Fishing in a Reef Tank!!!??

[Jorgens]

Ok, it hit the fan. My Scopas has ich. Off to the Q tank you say!!! Nice, how in the blazes do I catch a Tang with a tank full of rock and corals??? I took 1/4 of the rocks out, the ones I could and I still couldn't get him. How long before I have to worry about the others gettin infested. I soak there food in garlic extreme once a week for safty being a realitivly new set-up and all seemd healthy. Temp is 78. I was hoping to try the hyposalinity method in a Quarentine tank if I can catch him.

Any suggestions on catching?

I cannot treat the whole tank as I have inverts,corals and such unless there a treatment I do not know about.

Your suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

[JFK_Jr]

If you're willing to put a little effort into catching him, then here's what I did.

I had to pull a Sohal Tang out of my tank a few months ago. I went nuts at first, but what I did was... I would place my fish net in the tank every time I would feed the fish. After a week's time the fish were so used to the net at dinner time, that I was able to just scoop him out with no fuss.

Even to this day... if I put my net in the tank to scoop up debris after turkey basting my rocks... my fish swarm to the net thinking there's food.

It just takes a little patience... good luck!

[PhilOlsen]

You can also use a fish trap to do the same thing, they rent them at my LFS or you can buy one pretty cheap. The thing I like about it over the net is I have seen fish get injured in nets, the trap is a plexigalss box with a door that you close after the fish enters, same method of traping just a different trap, either require patience as I have always found it seems the fish that do not need to be moved are the first in the trap/net...must be Murphys unwritten law.

[Woodstock]

Keep in mind that even if you do remove the tang and treat it, the main display will harbor the ich unless it is allowed to go fallow (fish free) for 6-8 weeks. This period of time without a host will starve the ich.

Also, you will need a fully cycled quarantine tank to keep the fish in during treatment. QT'ing fish in a non-cycled tank is deadly.

Some immediate things to do: Feeding garlic with a varied diet, keeping the water pristine, reducing stress, and getting an UV sterilizer will help the fish fight off the disease.

[saltyfishtanks]

let me start with saying i have had a really hard time with tangs and i feel your pain. this is what i have found in very recent times in my display.

after starving ich infested gold rim tang to near death i have learned the error of my ways and the bottom line was not enough food

the other fish just simply did not need the massive amout of food the gold rim needed so he almost did not make it. he was the only fish in the display with ich and he was covered.

may i suggest leaving the tang in the display and introducing a quality pellet food, misis, brine and fresh garlic soaked alge sheets. on a daily basis in the order listed starting with as much pellet as they will eat until they turn their noses up and then switch to misis..

1. i dont beleve healthy well fed fish will contract ich from tankmates

2. in my experience with tangs and i keep 3 presently in my 24x24x48 display, ich in some situations is a sendondary infection to an improper diet u may be feeding your tang but its probhably more like your slowly starving it!! feed them as much as they will eat several times a day

[saltyfishtanks]

Oh by the way what other fish or tangs are in the tank? If there is another tang this is a much larger challange than a single tang due to the pecking order!!! and this ich problem may be because tangs do not do well if they are low man on the totem pole.

also may i reccomend ocean nutrition formula 2 small pellet

actually all ocean nutrition line of foods seem to keep my fish very healty

I also only feed hikari frozen vit. supplemented frozen foods (MISIS, BRINE)

good luck tangs can be a real pain

[Jorgens]

Ok I have:

1 Scopas - the infected
2 percula clowns - both look good so far
1 Yellow tang - perfect so far
1 velvet damsel - looking good
1 scooter blennie - seems great
1 blue throat trigger. possible tufts on fins...too small to say for sure


I feed a varied diet of mysis/brine andbloodworms all frozen with garlic added to 1 meal a week. I also supplement with cyclopese granules. San Fransisco brand on the frozen. also 1 meal a weeks is soaked in vitamins (gerber infant) 2 drops of either at the respectuful feeding. Allowed to soak for 10 minutes.

That was the other question. If i clear the tag it's still ever present in my display. should i just try healthy feeding and see if it clears up? Have fish been known to recover without direct treatment?

There dosen't seem to be a pecking order. both tangs seem to get along well but i re-arranged some rock-work to ensure no territory problems. Haven't seen any skirmishes to date.

Appreciate the input guys. I think im gonna try healthy feeding for a bit. It seems a more fool proof way and easier on the fish.

[Jorgens]

Also reccomendations on a UV? I;ll run one when necessary like this. But after 2 months id rather turn it off. I can see where it may help for medicinal purposes.

180g display
55g sump/refugium

never played with one before.

[blue_eyes53813]

I to have had a couple tangs get a brief bout of ick... The best thing is soak all food in garlic, check all water parimeters. I found out both my tang( who are still alive by the way) absolutely hate a swing in temp. My tank may fluctuate between 79 and 81,,, and when it would dip below 80 my tang would slowly get spots throughout the day... I keep my tank 81-82 and the spots dont return.. Tang get spots and can very easily fight it off. Keep them well fed without polluting the water... keep all perimeters stable and cross your fingers... I would leave it in the main tank... Its kinda already to late to move it...

[fishheads]

STOP STRESSING...there is a product called KICK ICH. its made by ruby reef...ive tried everything on the market for ich in my reef tank..nothing seemed to work....then i found a miracle cure...REEF SAFE FOR ALL INVERTS...KINDA PRICY BUT WORTH EVERY PENNY.....YOUR ANIMALS STAY HEALTHY AND BEAUTIFUL...YOU WONT BE DISSAPOINED....BETTER THAN TEARING DOWN YOUR WHOLE REEF

[Jorgens]

W00-H00!!! I gotta say thanks to all. I've been letting the fish gorge themselves the last 3 days and whadda know. The spots are almost gone!! But trigger has to fight it off. But he's only 2 weeks into the system so he's new. Been coming out to eat finally so I think he'll bounce back as well. I must hve ben under feeding!! I let them eat untillthe turn up their nose. No I bet im gonna have to change water pretty quick.

But agin a big thanks to all. and my wallett thanks you as I won't be getting a UV anytime soon.

[saltyfishtanks]

see i told u feed those tangs man as much as u have time for keep them as fat as possible at all times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! amazing what kind of dietary needs some of these fish have

I have found that my gold rim tang which i must say i brought back from the dead will get stress spots of ich when not fed enough

[saltyfishtanks]

jorgen,
i must make a comment on your system and it looks very maintained i was lookin at your photo bucket and i just thought some kalkwasser on the topoff water would change those rocks dramaticly and i would assume you would like to see some purple and colors instead of the browns and greens

PM me if you want some super simple instructions on how i do it

http://s119.photobucket.com/albums/o142/saltyfishtanks/

[Jorgens]

My calcium is @480-560. I haven't needed a supplemtn yet, although I do have some kalk that i bought months ago in anticipation. It's never fallen below 480 yet. i attribute it to the "cruched oyster shells" i used when making live rock. The coraline is finally starting to grow but those damned diatoms are ugly as hell!! And ill take ya up on some ideas!!! I've only been doing this 3 months

[Tokey]

Maybe your already doing this but in your above post you don't list any veggies for the tangs if your not doing this I would add some to your feeding routine as the tangs need it.