Sick tang in qt

[cpage3]

ok so i have had a tang in qt for about a week and a half and he has shown signs of improvement from flukes/preliminary stages of ich. I dose copper in the qt, the only thing is that i did not have a test kit for Cu up until a few days ago. I figured this would be fine as long as I was aware of what needed to be added. When I got the test kit it tested at almost 4.0 instead of the recommended 1.5-2.0 total copper. This along with me being unable to keep the ammonia below 1.0 for a couple days on end may have been factors in leading up to the fish's present condition.
The qt tank is a total of 10 gals and has had far from stable conditions from its beginning. Forgetting to put a heater on the tank has resulted in a drop in temperature from the mid 70's to low 60's. Now, with a heater installed I am slowly raising the temp back to its beginning temp. Water changes are performed almost daily (water coming from the display) but the temperature difference which I didnt notice at first makes me think that this only adding to the stress the fish is suffering from.
The fish's present state is characterized by rapid breathing marks of discoloration on his skin and a darkening in its colors (fins were once white now are dark). The fish is still eating though. Water parameters are in the stable zone now. Ammonia
=.05, Nitrite=0 ph=8.2-8.4 Cu is at 2.0 now. I use amquel+ to help keep levels of ammonia in check, along with water changes


My question is are these regions of discoloration from the elevated ammonia and Cu levels and is there anything I should be dosing with in addition to Cu.
Also, anyone who feels it necessary please critique my qt setup and point out the things I may be doing wrong.

On a sidenote, I stumbled across a product named Nosickfish have any of you guys used it it sounds to good to be true, and commands a very pricey amount, check it out and let me know your thoughts on it.
www.nosickfish.com
Thanks for your help in advance
Chris

 

[dyeman]

The last time I had an outbreak of iche I put sick fish in QT with copper along with the hypersalinity technique of treatment. There are some good articles but I can never get the search function to work on this site, so I can't post post the link, but basically I slowly lowered my salinity down to 1.021 and kept the fish in QT for about a month and then slowly raised it back up to 1.025

good luck

 

[SVXH6]

hypo salinity runs in the range of i believe 1.012 to 1.014.. 1.021 is not a hypo treatment, thats actually what i keep my FO tanks at.. never heard of that product though.. when using copper for treatments you have to test for it. i would slowly lower salinity for a hypo treatment, and keep copper at the desired level and yes the excess copper and ammonia may have stressed the fish out making it change color, but as long as its eating and levels are now in check it should be ok, just keep levels stable.. good luck. what type of tang is it?

 

[cpage3]

A dead tang, man that guy (very small very healthy looking Juvenile clown tang) was a great find. Oh, well you live and you learn not to shock the crap out of the thing. Back, to the drawing board.

Thanks for all your help guys. I think that I've got a better handle on qting procedures. PSST...... don't tell anyone but I never really utilized a qt as long as I have been in the hobby. I did not see the need I was after the more resilient fish anyways (clowns, pygmy angels, cardinals, etc.). But, now I figure I better get the technique down if I ever want to have any success with a larger reef tank than I currently have.

Thanks again
Chris

 

[raw88gt]

when i first got my juv. clown tang he had developed ick.. i drained 5 gallons outta my display than the rest made fresh an just used quick-ick. an he healed an is eating great!

 

[drbronx]

A good lesson for all of us which many have learned the hard way: To always maintain a cycled/balanced QT tank. All my new fish go into quarantine for at least three weeks prior to introduction to my display tanks. I have yet to find or hear of a reef safe treatment for ich that reliably works. Plus any of the so called reef safe treatments require eliminating chemical filtration and/or skimming for the course of treatment. Not exactly conducive to reef health.