hellpppp!!

[mikej2336]

i've noticed a white spots on my regal tang i dont know if i let him fight the ich or im gonna put him in my 20 g QT tank..suggestions pls.

[cgoodman381]

Theres no doubt that putting him in QT and treating him with copper will help him. Personally I would only do it if hes not really eating. imo the capture and move and smaller tank will stress him out even more and should be used as a last effort. Iv found that if they are eating just soak their food in garlic and keep them eating well.

My tang recently had ich so I added another shrimp and two neon gobies, which helped greatly. I could actually see a big difference the first day.

Lastly I would try and find out what caused him to have an outbreak. A new addition? High nitrates? Is he to large for the tank?

[mikej2336]

hes been eating and very active and as you said i soaked his food in garlic..its about 2 inches small i dont think size is the issue here..neon gobies eat parasites?

[cgoodman381]

They sure do! Im not sure if they will clean a fish of that size though. Someone else may be able to chime in on that. Sounds like hes a little young, which I have heard/read can be a problem and you should usally get them a little larger.

Like I said, personally as long as he is eating I would leave him. What are his tank mates atm? Also what are you feeding him? (please list all the foods you feed him and how many times a day) Do you have inverts (snails,starfish,crabs etc) in your tank?

[mikej2336]

yellow tang about 3.5 inches, purple firefish, 3 cleaner shrimp, 5 crabs, 20 T snails..i feed them krill, emerald entree, blood worms, mysis,and brimes and i usually feed them twice a day i dont know if thats too much or less

[cgoodman381]

It doesnt really matter how many times you feed them, just how much. Well, because of the yellow tang it may not be a great idea to leave him in there as tangs are susceptable to getting ich. If it was me I would leave him a couple days and see how he does. If hes still not doing great I would try and greb him. Im sure someone else may have some better ideas though.

[mikej2336]

thanx for the suggestion i'll sure observe him for couple of days as long as hes eating and active at same time...

[yote]

Cgoodmans right on the money.

[cgoodman381]

Originally Posted by yote

Cgoodmans right on the money.

Yessss I have Yote's approval. I can die happy now.

[Bifferwine]

Different people have different ideas regarding this, but I personally prefer letting a fish try to fight off ich by itself and using garlic extract and Selcon in the food, and minimizing stress instead of quarantining and medicating sick fish. Quarantine tanks are too small for tangs and will only stress them out and make them more sick, in my opinion. For most types of fish, if you fortify their diet, boost their immune system and eliminate stressors, they are usually able to fight off ich on their own. I have had fish get ich, but I have never lost a fish to ich, and I have never quarantined or medicated a fish for ich.

That being said, I have never had a regal tang, which are notorious for being very very very susceptible to ich. My strategy may not be the best approach for such a sensitive fish that doesn't really stand much of a chance at fighting off the parasite on its own. Regal tangs are disease magnets and get sick very easily.