Lance's 225 gal tank

marie · #1 03-10-2009, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

...

Its hard to treat already...hypo is not always going to work and copper destroys a tangs gut fauna. I would never copper tangs personally. I think it takes years off their lives.

Where did you read about copper destroying a tangs gut fauna? I had to treat my achilles 3 yrs ago with cupramine (he had marine velvet)

GreenSpottedPuffer · #2 03-10-2009, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marie

Where did you read about copper destroying a tangs gut fauna? I had to treat my achilles 3 yrs ago with cupramine (he had marine velvet)

My older brother is a marine biologist and has told me.

Here is Bob Fenner talking a bit about it:

<Surgeonfishes have a mix of microbes, bacteria, protozoans... more that like E. coli in our intestines, or better, similar organisms in termites allowing them to utilize cellulose... With loss of these obligate co-digesters, the animal hosts suffer from nutritional deficiencies... Where do the Surgeonfishes et al. pick up these helpers? From ingestion in the wild (sediment, detritus, fecal pellets... Perhaps having a not-too clean system, with other healthy Tangs would re-seed the impugned fishes guts. Bob Fenner>

<Likely a cumulative nutritional disorder... very common with this species (and other tangs)... due often to the "urban-myth" of feeding them terrestrial greens like the nutritionally zero lettuces... A related possibility is the loss of gut fauna from exposure to copper, other medications, that kill off the necessary microbes in their "stomachs"... Does any of this sound familiar? There are other less likely causes of mortality... internal parasites, genetic defects... Bob Fenner>

Do some searching on the web...there is plenty of info about tangs and meds.

marie · #3 03-10-2009, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

My older brother is a marine biologist and has told me.

The choice at the time was to lose him within hours or treat, I'm still glad I treated

GreenSpottedPuffer · #4 03-10-2009, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marie

The choice at the time was to lose him within hours or treat, I'm still glad I treated

Oh yeah it unavoidable sometimes. I wasn't insinuating that you did the wring thing. Sorry if it came across that way.

I was just warning Lance to be careful and not use copper unless necessary like in your case. Velvet kills within a day sometimes and does need rapid and aggressive treatment. I would would have done the same.

Lance · #5 03-10-2009, 02:26 AM

MRFish55 has offered me the use of his empty 180 gal. (Thanks Dave) So, I`m going to set it up tomorrow in my garage and move all the fish over. Starting to make up SW right now. I wouldn`t move them if I didn`t have adequate space for them, but a 180 is plenty big enough. I`ll put a bunch of PVC pipe for them to hide in and I have an extra skimmer, so I think this is the right thing to do.

marie · #6 03-10-2009, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance

MRFish55 has offered me the use of his empty 180 gal. (Thanks Dave) So, I`m going to set it up tomorrow in my garage and move all the fish over. Starting to make up SW right now. I wouldn`t move them if I didn`t have adequate space for them, but a 180 is plenty big enough. I`ll put a bunch of PVC pipe for them to hide in and I have an extra skimmer, so I think this is the right thing to do.

I agree. It's not easy to get nice fish up here in PR so when we do get them we have to try and make sure they stay alive

Lance · #7 03-10-2009, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marie

I agree. It's not easy to get nice fish up here in PR so when we do get them we have to try and make sure they stay alive

Now I just have to catch them all!