Blue Hippo Tang keeps getting ich.

[rsisvixen]

Yes, I use paraguard, first container, prazi the next 3 and then paraguard to finish off-then QT for 3 weeks.

I haven't lost any fish from doing the ttm due to stress, and its run the range from mandarins to angels

[Frogger]

I had a hippo tang for 16 years, he died last year. Every time the fish got stressed he would get ich. Usually that stress would be adding a new fish, happened 3 or 4 times over his life span. It was never really bad but you could just make it out. Always went away when his stress level dropped. No other fish in the tank ever got it that I could see. I never treated him and he lived a long healthy life.

Hippo tangs are highly susceptible to ich. The stress of moving him from your quarantine tank to your main tank is likely setting him off.

[DKoKoMan]

My powder blue had gotten ich during the tank move. The water parameters contributed to the stress along with new fish and new environment. I monitored and observed the ich present and disappear. My powder has had no signs of ich since and no other fish had it.

IMO if it's showing up it's already in the tank, why rock the boat unless your fish is in distress. Sometimes the stress of moving back and forth as mentioned above can make it worse. As well hippo tangs and powder tangs are more sensitive and more prone to ich. Best of luck!

[kien]

Originally Posted by videosilva

1. Quarantining is such a DUMB waste of time idea. I would like to know who the idiot was that started this and is passing this DUMB information along ?

2. Fish store ALREADY quarantined the fish. DUH !

1. Quarantining actually has many benefits. In the context of disease, it allows you to better isolate your affected fish so that you can attempt to remedy their situation. During the remedy period they will be highly stressed so isolating them (in quarantine) can go a long ways to helping them recover. That is, they aren't constantly being bullied by other strong fish. They aren't being out competed for food, they can be left alone to rest while they recover.

2. Not all fish stores quarantine (properly).

[Animal-Chin]

Yea I don't know whats going on in Brandford but here in BC fish are not quarantined at the store. Most are for sale the morning after they arrive off the plane around here.

QT done properly is a great idea but most don't do it properly. The idea is a less stressful transition to your DT with a fish that is eating well and doesn't have parasites.

I tried a 20 gallon QT and think the stress of the stark small tank was causing more stress than good but I set it up because I brought in a Powder Brown tang that had marine velvet and it wiped out my entire tank, killed every fish in 7 days. Had I QT'd that fish, saw it had velvet and either helped it or let it die in QT I would have saved my entire population but back then I wasn't and I paid the price.

QT is not dumb nor started by idiots.

If I set up another (no need now, my tank is stocked) I would go for a 50 gallon bare bottom with lots of stuff to hide in. Keep the fish feeling safe and give it some room to move...

[rsisvixen]

Also all fish do not carry ich.

Some fish like gobies and wrasses are resistant to ich and it is exceptionally rare for them to get it. Only roughly 10-20% of wild caught fish actually have ich, but due to everything kept in same holding tanks and then in same systems at pets stores, the problem escalates.

I haven't had any trouble with my 20g QT-had a juvenile emperor and an atlantic blue tang in there for 1-2 months-not at the same time-lol
Could be they were only 2 inches at that point.

In my personal opinion, better safe than sorry, just costs me an extra bit of time and space.

[joe pooh]

Thank you all. When i drop the Tang into the tank the other fish give him a hard time. it's not like he is the new guy, they've all met before, but each time i put him back in from QT, it is like he has a kick me sign on his back.

I think that between that and the unstable temp and salinity the stress is too much for this guy. i even tried moving all the rocks around so nobody really has a territory to fight over. Nice fish, but i dont think i can meet his requirements.

I too think QT is an important part of the process. though i find it frustrating isolating my new fish for weeks before adding him to the main tank. At the same time i do not want to lose all my other fish. Seeing the ich and not taking him out would drive me crazy. maybe he will get better....maybe he will infect everybody else...

I foresee a trip back to the LFS for this guy once his time in QT has passed. dont think they will accept a sick fish.

[rsisvixen]

At this point your DT probably has ich in it.
Ich is like the flu in a way (except its a parasite), if your immune system is high even though there are germs everywhere you won't get sick, your immune system is down you'll get the flu. Same for ich-fish that are healthy with good immune systems will rarely get ich, stress, low immunity and the fish will get ich. Also ich can be inside gill covers and you'll never know its there.

If you are QT'ing, and treat for ich, once treatment cycle is done you should still keep it in QT for awhile so it can recuperate. The treatment is stressful and then moving directly will stress it even further. Let it regain strength and health first. Feed garlic enriched foods to boost immune system.
I also use the NS ich shield pellets during my QT process

[kien]

Originally Posted by videosilva

Trying to teach the teacher ?

A teacher should know better than to say that quarantining is "dumb" and a "waste of time". A teacher should also know better than to assume that all fish stores practice appropriate quarantining.

[rsisvixen]

Everyone has their own way to do things that work for them, so calling people or their methods dumb is just not okay.

Research has concluded that: Quote from Marine Ich - Myths and Facts "Fish always have MI. Untrue. In the wild they often show up as 30% infected."

As ich has a fish free stage-namely cysts which last 60-76 days on the substrate, it points to the fact that there are periods where fish are indeed ich free as its a parasite-not a disease.