stopped eating which I think is the biggest issue now, I assume the ich is in his gills? He seems to be breathing faster too. As I mentioned in the other thread I added an air pump and stone and he seemed to improve some. and started swimming back and forth in the tank again. The food goes right past his face and he does nothing. He will die from starvation so I think I am going to try to treat the ich and see if he will then eat. But my concern is the stress of being caught, removed from the tank from the other fish especially the yellow tang and the added stress and what will the yellow tang do with him gone? Stll no signs of ich on them.

The heavy breathing and appetite suppression are probably due to trophonts in the gills. A 30 min H2O2 bath might offer some temporary relief: https://humble.fish/hydrogen-peroxide/

But if you put him right back into the DT, he'll just get reinfected. Your other fishes' immune systems seem to be keeping things at bay, but for whatever reason the Naso doesn't have the same immunity.

 

[jgln]

He died sometime Sunday night/Monday morning.

I spent Friday and Saturday setting up the Q-tank for him, took some time to get the temp stable and to match the display tank. Ammonia was 0 but since I used water from the display tank the nitrates were still high but I didn't want to make sudden changes and stress him out. Because an air stone was helping in the display I also added that to the Q-tank. In the display tank he was used to a good bit of water movement so I added a small circulation pump. He had not been moved from that tank in 13 years. He was still swimming in the display tank on Sunday around noon when I was able to net him and move him to the Q-tank. He was not as stunned from the move as I thought he would be but right away he stared to swim odd, in circles, on his side and even upside down a bit. I also noticed air bubbles accumulating on his skin so I shut that off. After 2 hrs he was still not swimming normal and decided he would not last the afternoon in that tank and moved him back to the display tank where he started swimming normal again. I think the 10g was too small for him. I had to come up with a new plan, I was exhausted at this point, he still wouldn't eat. That night he died.

The other tang and 2 clowns are still looking good and eating. I read Naso tangs can live very long in large aquariums, but also read 15 years is good in captivity and I really think now it was closer to 17 years I had him from less than a 1" fish. I think I he may have lived longer had I been able to provide a larger tank. I read later that I probably should have bought a different fish.

 

[jgln]

I have been mixing garlic in their food, they really seem to like it and if it helps them fend off the ich so much he better.

 

[jgln]

So just noticed something, something I just took notice to the last 2 days.

So when the Naso got ich (pretty sure it was) he also slowly stopped eating. For some reason the ONLY food I could ever get him to eat was flake food, he would nibble on algae growing here and there in the tank but in his entire life he seemed to only want the flake food.

That said, when he about stopped eating altogether I got a few other foods for him including another flake food more geared to vegetarians and frozen fresh algae. He still didn't eat it but the Yellow Tang and 2 clowns did. So the last week I have been switching off food for the remaining fish, the original flakes, the new flakes, the frozen food and the frozen mysis they love. But I noticed now even if the original flake food is the first offering of the day they all refuse to touch it. Last night right after that I tried the new flake food and they all devoured it. Now I wonder since the Naso only ate flakes and I only was offering him the original flakes could that be why he stopped eating and got weak and got ich? The others had other food to choose. I say original because to say "old" would not be correct but maybe that food went bad and not noticeable to me? Anyway, that food is going in the compost pile.