-
******* To read about the changes to the marketplace click here
Hippo Tang Itch??
- Thread starter DFort317
- Start date
RayD
The Chicago Experience!
Typically scratching or "flashing" as its sometimes called is an indication of an underlying issue with the fish. Parasites (Ich) most likely. Hippos are notorious for Ich as are most Tangs.
I have a large Hippo that has been with me five years and he has Ich most of the time. I see the spots and bumps and I crank on my UV sterilizer and her clears up in a day or two. But for the most part he always has some form of Ich going on. But he's ok and lives a lush life.
Take it slow, don't panic, and keep your eye on him/her. The worst thing you can do for your fish and your tank is knee jerk reactions to problems. You certainly came to the right place for help. Many many years of experience collectively on this board. It's amazing.
alpha0r
Non-member
I'm not sure what to tell you about your fish. But in the future you might want to consider quarantining new live stock. This way you can watch it to make sure its OK and anything wont spread to other animals. Also, you can treat a sick fish with the necessary medication without worrying about other inhabitants. I spent less than 50 bucks on my QT system.
RayD
The Chicago Experience!
Alpha brings up a really great point. QT for new arrivals is critical for both fish and tank. You really shouldn't use medications in your main tank. That's just asking for trouble.
I've had good luck with the UV sterilizer. Some swear by them and others say they don't do anything. I've done well with mine.
I've had good luck with the UV sterilizer. Some swear by them and others say they don't do anything. I've done well with mine.
darrowj
Non-member
I had a Hippo Tang once... I loved that hippo tang. I've heard since and now know by experience that they are Ich magnets.
Anyway, I agree with RayD. Take it slow.
I tried a number of things at the time to get rid of it for the little guy.
1. Fresh water baths
2. Changing temperature of the water
3. Changing the salinity of the water
4. Adding medicine to water (various kinds I don't remember and try not to anymore)
5. Treated the food with garlic
6. Bought cleaner shrimp
After a while I always saw the Ich return. I was jumping from one thing to another so quickly for a sure fix I did more damage than good. It was probably the stress I put on the fish that killed it more than the Ich.
Since then I've had a few fish develop what I think are Ich spots. I simply watch my water quality/parameters very closely. I give feed my fish a diverse and, what I think is, a health diet. I'm sure it is not always the case but I think a healthy environment help tremendously. However, if you do pick one solution to fight the problem stick to it and give things time to work themselves out. Having a tank and being patient and consistent pays off.
Anyway, I agree with RayD. Take it slow.
I tried a number of things at the time to get rid of it for the little guy.
1. Fresh water baths
2. Changing temperature of the water
3. Changing the salinity of the water
4. Adding medicine to water (various kinds I don't remember and try not to anymore)
5. Treated the food with garlic
6. Bought cleaner shrimp
After a while I always saw the Ich return. I was jumping from one thing to another so quickly for a sure fix I did more damage than good. It was probably the stress I put on the fish that killed it more than the Ich.
Since then I've had a few fish develop what I think are Ich spots. I simply watch my water quality/parameters very closely. I give feed my fish a diverse and, what I think is, a health diet. I'm sure it is not always the case but I think a healthy environment help tremendously. However, if you do pick one solution to fight the problem stick to it and give things time to work themselves out. Having a tank and being patient and consistent pays off.
Are there other fish in the display?
Ick can be dealt with different ways, basically you either go for "managment" or "eradication".
I would suggest researching a bit to make sure your clear on what approach your going to use.
If you treat the tang but not the system, the fish MAY be stressed more by removing and treating, and the fish COULD get reinfected when it goes back.
Just saying;
"please reasearch, make a well informed decision. There are lots of opinions on this topic so mixed advice is very common and even more confusing"
Ick can be dealt with different ways, basically you either go for "managment" or "eradication".
I would suggest researching a bit to make sure your clear on what approach your going to use.
If you treat the tang but not the system, the fish MAY be stressed more by removing and treating, and the fish COULD get reinfected when it goes back.
Just saying;
"please reasearch, make a well informed decision. There are lots of opinions on this topic so mixed advice is very common and even more confusing"
"Ick can be dealt with different ways, basically you either go for "managment" or "eradication"."
As John said you have really 2 choices.
I had to face this same decision back about 6 months ago.
I felt that eradication was my only option.
My decision was simple,i made the choice to have a "captive system".
Like you I didn't want that system to include a parasite.
And there was only one person to blame for introducing it unfortunately........me.So I did what I thought was right and went hypo for the fish and left the tank fallow for 7 weeks.
I can report that I've never been happier,and so are the fish in my care.
As John said you have really 2 choices.
I had to face this same decision back about 6 months ago.
I felt that eradication was my only option.
My decision was simple,i made the choice to have a "captive system".
Like you I didn't want that system to include a parasite.
And there was only one person to blame for introducing it unfortunately........me.So I did what I thought was right and went hypo for the fish and left the tank fallow for 7 weeks.
I can report that I've never been happier,and so are the fish in my care.
alpha0r
Non-member
I have read to QT fish 21 days from the time they are healthy. So a fish that is healthy only stays in 21 days but you don't start the count down on a sick fish until it beats the disease. You may also want to consider fresh water dips and vacuuming the tank QT tank bottom daily. The cysts fall off the fish to the bottom during their reproductive cycle so you can get some of them out.
You should definatly read this artical about fighting marine ick:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichart2mar.htm
Amazon
Non-member
Not to hijack, but we are battling this in the new 180. Current residents are an anthia, a rabbitfish, a YWG, and a neon goby (plus two skunk cleaners and cuc).
I don't know if ich came in to the system via anthias that were qt'd (not hypo'd) for 6 weeks, or it was in the LR we added. In either case, it's in there with a vengance.
What do you think is better - remove the existing fish (a daunting task) an hypo in a 20L or remove the corals and inverts and hypo the 180?
I don't know if ich came in to the system via anthias that were qt'd (not hypo'd) for 6 weeks, or it was in the LR we added. In either case, it's in there with a vengance.
What do you think is better - remove the existing fish (a daunting task) an hypo in a 20L or remove the corals and inverts and hypo the 180?
I would definitely remove the fish.I had to do this and yes it was daunting,but well worth it.
I took half my rock out and put it in totes with tank water. Then worked the fish over to that side and slid a piece of plexi glass in to keep them from the rocks.It worked pretty good until I got to the blenny.He was hold up in a hole in the rock and was pretty tough to get out.
I took half my rock out and put it in totes with tank water. Then worked the fish over to that side and slid a piece of plexi glass in to keep them from the rocks.It worked pretty good until I got to the blenny.He was hold up in a hole in the rock and was pretty tough to get out.
I'm sorry Stingythingy, new to the arena, but what does "went hypo" for the fish and "fallow" for 7 weeks mean??
Also, we were told it was not recommended to treat the whole tank w/ coppersafe...? We've got corals, clowns, foxface, and wrasse in there right now... Not sure what to do...
Currently, the hippo tang and a singapore angel that seems to be affected are in QT now. Additionally, the Singapore appears to have popeye, which I posted in another thread.
Thanks again for everyone's help.
"hypo" means lowered salinity. It needs to go down to about 1.008 for at least 6 weeks to be fully effective. (transitioned slowly, especially when going back up to normal)
"fallow" means with no fish. If there are no fish to host the parisite it should die out after 8 weeks or so. If there are fish in the display, they can easily keep it alive even if they show no signs of infection.
FWIW, both myself and Bob (stringythingy) tend to be advocates of going for "eradication". Many others prefer to go with "managment" strategies. Many a reefer has maintained a healthy tank with a low level of infection for many years. Personally I've gone the full Hypo/fallow route with great success, but there are risks and it's a big PITA.
Managment approaches generally rely on minimizing stress, feeding well, and letting the fish's immune systems fight the parisite. Going this route, the fish can do well, but will often show spots after most any stressor, but with a little luck the fish get through it fine.
BEST BET, do a bunch of searching and reading and form your own opinion on what you feel best doing. (use the serch function in the blue bar above to search the forums here, there are a LOT of threads on ICK treatment).
HTH
jk
Oh yea, And your are correct, DO NOT treat a reef tank with hypo or copper. Also do not treat with hypo and copper at the same time. Either treatment needs to be done in a seperate hospital tank.
"fallow" means with no fish. If there are no fish to host the parisite it should die out after 8 weeks or so. If there are fish in the display, they can easily keep it alive even if they show no signs of infection.
FWIW, both myself and Bob (stringythingy) tend to be advocates of going for "eradication". Many others prefer to go with "managment" strategies. Many a reefer has maintained a healthy tank with a low level of infection for many years. Personally I've gone the full Hypo/fallow route with great success, but there are risks and it's a big PITA.
Managment approaches generally rely on minimizing stress, feeding well, and letting the fish's immune systems fight the parisite. Going this route, the fish can do well, but will often show spots after most any stressor, but with a little luck the fish get through it fine.
BEST BET, do a bunch of searching and reading and form your own opinion on what you feel best doing. (use the serch function in the blue bar above to search the forums here, there are a LOT of threads on ICK treatment).
HTH
jk
Oh yea, And your are correct, DO NOT treat a reef tank with hypo or copper. Also do not treat with hypo and copper at the same time. Either treatment needs to be done in a seperate hospital tank.
Hey Lisa,
I'll keep my "eradication" speech to myself, but if you decide to remove and treat, I've got a variety of traps you're welcome to borrow. (and 75G hospital tank I'm not using)
LMK
"I'm sorry Stingythingy, new to the arena, but what does "went hypo" for the fish and "fallow" for 7 weeks mean??"
Hypo is dropping the specific gravity to 1.008.This will kill off the ick parasite as it won't be able to encyst.When it drops off the fish and goes to reproduce it will have trouble doing this in reduced salinity.
"Fallow"is basically a farmers term for leaving a field empty for a planting season.But in Reefer terms it means leaving a tank empty fo fish that would feed the parasite.
Hypo is dropping the specific gravity to 1.008.This will kill off the ick parasite as it won't be able to encyst.When it drops off the fish and goes to reproduce it will have trouble doing this in reduced salinity.
"Fallow"is basically a farmers term for leaving a field empty for a planting season.But in Reefer terms it means leaving a tank empty fo fish that would feed the parasite.
Amazon
Non-member
Hey John,
We got the three fish out last night (neon goby MIA) and they're in a 20L. I've started dropping the salinity. The 180 is empty (except for inverts) and will remain so for 6 - 8 weeks.
I would have loved to borrow your hospital tank - but I have no where to put it
It will be interesting to see how quickly the ich drops from the fish. I can see the bumps in the flesh of the rabbit fish.
FYI - I do not plan to treat with copper. I did not want to complicate things and do hypo and copper at the same time.
Thanks for the offer!
Amazon
Non-member
I found this link via RC. I found it helpful. If you click on the hyposalinity link within the article, it goes in to details on performing hypo.
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html
What do people think about uv sterizers and fighting ick?
Similar threads
FS - Livestock
Hippo Tang and Fox Face
