hello all this is my first posting on this forum ive had my tank up for about 1 1/2 months now with no problems i purchased a scopas tang from perfect pets in richmond, va that i beleive brought a weird disease with it ive showed it to a few people at local shops but it is still unknown what it is it doesnt look quite like ick and it comes and goes every few days the tang has been in the tank with a six line and a goby and a few shrimp and some coral with live rock for about three weeks his symptoms appear as looking kind of dusty with hazy eyes and he gets really dark sometimes i know they are prone to changing colors but not like this i wouldnt think none of my other fish or inverts have been affected but i did have a percula clown that i had for nearly 8 months die all of a sudden but he never showed any symptoms of this disease the tangs breathing is not heavy he is eating fine and moves around constantly he just looks like crap sometimes ive had my water tested it was fine then i went ahead and did a 15 gallon water change and deep clean but still the tang looks bad ive tested my water nearly everyday since the change and still perfect so im puzzled as to what to do next because i would like to stay away from chemicals if possible tonight i plan on changing the filter pads and possibly another small water change but if anyone can help me with this please do
scopas tang looking strange
- Thread starter fewtrain
- Start date
Tangs are incredibly prone to ich. If it is at all feasible to remove him for treatment, you might do better for him that way. I'm not fond of chemicals myself, and usually treat with garlic soaked food, but with a tang, the infestation can get so bad so fast it can be fatal before you know it. Take this problem to the Fish Disease forum and see if you can get a confirmation that it is ich (which sometimes is thick in the gills before it gets bad on the skin) and what to do for him. You can get any low-quality plastic tank from Petco to use for a quarantine, don't need anything in it but a filter and heater.
A photo of the fish would help. You can post via photobucket.com: upload to there from your computer (free service) and do a link to it: use the IMG button as you compose a "new thread" and paste in the link in the blank that appears.
A photo of the fish would help. You can post via photobucket.com: upload to there from your computer (free service) and do a link to it: use the IMG button as you compose a "new thread" and paste in the link in the blank that appears.
BTTRFLYGRL
New member
If its ich, raising the temp won't help....the temp you would need to raise it to would also kill the fish
How long have you had the Tang? The Wrasse and Goby are more resistant than the Tang to ich, they may never show signs but must be removed along with the Tang for treatment. Leaving them in the tank is leaving a host for the parasite..The main must go fallow for 6 weeks
Tangs are prone to ich but also many other parasites as well..I have a Powder Brown that had ich and then a copepod and/or Fluke infestation..Impossible to tell without scrapping the skin and examining under a microscope..Hypo cured his ich but did not kill this outbreak. I had to do formalin dips..You should post a pic in the disease forum..We need to get a positive ID before you treat.
How long have you had the Tang? The Wrasse and Goby are more resistant than the Tang to ich, they may never show signs but must be removed along with the Tang for treatment. Leaving them in the tank is leaving a host for the parasite..The main must go fallow for 6 weeks
Tangs are prone to ich but also many other parasites as well..I have a Powder Brown that had ich and then a copepod and/or Fluke infestation..Impossible to tell without scrapping the skin and examining under a microscope..Hypo cured his ich but did not kill this outbreak. I had to do formalin dips..You should post a pic in the disease forum..We need to get a positive ID before you treat.
Gobies almost never get ich, ditto blennies and dragonettes. If you can catch them, to the good; if you can't, feed with garlic and cross your fingers.
The problem is unless you can get all fish treated and the tank lying fishless for---what is it, 6 weeks?---you get reinfestations. The tang will always be a magnet for it, if it's there. And there is nothing in the universe you can treat a display tank with that will a) work infallibly and b) not kill off bacteria of live sand and rock, thus killing the tank. THe good news is that if the ich parasite can't find a host within---I think it's 6 weeks---it dies.
My best advice is, if you're going to keep tangs, get everything free of ich and after you get everybody treated and healthy, don't get involved in 'fish roulette' in which you trade fish in and out as they die, or grow too big, or turn out aggressive toward another. Pick a good crew and plan for them to live for years and years and years without your ever introducing another fish as long as that tank 'lives'---not an unreasonable goal. Marine fish can be quite old.
The problem is unless you can get all fish treated and the tank lying fishless for---what is it, 6 weeks?---you get reinfestations. The tang will always be a magnet for it, if it's there. And there is nothing in the universe you can treat a display tank with that will a) work infallibly and b) not kill off bacteria of live sand and rock, thus killing the tank. THe good news is that if the ich parasite can't find a host within---I think it's 6 weeks---it dies.
My best advice is, if you're going to keep tangs, get everything free of ich and after you get everybody treated and healthy, don't get involved in 'fish roulette' in which you trade fish in and out as they die, or grow too big, or turn out aggressive toward another. Pick a good crew and plan for them to live for years and years and years without your ever introducing another fish as long as that tank 'lives'---not an unreasonable goal. Marine fish can be quite old.
