yellow tang scratching

[Belladog2017]

I bought a yellow tang about a month ago. I've been feeding him flake food and pellets with garlic in it. I bought a porcupine puffer last night. They had no problems last night but this morning the tang scratches on rocks once in a while. Is he just stressed or is this ick?

 

[Belladog2017]

Also I see no sign of ick.

 

[snorvich]

Ich does not have to be visible in order to be present. If you did not do Tank transfer or other prophylactic treatment for ich, there is a high probability your tank now has ich (but not necessarily from the puffer)

 

[Dmorty217]

Scratching or "flashing" as it's called is one of the first signs of ich. Rapid breathing, erradic movement, staying in one spot and lethargy are some others

 

[Belladog2017]

Ok. What would you recommend to do? I don't wanna stress the fish out to much. Would a 10-20% water change help?

 

[Dmorty217]

No a water change will do nothing. Read in the disease section stickies. Snorvich wrote most of those too. You have a couple different options. Leaving the tank fish less for 72 days will also need to be done

 

[cma]

In my experience moving a fish with ich stressed it out so much it was fatal. There goes a 60$ fox face. Ich only stays on a fish for about a week then will go through it cycle off the fish in the sand bed and rocks. so for beginners I would wait till the fish is clear of visible ich and is acting normal. then would take a turkey baster and blow off the rocks and stir the sand and do a water change this will not eliminate the parasite but will reduce some off the parasites. I would also recommend feeding some really good food with some medication so the fish is in tiptop shape if it where to come back. If you have a QT remove the fish when it is HEATHY or there's a much larger chance the fish could die.

good luck

 

[Fragman4]

In my experience moving a fish with ich stressed it out so much it was fatal. There goes a 60$ fox face. Ich only stays on a fish for about a week then will go through it cycle off the fish in the sand bed and rocks. so for beginners I would wait till the fish is clear of visible ich and is acting normal. then would take a turkey baster and blow off the rocks and stir the sand and do a water change this will not eliminate the parasite but will reduce some off the parasites. I would also recommend feeding some really good food with some medication so the fish is in tiptop shape if it where to come back. If you have a QT remove the fish when it is HEATHY or there's a much larger chance the fish could die.

good luck

This is terrible advice. The parasite can last a lot loger then a week on a fish. Yes it is stressful for the fish to try and catch but letting the ich go through its lifecycle is not what you want to do. The turkey baster will not help in reducing the parasite.

You need to get the fish out and run the tank fallow while you treat the fish in qt. Some people control ich in their tank and live through it but who knows when it will reappear. Do yourself a favor and fix the issue correctly.