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[Camps23]

I have been eyeing up a PB for sometime. A fellow local reefer is selling his as he is getting out of the hobby. He has a nice fat 4.5" PB. I have read they are very ich prone. He was honest with me and told me it had ich in the past and it didn't seem to bother the fish it just ate it's way through it. They are by far my favorite fish but is it worth introducing a possible ich prone fish to my system ?

 

[snorvich]

Are you planning to quarantine the fish?

 

[LSUJosh]

I traded for a system that already had ich in it, I was going to let it sit for 8 weeks but the guy surprised me by giving me about 14 fish to go with it. My tank has been up and running with three tangs for about 4 months now with no problems. I had an ich outbreak on 2 of the tangs once but they did not act any differently, continued eating, let the cleaner shrimp run all over them and they are fine. As long as the fish are happy you have no problems.

 

[Camps23]

I can QT him for a few weeks. Should I treat him with medicine even though he doesnt have any symptoms right now ?

 

[skibum9884]

I can QT him for a few weeks. Should I treat him with medicine even though he doesnt have any symptoms right now ?

I would recommend a QT with cupramine. How much experience do you have QTing fish?

 

[Camps23]

I would recommend a QT with cupramine. How much experience do you have QTing fish?

In the past I have QT new fish for about 10 days to monitor health but have never treated with medicine. I only have a 15G QT setup right now with a HOB filter and small powerhead.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I use Cupramine and a de-wormer on all fish in QT too. Controversial, but it works. Almost all fish have been treated with copper along the way. IME, PBTs handle Cupramine very well and its a safe, easy med. If you treat or not, I don't think 3 weeks is long enough. You need at least 4 weeks to go through the life cycle of most parasites. Be sure your QT is cycled or expect to do a lot of water changes.and never use an ammonia neutralizer (Ammo-Lock, Prime, etc ) with copper. A 15 gal is fine, you'll also need a heater and a few pieces of PVC (or similar stuff) for shelter. Here's something I've posted a zillion times, IMO & IME, the best way to keep a QT/HT cycled:


"In regards to Qt cycling; I've done this for years. Get a HOB filter; I really like Aqua-Clear, they have a big sponge and last forever. Don't use the carbon or ceramic noodles that come with the filter. Also, have some extra sponges on hand, they're cheap. Keep a sponge in the flow somewhere in your DT. When you need a QT or HT, just use the sponge that has been in your main system in your QT filter---the QT will be instantly cycled. When done, toss the sponge and keep a new one ready in your main system.
BTW, Cupramine copper, used in a QT,will not destroy a bio-filter".

 

[Camps23]

Next question is I have a yellow tang now who rules the roost. Should I get a PB that is the same size or smaller ?

 

[Recty]

Putting in a smaller tang is almost for sure asking for it to get beat up. Put in one similar size or slightly larger to give it a better chance, imo.

With tangs, a lot of the behavior comes down to chance. I have a yellow tang that doesnt really bother any new additions. I HAD a yellow tang in my old reef that hated any new fish, large or small.

I think your best bet is a slightly larger tang that the current resident, but again, that's just a bet, at best an educated guess based off experience.

 

[betamed]

what size tank? I basically did the same thing a few months ago. My tank had been ick free for years, but I had a feeling that it was still lurking. anyway I have 3 tangs in a 285g PT, Hippo and PBT all coexisting for years. then one day durring a water charge the PBT freaks out turns pale and starts panting and does not swim. He died a few hours later and I have no idea why. So I immediately order a new XL PBT from DD with hopes of adding him before the other fish realized he was gone(i know not great logic but it seemed to work).

Long story short it took a while for him to feed well and then the ick shows up. He's fine now, but some days it was very concerning. I did basically every thing I could to treat him in tank other than meds (foods, garlic, big UV).

Basically my opinion is if you have a 8ft tank and the fish is not stressed and you baby him he might be able to fight off ick other wise don't bother as if he had it once he still carries it.

If you are positive your tank does not have ick and you want to treat with CU or hypo that might be worth trying too but it seems like a better move to buy from DD or another source.

 

[Camps23]

I think my best bet is buy a very small species and QT it. Im hoping my LFS can get one in and QT it there for 3-4 wks

 

[MrTuskfish]

Very,very few LFS will properly QT a fish. You need to inspect every square inch of the fish often. A QT set up will cost less than the fish and you'll always have it.

 

[Orcrone]

Very,very few LFS will properly QT a fish. You need to inspect every square inch of the fish often. A QT set up will cost less than the fish and you'll always have it.

+1. It is unlikely that an LFS will do that for you due to limited resources. But even if they did you need to keep in mind that most of them will have multiple tanks tied together on a filtration system which is not a proper QT. Look on Craig's List. I bet you could put something together pretty inexpensively.

Also if you have an aggressive yellow tang you want to get another tang that's no smaller than the YT. A small PBT will likely be harrassed upon introduction to the DT.