i bought this tang a week ago and yesterday i seen some white dots on him so i figured it was ick so i went to the lfs when i got out of work to get some meds and when i got home half of the white spots(looks like salt on him)were gone but where they were are small black marks i do have one of those small cleaner gobies that supposed it pick ick.Do you think this is marks from gobie picking ick off of is it some thing else?ive heard of black ick from someone at fish store but have never seen it before.can anyone help?
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luitenant tang white & black spots
- Thread starter cogean777
- Start date
pillowfish
#2
Do you have any pics you post, they help a lot! Were the black marks raised spots or more like indentations in the fish? If the were more like brush marks it is more than likely that the tang is scraping against the rockwork to try to "rid" itself or get relief from the ick. I have seen my hippo in the past do this. Or as you mentioned it could be the cleaner gobie, however, I would assume those would look more like kiss marks than black marks.
What medication are you going to use? Is it possible to QT the fish instead of using medication?
What medication are you going to use? Is it possible to QT the fish instead of using medication?
pillowfish
#2
Trying to catch him may prove to be a bit too stressful for him right now and could make the ick worse. I have never used any type of ich medication...not sure if it's reef safe.
B.rian
i would rather be diving
sounds like ick. please read a few of the threads on ick here. ick will go away, then reappear i believe in the morning. ick-x will not fix the problem. if it is ick, you need to let the tank run fallow for 6 weeks, you need to use copper/hypo treatment, and you need to QT all of your fish. i know that sucks, but it is by far the best option.
pillowfish
#2
Can you describe the black marks a bit more? You may or may not be dealing with more than ick.
pillowfish
#2
This is only my opinion and experience with ick and tangs. I personally would evaluate how much ick the fish has....few spots in patches, large patches versus full body coverage. How large is he? The smaller the fish obviously the greater the stress and stressing the fish more than necessary could harm/kill him more than the ick. Ick is present in basically all tanks, the only "true way" if even possible to say to ensure the ick parasite is fully eradicated is to remove all the fish from the DT and allow the tank to go fallow for a few months in order to starve the parasite. Unfortunately tangs are ick magnets.
If it seems to be pretty moderate I would just watch him for a few days to make sure he is eating well and he is not showing signs of distress. Usually IME the ick will disappear after a few days. Removing and QT'ing any fish is quite stressful as well as medicating the fish/tank. If he does not appear to be clearing up then I would consider QT'ing and hypo treatment. If the tang is pretty small he may have a much harder time fending off the parasite and surviving the stress of being caught and hypo'd. He sounds like a pretty new addition so the ick most likely is from stress.
If it seems to be pretty moderate I would just watch him for a few days to make sure he is eating well and he is not showing signs of distress. Usually IME the ick will disappear after a few days. Removing and QT'ing any fish is quite stressful as well as medicating the fish/tank. If he does not appear to be clearing up then I would consider QT'ing and hypo treatment. If the tang is pretty small he may have a much harder time fending off the parasite and surviving the stress of being caught and hypo'd. He sounds like a pretty new addition so the ick most likely is from stress.
yes i bought him last thusday he is eating all the time he is about 3 inches and at first was small patch and as of now seems all over,i turned on my uv yesterday when i first seen the spots.so ill take your advice and leave him in and see how he looks tomorrow thanks
