Question about Powder Blue Tang

[stefdvm]

So I got a couple of tangs - QT'd them then moved them to the DT; everyone was doing great... about 3 days after the move, I notice what look like a light dusting of grains of salt on the PBT. He was acting fine, eating fine, no flashing; no one else was affected; BUT... I freaked out and immediately snatched him out of the DT and put him back into QT. Of course, that stressed the hell out of him... That was a week ago. He seems absolutely fine; everyone in the DT is fine. I don't see the spots anymore. :headwally: I've never had a PBT before - do they get some kind of "rash" that's not ich? I'm scared to put him back in the DT without knowing what's going on because he was hard to catch and it stressed everyone out, but I sure as hell don't want ich to kill anyone (esp my gem). TIA

 

[HumbleFish]

"Dust" sounds more like velvet, but that should be showing on your other tangs as well.

Is the PBT currently in any medication (like copper)?

 

[stefdvm]

By dusting, I was referring to distribution, more than appearance; the spots were well circumscribed, very much like individual tiny grains of salt; on his face and right side, on his pectoral fin; he probably had about 15-20 spots total, maybe not even that many; but they decided were NOT there the day before; I check each fish every day to make sure there aren't issues; he is not currently in any medication; I pulled him from the DT and decided to give it a day and see what happened - I wasn't sure it was ich; then because he was doing so well, one day turned into two and then into three... he seems to be fine, the spots seem to have disappeared - at least I can no longer see them... he's eating, he's swimming, etc. Just wondering if I should go ahead with copper treatment anyway to be SURE it's not ich since trying to catch him in a 220 gallon tank was not easy or fun, and if it IS ich, I surely do not want him exposing any others to it. I do have cupramine so I can treat him - just have to figure out the level and length of time...

 

[HumbleFish]

By dusting, I was referring to distribution, more than appearance; the spots were well circumscribed, very much like individual tiny grains of salt; on his face and right side, on his pectoral fin; he probably had about 15-20 spots total, maybe not even that many; but they decided were NOT there the day before; I check each fish every day to make sure there aren't issues; he is not currently in any medication; I pulled him from the DT and decided to give it a day and see what happened - I wasn't sure it was ich; then because he was doing so well, one day turned into two and then into three... he seems to be fine, the spots seem to have disappeared - at least I can no longer see them... he's eating, he's swimming, etc. Just wondering if I should go ahead with copper treatment anyway to be SURE it's not ich since trying to catch him in a 220 gallon tank was not easy or fun, and if it IS ich, I surely do not want him exposing any others to it. I do have cupramine so I can treat him - just have to figure out the level and length of time...

You could black molly test him. Basically, acclimate a freshwater black molly into his QT and wait 2 weeks to see if any dots/spots appear. A freshwater black molly should have no resistance or immunity to SW diseases, and their pigmentation makes it easier to see ich, velvet, etc. on them. However, you may need to put the molly in an acclimation box for the duration if the PBT is aggressive.