Well, my Atlantic Blue Tang has ich...what do I do?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I'd really like to not have to catch the fish from the tank. As I stated before on the board, I've gone thru a massive heatwave that destroyed a lot of corals and really upset the balance and water quality of the tank. Using tap water to do water changes brought upon me the dreaded problem algaes and crypto bacteria, and the tank has just now recovered from all of that, over a month later. I really don't want to be meddling around when things seem to be on the mend.

Ich is always present, and targets fish whose natural defenses aren't strong enough to resist it, as is my understanding. I know tangs are succeptible to ich, but can the fish's natural defenses improve to where it will fight it off?

Peace,

Chip

 

[Stark]

Whether ich is always present in marine aquariums is debatable. Its an obligate parasite. While the tomont can lie in the substrate for up to a month before ‘hatching’, the swarming theronts can only survive a few hours unless they find a host. An aquarium that has been free of host fish for over a month should be crypto-free.
The problem is keeping it that way. There are so many ways this parasite can be reintroduced keeping a tank ‘clean’ is extremely difficult. Even if properly quarantined, its possible for seemingly healthy fish to harbor sub-clinical infections that escape notice. In my opinion, its healthy to consider Crypto a threat that could strike at any time. It helps keep us vigilant in maintaining the environment and diet necessary to keep our fish healthy.
That being said, I would try the garlic first. I haven’t used it myself, but a lot of people are swearing by it. I can remember when hyposalinity was regarded by many as wacky, new-aged medicine administered by witchdoctors. Just in case, start setting up a hospital tank. Get a biological filter established and ready to go. You may still have to go the whole nine.

[ October 06, 2001: Message edited by: Stark ]