Pruple tang

[Flukegills]

I just got a small pruple tang,its in my 75 gallon, its the size of a quarter, he/she has come down with ick, i'm feeding Spectrum Thera + A, should i also lower the salinity, Thanks for your help.

 

[Dewman]

Garlic, Garlic, Garlic

Try soaking your kelp/seaweed (whatever you feed it) in Garlic juice/oil.
I personally think that fresh pulvarized garlic is the best, but it's a pain in the arse to get the fish to eat it plain.

I took smashed garlic and mixed it with flake food.
Then rolled it out like dough into a fine sheet and let it dry. Break it up into smaller pieces and fed that for a week or so. Was gone in the first three days.
I only had ick ONCE. But all three fish had it and I credit Garlic with the cure.

 

[Flukegills]

Thanks for the fast reply, the Spectrum Thera + A, has garlic in it, i was just wondering about lowering the salinity too.

 

[naesco]

If it is an ich infection which has just started, I agree with the poster.
But find garlic extract (Kaoylic is a brand) as oil leaves a slick and juice (McCormicks is diluted)
You can use the liquid from freshly squeezed garlic cloves which you soak in dry food and than feed to the fish. Feed very often and only garlic soaked food and do this for 30 days even if the ich goes away after a few days.
If the fish is already seriously covered with ich you need to remove him to a quarantine tank QT and treat with Greenex or copper right away.
Good Luck

 

[Flukegills]

Could you tell me where to find Kaoylic. Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

You can usually find it at GNC or other health food stores. If you can't, Kent's Garlic Extreme is a sutiable alternative, but you will pay much more for it for the same product (as anything else labled for aquarium use).

 

[Flukegills]

Thanks for all the replys, you guy's are great, i just hope the little guy makes it, thats my main concern.

 

[cmc1]

What is your salinity? I run mine at 1.023 and have mixed SPS and LPS predom. LPS but yes you can lower your salinity.

 

[Carpentersreef]

How about give the little guy lots of room, some peace and quiet, a healthy diet and maybe a cleaner shrimp as a companion?
I understood garlic to be a preventative, not so much a cure.

Mitch

 

[jwtrojan44]

Are there other fish in the tank? Some fish, given a low stress environment, can fight off the parasite utilizing their own immune systems. The garlic extract can serve to aid in this function, however if the tank is moderately stocked and the infestation is heavy, you might do well to consider quarantining the fish. Using copper, Greenex, or other medications may or may not have the desired results. Copper must be closely monitored and the water tested a couple times a day to make sure levels remain therapeutic. A safer method is using hyposalinity, whereby the fish is placed in a quarantine tank, and the salinity is lowered to 1.009 over the course of a couple of days. The cryptocaryon parasite cannot live in hyposaline conditions and will die off. The fish must be maintained in hypo for at least three weeks after the symptoms disappear. Salinity is then returned to normal levels over the course of 5-7 days, and the fish can be returned to the display tank. Care must be taken not to allow the salinity to creep above 1.009, or the parasite can begin it's life cycle again. You also need to use a good refractometer to measure salinity, as swing arm hydrometers are not very accurate outside their comfort zone. I have succesfully treated a couple fish using hypo, with no ill effects and lasting results. Simply lowering the salinity in your tank will not do the trick, unless you take it to hyposaline state, in which case all inverts, LS and LR are dead. Good luck. PT's are great fish.